“The Superior Audiovisual Council proceeded to the agreement and the notification of the obligations of the main SMAD (audiovisual media service on demand) (…) proposing their cinema and audiovisual offer on the French market: Netflix , Disney +, Amazon Prime Video for its subscription service, and Apple TV “, detailed the sector regulator in a press release.
Concretely, foreign video streaming platforms will now devote 20 to 25% of their turnover in France to financing the production of audiovisual works (series, fictions, live shows, theater, etc.) and cinematographic (feature film ). Until now, only national platforms (such as OCS, Salto, myCanal, etc.) have funded this system.
“The total expected amount of contributions to audiovisual and cinematographic production should be in a full year”, ie from 2022, “in a range of 250 to 300 million euros”, anticipates the regulator. In 2021, these sums will be half as much, the decree implementing the law having entered into force in July.
In details, “the system provides for the participation of the SMADs concerned up to 20% of their turnover in France for subscription services, of which 80% are devoted to audiovisual production and 20% to film production”, is it specified.
Still remain “five other services affected by the regulations” who “will also have to conclude agreements with the CSA, or, failing that, be notified of their obligations” by the end of 2021.
In the absence of agreement on the reform of the chronology of the media – which frames the order of release of films on the various operating media: cinemas, dvd, television, streaming, etc. – the CSA explains having favored “the notification for obligations relating to investments to be devoted” at the cinema, leaving the door open to “the possibility of an agreement in the future”.
“This step constitutes a remarkable advance for the French and European cultural model”, greet the CSA. It thus becomes one of the first European regulators to quickly make effective the transposition of the European AVMS directive, which established this principle of equivalent investment obligations for foreign platforms.