The following Op-ed was posted by Variety on February 4:
What Netflix Didn’t Say: Why Promising a 45-Day Theatrical Window Still Doesn’t Answer Some Big Questions
By Michael O’Leary, President and CEO, Cinema United
Amid the increasingly caustic back and forth between Netflix and Paramount over who should own the iconic Warner Bros. studios, principals from Netflix and Warner Bros., were summoned this week before the Senate Judiciary Antitrust Subcommittee to make the case why this transaction should go through.
Congress has no direct authority to approve these types of deals, but they can make their feelings known and that does matter. Much of the hearing focused on Netflix trying to convince the Senate they are not the world’s dominant streamer. Rather they are, effectively, in competition with literally anything you can watch on a screen of any size. Perhaps if theatre owners were to adopt also this conveniently broad definition of “markets” we could act collectively to negotiate better terms for the movies played in our theatres?
Of particular interest to the people that own and operator theatres of all sizes across the United States and around the world are Netflix statement that, “…we will put Warner Bros. movies in theatres with 45-day windows.” This is a marked evolution for the global streamer that not so many months ago had decried the theatre as “outdated.” One suspects that this is in part to ease approval of the pending deal, but also a recognition that movies that start in theatrical do better on subsequent platforms, including Netflix.
But more important than what Netflix said in Washington, DC, is what they have not yet said.
How many “Warner Bros.” movies will be made each year under Netflix’s ownership? Will all those movies be wide releases – 2,000 locations or more? How many “Netflix movies” will Warner Bros. make each year? And how will that impact resources and bandwidth otherwise applied to theatrical movies? Having committed to releasing movies theatrically, will Netflix support those movies financially with strong “See it in Theatres” marketing campaigns? And what happens after the “45-days?” Does Netflix take the movie straight from the theatre to its own platform, skipping the SVOD window completely?
This is a critical question and one that goes to the core of fully supporting theatrical. Exhibition is already feeling the impact of shrinking theatrical windows that rush movies into PVOD in a matter of weeks. The industry, including some studios are starting to realize the harm caused by shorter windows. We believe that the exclusive theatrical window should be AT LEAST 45 days, preferably 60, before it goes to PVOD. It should be even longer for SVOD. The average SVOD window today is 102 days. Should this transaction exacerbate this problem even further by taking movies directly from the theatre to Netflix, it effectively guts the 45-day window that is now being heralded. Our preference would be for the talented movie-making team at Warner Bros. to operate as a free-standing studio. That would be best for theatres and people that love movies on the big screen and probably the entire movie industry. If, however, this iconic studio must once again be sold, it is imperative to get answers to these questions. Sometimes what you don’t hear is as important as what you do.
