The media chronology is going to be totally upset by the government. The new deadlines have just been unveiled, and it is Canal+ which will offer the films the fastest, far ahead of Netflix, Disney+ and Amazon Prime Video.
The French media chronology has caused a lot of ink to flow around the world. As a reminder, this device punctuates the order in which the various streaming platforms can offer films after their theatrical release. As a reminder, so far, it was necessary to wait 36 months after the release of a film in the cinema before being able to find it on platforms such as Netflix or Disney+.
In France, the latest Marvel films such as The Eternals Where Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings are not available on Disney+, although they were added to the platform only two months after their release in other countries. The government has finally decided to review this media chronology, and the new rate at which films can be offered by the various players in the market has been unveiled.
Canal+ is the big winner of the new media chronology
Our colleagues at Opinion unveiled the new media timeline ahead of its official signing today. Roselyne Bachelot, the current Minister of Culture, is said to have started negotiations with all the partners for the implementation of this new media chronology, with a deadline of February 10, 2022. We let you discover the new rate of exit adopted by the government:
- Canal+ : 6 months after the theatrical release
- netflix : 15 months after the theatrical release
- Disney+ and Amazon Prime Video : 17 months after the theatrical release
- Television channels (TF1, France 2, Arte, etc.) : 22 months after broadcast in the cinema (exclusive broadcast until the 36th month then “periods of co-exclusivity” with the platforms where the consumer will have the choice between platform or free channel)
As you can see, Canal+ is the big winner of this new media chronology, since it will be able to offer films only 6 months after their theatrical release on its private channels. This victory is not really a surprise, since we could see last December that the encrypted channel had agreed to invest more money (190 million euros per year) in the cinema on condition of obtaining a better exposure than SVOD platforms like Netflix or Disney+.
We must also add to this sum the amounts paid by the free channels of the Canal group and a dispute worth 30 million euros to be paid over three years, which brings the bill to around 200 million euros. per year, not counting StudioCanal investments.
Also read: Canal+ increases its prices again at the start of the school year, here are the new formulas
Netflix wins over Disney+ and Prime Video
As you have also seen above, the films can be offered only 15 months after their theatrical release on Netflix, compared to 17 months for Disney + and Prime Video. To obtain this reduced delay, Netflix has committed to investing between 20 and 30 million euros per year in French cinema, notably by producing small films with budgets of 3 to 4 million euros.
We are therefore still far from the release rate imposed in other countries, including in particular the 2 months it takes Disney to offer its films on its Disney+ sVOD platform. Nevertheless, although the delays remain quite long, these were still halved from the old media timeline. For now, platforms like Disney+ and Netflix will therefore still be forced to offer a very different catalog in France, since the most recent films will still not be offered the first year after their theatrical release.
On their side, TV channels are lagging behind. Indeed, these will only be able to offer filmsu from the 22nd month after their theatrical release. For this, they will have to sign agreements with the platforms to offer them in co-exclusivity until the 36th month. At this time, it is unknown if the new media timeline will bring any changes to the period of release of films on VOD and DVD, currently adjusted from 3 to 4 months after the end of the film’s cinema run at 45 days. We should know more about this very soon.
