Italy is to introduce an obligatory delay between Italian films being screened in cinemas and being shown on streaming services such as Netflix Inc in an effort to protect its domestic film industry.
The law comes after the thorny issue reared its head at this year’s Venice Film Festival, at which several films came from US streaming giants Netflix or Amazon.com Inc, including the festival’s Golden Lion winner Roma.
Mexican director Alfonso Cuaron’s movie was the first by Netflix to win a major festival prize. Thanks to its festival success, it is to start being released in movie theaters around the world on Wednesday and then on Netflix on Dec. 14.
By contrast, France’s Cannes Film Festival opted only to accept films with a guaranteed cinema release, in an effort to protect theaters. French law stipulates that there must be a 36-month interval between when a film is shown in theaters and when it can be shown by a streaming or subscription video-on-demand service.
The result is that streaming producers have to wait 36-months before being able to show their films on their own platform, if they also show them in cinemas.
As a result, the Venice festival drew several famous directors with made-for-streaming products, including the Coen brothers, Paul Greengrass and Cuaron, who could not compete at Cannes, drawing ire from many in Italy’s film industry.
They slammed what they saw as an attack on movie theaters, saying that any festival winner should be available to a broader public, not just Netflix subscribers.
The Italian film industry appealed to Italian Minister of Culture Alberto Bonisoli to rule on the matter and introduce a law stipulating a “statutory window” between cinema and streaming release.
France’s 36-month stipulation is the strictest in the world, with most other countries deciding for themselves, or allowing studios, producers and broadcasters to negotiate on a case-by-case basis.
Bonisoli, from the anti-establishment Five Star Movement, this week announced the new law, already billed as “anti-Netflix” by Italian media, which requires all Italian-made films to be shown in cinemas before they are streamed.
The law enshrines the current practice of a 105-day delay and adds some flexibility, as the delay can be slashed to 60 days for films shown in fewer than 80 cinemas or viewed by fewer than 50,000 people in the first three weeks.
“With this decree, we are pushing some films to go directly, or more rapidly, toward easier commercialization,” Bonisoli said.
At the same time “it’s important to protect theaters, which to keep operating need movies that can guarantee an income.”
The head of Italian show business association AGIS, Carlo Fontana, said the new law protects against “unfair competition [from streaming services], which could have created a dangerous short-circuit.”
“Streaming giants such as Netflix make a lot of money in Italy without creating any jobs, while their [budget] policy is far from transparent,” Francesco Rutelli, a former mayor of Rome who presides over Italian cinema and audiovisual association ANICA.
He told the Il Messagero newspaper: “Blocking the path of Netflix or other platforms, which will only increase in numbers, is as illusory as it is useless.”
TECH PARTNERSHIP: The deal with Arizona-based Amkor would provide TSMC with advanced packing and test capacities, a requirement to serve US customers Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) is collaborating with Amkor Technology Inc to provide local advanced packaging and test capacities in Arizona to address customer requirements for geographical flexibility in chip manufacturing. As part of the agreement, TSMC, the world’s biggest contract chipmaker, would contract turnkey advanced packaging and test services from Amkor at their planned facility in Peoria, Arizona, a joint statement released yesterday said. TSMC would leverage these services to support its customers, particularly those using TSMC’s advanced wafer fabrication facilities in Phoenix, Arizona, it said. The companies would jointly define the specific packaging technologies, such as TSMC’s Integrated
China’s economic planning agency yesterday outlined details of measures aimed at boosting the economy, but refrained from major spending initiatives. The piecemeal nature of the plans announced yesterday appeared to disappoint investors who were hoping for bolder moves, and the Shanghai Composite Index gave up a 10 percent initial gain as markets reopened after a weeklong holiday to end 4.59 percent higher, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index dived 9.41 percent. Chinese National Development and Reform Commission Chairman Zheng Shanjie (鄭珊潔) said the government would frontload 100 billion yuan (US$14.2 billion) in spending from the government’s budget for next year in addition
Sales RecORD: Hon Hai’s consolidated sales rose by about 20 percent last quarter, while Largan, another Apple supplier, saw quarterly sales increase by 17 percent IPhone assembler Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) on Saturday reported its highest-ever quarterly sales for the third quarter on the back of solid global demand for artificial intelligence (AI) servers. Hon Hai, also known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團) globally, said it posted NT$1.85 trillion (US$57.93 billion) in consolidated sales in the July-to-September quarter, up 19.46 percent from the previous quarter and up 20.15 percent from a year earlier. The figure beat the previous third-quarter high of NT$1.74 trillion recorded in 2022, company data showed. Due to rising demand for AI, Hon Hai said its cloud and networking division enjoyed strong sales
Protectionism: US trade chief Katherine Tai said the hikes would help to counter unfair trade practices from China, while boosting domestic clean energy investments US Trade Representative Katherine Tai (戴琪) defended stiff tariff hikes against countries such as China, saying that paired with investment, they were a “legitimate and constructive” tool for reinvigorating domestic industries. Tai’s comments come a week after sharp tariff increases on Chinese electric vehicles (EVs), EV batteries and solar cells took effect — with levies down the line on other products also recently finalized. The latest moves targeting US$18 billion in Chinese goods come weeks before next month’s US presidential election, with Democrats and Republicans pushing a hard line on China as competition between Washington and Beijing intensifies. In an interview on Thursday
RSS