The French video publishers association SEVN welcomes the two-year deal under which films will be available on DVD (and pay-per-view video-on-demand) just four months – in some cases just three months – after their theatrical release, compared with seven and half months under current ‘chronologie des médias’ rules.

When the new legislation was issued, SEVN initially refused to endorse it because it contained restrictive practices regarding promotional activities. However, the video publishers’ lobby was eventually satisfied with guarantees it received from the Director General of the French film funding agency (CNC) to whom they had made representations. Earlier this week, SEVN signed the new draft “feeling it had been heard.”

The original text did not allow publishers to advertise their DVD and Blu-ray titles more than a week before their commercial release. It banned all forms of publicity across all media, thus preventing publishers from using the weekly newspapers and magazines – media support which they can afford.

Furthermore, any publicity for videos would have had to stop four weeks prior to the titles being releases on pay-TV channels. It meant interrupting on-going promotional campaigns of DVD and Blu-ray films that were still in commercial distribution. These clauses no longer figure in the final version of the legislation.

“Publicity is the only means of informing consumers of the existence of an attractive – and legal – offer of video content, and the availability of particular titles,” says SEVN. The industry body also makes the point that the freedom to promote legal titles is the corollary of the measures aimed at fighting illegal online video consumption such as the graduated response contains in the so-called HADOPI law which SEVN members fully support.

Story filed 14.07.09