French distributor body SEDPA allies with producers in reply to TV-streamer partnerships

SERIES MANIA: France’s distribution trade body Syndicat des Entreprises de Distribution de Programmes Audiovisuels (SEDPA) has forged an alliance with two of the country’s producer unions.

Iris Bucher

SEDPA has joined the Union Syndicale de la Production Audiovisuelle (USPA) and AnimFrance’s newly renamed body the Federation of Audiovisual Producers and Distributors (FPDA). The aim is to “pursue a strategy of strengthening the producer-distributor partnership, essential in the current context,” according to a joint announcement.

The FDPA was previously known as the Confédération des Producteurs Audiovisuels.

Iris Bucher, CEO and producer at Quad Drama (Vortex, Women at War, Skin Deep, Summer of ’36) and president of USPA, said: “We created a federation, the three of us, to be stronger together because the issues we share are common issues. We have to be smart and find new business models.”

Bucher was speaking about the partnership at Series Mania this week during a session entitled How Can Distributors Stay Relevant When Broadcasters Platforms Forge Alliances?.

The link-up comes in the wake of two significant strategic alliances announced last summer between public broadcaster France Télévisions and Amazon, and French commercial broadcaster TF1 and Netflix.

The former pact, dubbed “historic” at the time of the announcement in July, means Prime Video in France can carry streaming service france.tv.

The TF1/Netflix deal, which is due to launch this summer, was described as “unprecedented.” It will mean the streamer is able to carry content from TF1’s live TV channels and streaming app TF1+ and marks the first time Netflix will deliver live 24/7 channels.

But the alliances, which are part of a wider trend worldwide in which broadcasters are collaborating with streamers they once viewed as competitors, have caused alarm among producers and distributors in France. They are worried about the impact on revenue models that rely on windowing rights, but also because they reduce the number of doors a producer can knock on to get a show greenlit.

“If you want to do a co-financing [deal] with Disney for a TF1 show, Disney wouldn’t want to come anymore because they will know that at one point the whole show will be on Netflix,” said Bucher.

It is not just French producers and distributors who are voicing concerns about the trend for broadcaster and streamer alliances.

Last month, Louise Pedersen, CEO of All3Media International, told C21 such deals are disadvantaging distributors, who are being prevented from exploiting rights they have paid for.

In the UK, ITV and Disney+ entered into a “first-of-its-kind” strategic relationship last summer under which a selection of titles from each is curated on the other’s service, under the brands Taste of ITVX on Disney+ and Taste of Disney+ on ITVX.

USPA, which was created in 1960, represents independent television producers in France. AnimFrance is the primary professional union representing the country’s animation production sector across audiovisual content and film.

The FDPA is the new name for the Confédération des Producteurs Audiovisuels.