Sarah Calderon Speaks About New Video Distribution Models

Worldwide day-and-date releases surged from 60 in 2012 to 233 in 2013, The Film Agency CEO Sarah Calderon said in a Locarno Fest master class, Classic & Alternative Distribution, citing a E.U. Media Program report, Circulation of Films in the Digital Era.

At Locarno for Puentes, the Europe-Latin America co-pro training facility, Calderon’s spoke on the first of Locarno’s three Industry Days, running Aug. 8-10.

The U.S drive the spike, with D & D releases soaring from just 46 to 166 in 2013, a year later. In Europe, in the biggest sign of a day-and-date push, though more reluctant, in U.K. synched bows climbed from 2012’s 5 to 28 in 2013.

Calderon, CEO at the The Film Agency, a Madrid-based, marketing consultancy, both traditional and emerging new online models have pros and cons.

Classic distribution – via a sales agents and distributors – works like a filtered intermediary market that imposes exclusivity, territoriality and a window chronology: Release in theatrical, then DVD, VOD, pay TV and free TV.

System observes “exclusivity, territoriality and chronology: three words that Internet hates,” Calderon said.

New arena offer basically three distribution possibilities: online (VOD and straight-to-VOD; mixed models (day-and-date, ultra-VOD, festival-to-Date; event-driven distribution, which rolls off surprise and alternative content and may feature cinema-on-demand.

Hollywood executives have showed large concerns about a transition to alternative this transitional stage. For tentpole movie rights holders, global cinema box office is relatively healthy, rising 1.4% to $36,4 billion in 2014, representing an increase of 15% over 15 years, according to the European Audiovisual Observatory’s 2015 World Film Market Trends report.

However, U.S. attendance dipped, filmgoers buying on average 5.5 tickets in 2014 compared to 5.9 in 2013.

Online consumption is trending upwards. But big VOD platforms refuse to offer data about consumption, which confounds analysis. For the first time, 2013 income from the entire audiovisual sector in Europe has declined –0.4%– and although online video on demand revenues increased 46%, this failed to offset a 4.4% box office drop in 2013, the EAO study said.

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