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Back When, how and where can we access European films and series? Release windows and territoriality in the spotlight...

The European Audiovisual Observatory publishes a new in-depth analysis of European media law
When, how and where can we access European films and series? Release windows and territoriality in the spotlight...

Download "Territoriality and release windows in the European audiovisual sector" here

 

We're looking at the rules in Europe concerning when, how and where we access our content.

The principle of release windows as well as the notion of territoriality (country by country distribution) have long been the cornerstone of the European financing and exploitation model for films and programmes. 

This new report - Territoriality and release windows in the European audiovisual sector - explores current EU legislation and market practice concerning release windows and territoriality - "the when, how and where" films and series may be made available to European audiences. Our report also draws in the views of the industry, very much impacted by any rules concerning these parameters. 
 
Chapter one sets the scene with a useful current definition of release windows. The authors explain the dramatic impact of the pandemic on the structure of release windows, given that cinema exploitation halted under lockdown and streaming consumption rocketed. An analysis of release windows post-COVID follows. This chapter also looks at the various factors influencing how well European content travels across borders.
 
Chapter two details the various EU legal texts which have a bearing on territoriality and release windows, especially copyright and competition law, and discusses the stakeholder dialogue on access to and availability of audiovisual content in the EU. 
 
Chapter three dives deeper into the different national rules applied to release windows throughout Europe. The length of release windows can be stipulated on a national level by legislation, in the rules of public funding bodies, for example, or indeed by case-by-case contractual arrangements or industry-wide agreements. The authors point to extreme differences in approach between the countries studied. Streamers in Bulgaria can show a film just three months after cinema release, for example, whereas the delay in Belgium is a minimum of 26 months. This chapter describes in detail legislative provisions in France and Bulgaria, and public funding rules in Austria, Germany, Ireland, and Italy. The authors also include an overview table of the various national approaches throughout Europe as an annex. 
 
Chapter four takes stock of views expressed by the industry on both the territoriality and the release windows questions. In particular, this chapter details the replies from nine different stakeholders to the European Commission’s request for proposals on how to improve the online availability of and cross border access to films and programmes throughout Europe. 
 
Chapter five walks us through recent EU case law in this field and chapter six gives us a state of play overview in which the authors conclude: "Maybe both territoriality and windows are simply never-ending stories because they are constants in the complex equation that is the European audiovisual sector."
 
A must-read new free report to understand the current situation in Europe regarding territoriality and release windows. 


 

Strasbourg 6 July 2023
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Back Over 11,000 TV channels were available in Europe in 2019

European Audiovisual Observatory publishes new report on audiovisual services in Europe
Over 11,000 TV channels were available in Europe in 2019

This new report - Supply of audiovisual media services in Europe: MAVISE insights - 2019 edition -provides an overview of the supply of services (TV channels and on-demand) available in the European audiovisual media landscape. It initially focuses on the availability and establishment of television and on-demand services in Europe. Secondly it looks at the access and distribution of audiovisual services in Europe. And finally it takes a look at the audiovisual media services in Europe which target non-domestic markets. Its findings come from  the European Audiovisual Observatory’s MAVISE TV and VOD database which has just been up-dated with new 2019 data freely accessible on line. MAVISE is a free access database on television channels and on-demand services and licences in 41 European countries and Morocco. The United Kingdom data is included in the report as the reference period is prior to the withdrawal.

Our report finds that, for 2019:

  • 11 418 TV channels were available in the MAVISE territories (41 European countries plus Morocco) and 4 757 of these were local TV channels 
  • 6 420 national and international TV channels were established in the MAVISE territories and 4 657 of these were in the EU, 1 748 in the other European MAVISE territories and 15 in Morocco
  • A total of 5 496 TV broadcasting licences were issued for the 6 420 TV channels established in the MAVISE territories. 3 831 of these licences were issued for the 4 657 TV channels established in the EU28 alone
  • 1 in 5 TV channels established in the MAVISE territories were accessible via digital terrestrial television 
  • Almost 2 out of 3 pay on-demand services established in Europe belonged to the film & TV fiction genre (62%)
  • More than one fifth of all TV channels (21%; n=993) and almost half (47%; n=434) of pay-on-demand services based in the EU28 specifically targeted other EU28 markets in 2019 

Managed by the European Audiovisual Observatory and supported by the Creative Europe programme of the European Union, the MAVISE database is up-dated every year with new facts and figures. It provides individual data for TV channels and video-on-demand services available in Europe including detailed information as regards targeting, ownership and licensing. The customized result lists can be downloaded for free in EXCEL tables.

Strasbourg, France 09 April 2020
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