Switzerland

[CH] Audiovisual Pact Films Available as Video-on-demand

IRIS 2007-10:1/10

Patrice Aubry

RTS Radio Télévision Suisse, Geneva

In April 2007, the Swiss radio and television broadcasting company (SRG SSR) and the partner associations in the Audiovisual Pact concluded a test agreement defining the principles of a new video-on-demand offer on the Internet. The Audiovisual Pact was for the first time in 1996 and regularly renewed since then, and is intended to guarantee the continuity of production activities by reinforcing collaboration between SRG SSR and the Swiss cinematographic and audiovisual industry (see IRIS 2005-8: 10). The resources of the Audiovisual Pact are allocated to financing the production of fictional films, documentaries, animated films and short films. In return for its financial participation, SRG SSR acquires co-production and television exploitation rights in Switzerland for a 15-year period.

The VoD agreement is aimed at promoting the co-productions produced under the Audiovisual Pact, as it adapts the access of these works to digital and interactive consumption modes. Thus, Audiovisual Pact films offered on the Internet sites of the TV business units of SRG SSR ( Télévision Suisse Romande , Schweizer Fernsehen and Radiotelevisione Svizzera di Lingua Italiana RTSI ) can be downloaded and viewed for a 48 hour period beginning with the start of the first viewing. During this period, the films ordered may be viewed any number of times, but only on the computer used for ordering.

This new offer, in principle, only concerns films that have already been shown on SRG SSR’s television channels. Also, a geo-location system only allows access to Audiovisual Pact co-productions to addresses in those territories for which VoD rights have been acquired. Lastly, a differential rate has been defined in order to take into account the type and length of the works concerned (fiction, documentary, and animation).

The purpose of the test period, with a duration of six months starting from 1 August 2007, is to pool experience with regard to technical, legal, editorial and financial issues, and to assess demand and interest on the part of the general public for this type of interactive offer. Depending on the result of this initial period, SRG SSR and the Audiovisual Pact partner companies will agree on the definitive rules for using co-productions in a video-on-demand context.