17/10/2012 - French film and audiovisual professionals want to continue internet service providers’ contribution to cinematic and audiovisual creation

The Tax on Television Services (TST) set up by France to benefit creation is currently the issue of a tense debate with the European authorities. Channel providers’ (CanalSat, Numéricable, and Internet service providers) contribution to funding French film and audiovisual productions filled up the National Film and Moving Image Centre (CNC)’s coffers with €332m in 2011. To support minister of culture Aurélie Filipetti in her negotiations with the European Commission, professional organisations representing the French film and audiovisual sector (BLOC, BLIC, ARP, UPF, SPI, SACD, SPFA , and USPA) have published a press statement supporting the implementation of a perennial tax based on the turnover of Internet service providers.

“It would be baffling that Internet service providers, who ensure the distribution of audiovisual services, no longer contribute to the funding of creation and cultural diversity. It would be no less baffling that a part of the Commission wish to attack Europe’s most performing system, one that benefits not only French but also European works,” stresses the press release.

"It’s on this principle of contribution structured by public action that our system of shared savings was built,” the French professionals declare. “All distributors of cinematic and audiovisual content contribute to it. All these contributions are redistributed to support the creation, production, distribution of all cinematic and audiovisual works in their diversity. It’s the guarantee of welcoming and integrating each actor in a virtuous system founded on permanent investment. It has constantly proven itself in developing a fabric of equipments, industries, skills, and jobs to serve European territories and regions. It has proven itself in terms of culture, sharing, and social ties for French and European citizens."

The text was signed by the Film Organisations’ Liaison Office (which includes the Film Producers’ Association, independent distributors, the Film Directors’ Society, the French Screenwriters’ Guild, actors, writers, and technicians), the Film Industry Liaison Bureau (which brings together the big film groups from the API, the exhibitors from the FNCF, the Film Distributors’ Federation, the Technical Industry Federation, and the Video Editors’ Syndicate), the Civil Society of Writers-Directors-Producers, the Film Producers’ Union, the Independent Producers’ Syndicate, the Society of Authors and Composers of Dramatic Works, the Animation Film Producers’ Syndicate, and the Audiovisual Production Trade Union.

(Translated from French)