‘Que le carnage commence !’: French cinema, la chronologie des médias and the rise of the streamers

Abstract

ABSTRACT Since the arrival of Netflix – the world’s dominant Subscription Video on Demand (SVOD) platform – in France in 2014, the French streaming market has undergone considerable growth with significant impact on the wider audiovisual landscape in France. The rise of VOD, and the French film industry’s response to the incursion of the US streamers (especially Netflix) into the French market, therefore have much to tell us about the transformation of France’s distribution and exhibition landscape since the mid-2010s. A significant part of this transformation has been the changes to the chronologie des médias – the French windowing system and a central part of the regulation designed to promote and safeguard the economic sustainability and diversity of the French film industry. This article will analyse the rise of the streamers in France with a particular focus on the impact of Netflix and the consequences of a radically transformed chronologie des médias, as France (Europe’s largest cinematic producer and one of the most mature, tightly regulated national cinemas in the world) fights to maintain its (cultural) specificity and cinematic independence in the wake of a realignment of the media markets at local and global levels.