The deal also notably advances the window for Canal+, allowing it to offer films six months after their release in theatres, contrary to the current eight-month waiting period.
French broadcaster Canal+ has signed an agreement with France’s film guilds to invest €600m ($680m) in French and European films from 2022 to 2024.
Under the agreement, Canal+ will have to dedicate 85% of the $680m to French films over the next three years.
The agreement, which took six months to come to fruition, was signed by Canal+ CEO Maxime Saada and France’s main film unions, the ARP, BLIC and BLOC, representing everyone from authors to directors, producers, distributors and exhibitors.
Canal+ benefits from having this deal in place by gaining access to fresh movies six months after their release in theatres and having an exclusive nine-month window minimum for acquired content which could be extended to 16 months, if a second window has been bought. The films will be seen on the Canal+ and Cine+ channels.
The agreement also includes a diversity clause to prevent Canal+ from concentrating its investment on bigger movies. Canal+ will therefore have to dedicate a portion of the €600m on films with budgets under €4.3m ($4.8m).
