Maxime Saada, Chairman of the Management Board of the Canal Plus group. – ERIC DESSONS / JDD / SIPA
Maxime Saada, the boss of the Canal + group, is not happy. In an interview with Figaro, he protests against the fact that streaming platforms should be authorized to broadcast films in France 12 months after their release, against 36 months today, and asks to be able to broadcast films on Canal + 3 to 4 months later. their release and thus keep an advantage over Netflix and company.
This reform of the “media chronology” (the order in which films are released on the various exhibition media) is a counterpart envisaged by the government to the obligation to invest in French production which will be imposed on television platforms. streaming, under a European directive.
Otherwise, “everyone will be the loser”
“French cinema is heading straight for disaster”, comments the director of Canal +. According to him, it would be unacceptable for Netflix to find itself aligned on the same film broadcasting schedule as Canal +, 12 months after the theatrical release, while its contribution to financing the cinema will be much less than that of the French group. Who will see his position deteriorate, while he is the number one source of funding for French cinema. “The only viable scheme for Canal + would be to broadcast the films at the end of their theatrical exploitation, or 3 to 4 months after their release,” he says.
Otherwise, “everyone will be the loser,” warns Maxime Saada, who adds that “if our main advantages in terms of cinema are called into question, there will no longer be any reason for our group to invest so much in this area” . The boss of Canal + draws a parallel with the world of football, where the arrival of a new actor, Mediapro, to the detriment of the historic partners of Ligue 1 had turned into a fiasco last year.