Canal Plus announced that it has signed a four-year contract renewing its commitment to fund the French film industry, following a meeting organised by Culture minister Franck Riester. Welcoming the agreement, France's national film centre, the CNC, said that the deal clears the way for the long awaited reform of movie release windows, which are set to become shorter on pay-TV and VoD platforms. Although full details are yet to be announced, Canal Plus said that for the first time, it will be able to show movies to its pay-TV subscribers six months following the cinema release.
According to Les Echos, Canal Plus managed to negotiate important concessions within its agreement with the film industry, capping its funding at EUR 180 million per year and linking the contribution per customer to the value of the subscription package. While years in the making, the reform of movie release windows is likely to change further when the revised EU audiovisual media services directive, approved in April, is transposed into French law.
