News culture SVOD services have found a trick to get around this French law: a gray area that can be exploited for Netflix, Amazon, Disney+…?
The battle between SVOD services and “French cinema” continues. To get around the media timeline, streaming platforms may have found a trick that exploits a gray area in the law.
The chronology of media tends to annoy SVOD giants like Netflix or Amazon Prime Video. This law determines the order and the deadlines in which the various exploitations of a film work can take place. Their primary goal is to get a film released in theaters. In fact, viewers will not be tempted to watch the feature film on their televisions, avoiding our beloved cinemas. Originally, streaming platforms had to wait 36 months after a film’s theatrical release before offering it to their subscribers. But the Covid-19 crisis changed everything and shortened the period to just 17 months (15 months for Netflix). However, the wait is still seen as too long and the desire to defeat this law is growing. It seems that there has recently been a parade allowing SVOD services to broadcast films just weeks after their release in France.
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Revolution or bluff?
It was Apple TV+ that decided to take the lead by becoming the first SVOD service to offer not one, but two films, less than three months after their theatrical release. It is Flower Moon Killer by Martin Scorsese and Napoleon by Ridley Scott. According to an anonymous source, the platform operates a “gray area” of the law that allows them to avoid the 17-month waiting period. By making a long version of the film (or director’s cut) available to their subscribers, they could circumvent the French system, as the two films would therefore theoretically not have the same exploitation visa. We can see this on the Apple TV+ website Flower Moon Killer serums “Coming soon“. Knowing that the platform can offer the film for rental or purchase 4 months after its theatrical release, Apple TV+ is not illegal in this case. However, if the film is offered for free to everyone with a subscription to their service, they are technically banned and the CNC could then step in and rectify the situation. Is this the end to the media timeline desired by some and feared by others, or a simple bluff? We don’t know yet, but the rest of this story will likely generate a lot of debate. Be continued.
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