A Paris court has ordered Canal+ Group to pay TF1 Group €1.66 million in a dispute over the screening of movies in the clear at the height of the Covid 19 lockdown.Canal broadcast the unencrypted movies between March 16 and 31, 2020, a move that angered broadcasters and cinema owners alike.TF1 claimed Canal had violated its exclusive broadcasting agreement for the clear transmission of six movies to which it held the free-TV rights, when the titles should have been encrypted, and only made available to its subscribers.The chronology of the windows system makes it clear as to when a broadcaster can screen a movie, and this is particularly important in the French market where broadcasters such as Canal+ are obliged to invest millions into local language production.In handing down its judgement the court ordered Canal pay TF1, Télé Monte-Carlo, TFX and TF1 Films Production €739,062 in respect of the depreciartion of their rights – 20% of the purchase price of the broadcasting rights for a first window, and 5% of the purchase price subsequent broadcast rights. €681,000 should be paid for losses relating to the screening of Avengers Endgame.An additional 100,000 was deemed payable to TF1 Group and €20,000 to each of TF1, TMC, TFX, TF1 Séries Films, LCI, TF1 Films Productions and GIE TF1 who were all named in the case.The group initially requested €3.311 million in compensation.
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