Canal+ has reached a new agreement with two giants of American cinema, Universal and Sony Pictures, to broadcast their movies just six months after their theatrical release.
The move was announced by Canal+ chairman Maxime Saada during the group’s annual “back to school” press conference.
Netflix , Prime Video and Disney+ must all wait 15 months after the release before they can broadcast the films in the French market. However, it seems likely that they too will push for an earlier window.
Sony Pictures titles include Spider-Man, Jumanji, Men in Black and Ghostbusters while Universal Pictures holds Jurassic Park, Despicable Me, and Fast and Furious.
In January, a new agreement with the French film industry, shortened the first pay-TV window to six months from the previous eight. It also provided for a two-month advance and a two-month extension of the duration of the second pay-TV window, across French, European and international titles.
Separately, Vivendi director Frank Cadoret revealed the MyCanal streaming platform now has 12 million unique visitors per month in France.