France

[FR] Release window agreement extended as Disney+ and Canal+ pledge their support for French cinema

IRIS 2025-3:1/8

Amélie Blocman

Légipresse

The decree issued by the Ministry of Culture publishing the release window agreement of 6 February 2025 extends for three years the previous agreement signed in 2022, which has now expired. Although the parties wished to maintain the general principles of the previous agreement, the position of individual broadcasters may change depending on their commitment to film funding.

The 2022 agreement, which has now been renewed, shortened the distribution time for films following their release in cinemas to four months for sales and rentals (DVD, VOD, Blu-ray), six months for Canal+ and OCS (compared with eight months previously), 15 months for Netflix, a paid video-on-demand (VOD) service, 17 months for other paid VOD services such as Disney+ or Amazon Prime Video, 22 months for free-to-air channels (with exclusivity until the 36th month) and 36 months for free-to-air VOD services.

At the end of January, as part of a renegotiation process, Disney+ announced a three-year agreement under which, in return for increased investment in French cinema, it could broadcast films nine months after their release, compared with 17 months previously.

Meanwhile, on 3 March, the Canal+ group announced that it had signed a new agreement with the French film industry organisations (BLIC, BLOC and ARP) concerning CANAL+ and CINE+ OCS. The agreement secures the group’s unique and privileged position in relation to release windows, enabling it to broadcast films six months after their release in cinemas. It will also enable the group to show more films in linear format and to extend the period of non-linear broadcasting. In terms of investment, the Canal+ group committed a minimum of EUR 480 million over the three years of the agreement: EUR 150 million in 2025, EUR 160 million in 2026 and EUR 170 million in 2027. Although these amounts are lower than under the previous agreement, under which Canal+ invested around EUR 190 million a year, the group is nonetheless strengthening its position as the leading partner in film creation in France. The group also announced that it was stepping up its commitment to so-called “diversity films” (films with a budget of less than EUR 4 million). This agreement takes effect retroactively from 1 January 2025 for a period of three years, i.e. until 31 December 2027, and is renewable by tacit agreement.