France: Government to shorten VoD release window
July 21, 2014
From Pascale Paoli-Lebailly in Paris
The French Minister of Culture, Aurélie Filippetti, has vowed to make the release of feature films to television easier, and to make films available more quickly on SVoD platforms.
Two months ahead the anticipated arrival of Netflix in France, the French government wants to help local VoD and SVoD platforms to grow and promote their services.
Talking to daily Le Figaro, Filipetti said she will propose making feature films available on TV two months earlier than the current window, and to reduce the delay from 36 months to 24 months for when a movie can be run on a SVoD platform after its initial theatrical release.
Keen to boost local digital offerings and French cultural industries, Filipetti points out such an improvement will only concern legitimate services which contribute to the financing of French and European works.