Brussels, 21/03/2016 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission sent questionnaires in March to Hollywood studios Twentieth Century Fox, Viacom Inc's Paramount Pictures, Walt Disney Co, Time Warner Inc's Warner Brothers unit, Comcast Corp's NBC Universal and Sony Pictures, along with British pay-TV channel Sky, asking them about income received from pay-TV channels compared with income from cinemas, web streaming and DVDs, according to a report by the Bloomberg agency on Wednesday 30 March.
In July 2015, the European Commission sent a statement of objections to Sky UK and the above-mentioned studios (see EUROPE 11365), accusing them of signing bilateral licensing deals with the British company that prevent it from allowing consumers from the rest of the EU to access online or by satellite pay-TV services available in the UK and Ireland. Hearings were held in Brussels on this subject for three days in January (see EUROPE 11470).
Bloomberg says the questionnaires sent in March were seeking information about any agreement entered into between 2012 and 2015 between studios and pay-TV companies or independent distributors that consisted of an upfront contribution for the making of a film in exchange for exclusive territorial rights. It says the Commission also wanted a breakdown of film revenue by distribution stages and details on how long movies play in cinemas in each market. (Original version in French by Elodie Lamer)