Frances Revamped Windowing Gives Netflix Earlier Access to Fresh Movies

August 2024 · 5 minute read

After months of heated debates and clashes, the French film industry has set new windowing rules for movies that are released in local theaters.

The rules will apply to exhibitors, pay and free TV channels and subscription-based services. They’re expected to be signed by France’s Culture Minister Roselyne Bachelot later on Monday (Jan. 24)

Netflix is the only streamer to have signed the agreement and will therefore benefit from having access to fresh movies 15 months after their theatrical release, in comparison to the 36 months under previous windowing guidelines. The latter rule has largely been responsible for the absence of Netflix at the Cannes Film Festival since the event requires every film in competition to have a theatrical bow in France.

“This agreement is a significant first step towards the modernization of the media chronology. It reflects both our constructive contribution to the negotiation process and our commitment to contribute to the French cinema industry,” a Netflix spokesperson told Variety. The streamer hopes to get a 12-month window when the rules are re-examined next year.

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Netflix, which launched in France in 2015 ahead of any other global platforms, will invest roughly €40 million ($45 million) per year on approximately 10 independent movies whose rights will be owned by their producers and creators. A diversity clause also requires Netflix to spread its investment across smaller movies budgeted under €4 million.

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Other services, including studio-backed streaming services such as Disney Plus, have not signed the agreement and will therefore have a 17-month window on new pics. Negotiations with those banners hit a snag because windowing rules are giving free-to-air channels an exclusive window on movies they pre-buy 22 months after their release. That means that Disney Plus, for instance, would have had to temporarily pull their films from their platforms during the months when its movies aired on French TV.

“The number one reason why Disney Plus doesn’t want these windowing rules is that their strategy is to launch movies on streaming as close as possible to the theatrical release – 45 days later in the U.S. and many other countries — so they consider it a big burden to have to wait 17 months to offer movies they’ve financed to their subscribers,” said an industry insider.

Despite the fact that only Netflix signed the new windowing agreement, those rules will apply to all platform. The pact only required the signature of a single streamer in order to be enacted. Some industry players fear that Disney will opt to launch select movies straight on Disney Plus in France to avoid being subjected to the country’s windowing regulation.

The new release windows complement the rules established in the local application of the European Union’s Audiovisual Media Services Directive (AVMS), which sets local content quotas for streamers across Europe.

Netflix, Amazon, Disney Plus and Apple TV Plus recently signed a long-gestating agreement with France’s broadcasting authorities (CSA) to start investing 20% of their annual revenues in French content. The CSA expects the investment to be between €250 million to €300 million on average per year.

WarnerMedia’s HBO Max and Paramount Plus are set to launch in France later this year. Both have started commissioning local original content.

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