tv everywhere_news 21/04/2015 20:33 Page 3
Lord Puttnam urges
windowing rethink
enowned filmmaker Lord
Puttnam has
called for a European
digital single market that
retains scope for
territorial licensing to
boost cultural diversity
and consumer choice
and warned against an
inflexible approach to
release windows.
Puttnam, president of
Film Distributors’
Association (FDA), made his comments
during a keynote address at an FDA
event for the UK film industry in
London.
Puttnam discussed the implications for
the film industry of a digital single market,
R
and shared interest between the Commission
and the film industry than has sometimes
been portrayed, Puttnam suggested that the
entire spectrum of cinema that lies between
the Hollywood blockbuster and the
subsidised local title relies on territorial
licensing.
“Film production and distribution are
two sides of the same business model,
which has an established track record of
delivering choice and cultural diversity to
audiences across Europe and the wider
world. Surely a healthy, vibrant single
market can continue to accommodate a
plurality of release patterns? This is not
discrimination; it’s just common sense.
Surely cultural diversity for Europe’s citizens
must rate for serious consideration alongside
According to Puttnam, there
is nothing in copyright law
to prevent the simultaneous
pan-European, or global,
release of films
the implementation of which is a priority for
the European Commission. Having pointed
out that there may be more common ground
Roku enhances search
options
Entertainment streaming
platform Roku has unveiled
two new ways for viewers
in the United Kingdom and
the Republic of Ireland to
find and discover
streaming entertainment
on their Roku players.
The first feature, ‘Roku
Search’, enables consumers
to search for movies, TV
shows, actors and directors
and view pricing and
availability details across top
streaming channels. The
second feature ‘Roku Feed’
allows consumers to follow
entertainment and get
automatic updates on pricing
8 TV Everywhere
and availability. This feature
is launching with a focus on
‘Movies Coming Soon’ taking
the guessing out of when a
box office hit is available for
streaming, which services
offer the movie or how much
it costs. The company also
introduced a new faster-thanever-before Roku 2 streaming
player.
The new features, and new
player and updated mobile
the theoretical ideal of simultaneous
accessibility,” he argued.
According to Puttnam, there is nothing in
copyright law to prevent the simultaneous
pan-European, or global, release of films and
he welcomed the fact that the film industry
is already reinventing itself for the 21st
century. He suggested that UK independent
film distributors consider exploring further
strategic alliances with fellow independents
in other European markets so that some
films might be brought to European
audiences in more ‘networked’ ways.
With the UK now one of the world’s
biggest e-commerce markets, Puttnam also
encouraged rights-holders to refine their
databases and develop their own direct-toconsumer sales and marketing platforms, as
well as urging more cinema operators to
consider taking positions in the downstream
revenue of films after their initial theatrical
release.
“To any politician or consumer who
harbours the belief that film distributors are
holding stuff back, and not making films
available to the timescales they’d wish, let
me clarify the situation. Film distributors’
crucial ‘ask’ is flexibility, not necessarily a
shorter window per se. And importantly
there’s no evidence to suggest that any such
flexibility cannibalises the interest of
theatrical audiences. So I