They just do it different in France... (I'm talking about TV)
A few weeks back French broadcaster TF1 announced a deal with Netflix for carriage of its live linear broadcasts, along with on-demand library access. Well, they weren’t the only French broadcaster to be seeking carriage through a partnership with an international streaming platform.
France Télévisions, the French public broadcaster, has signed a deal to deliver
All Prime Video members in France can now access linear channels France 2, France 3, France 4, France 5, and France Info, along with on-demand content. It brings sport events to Prime that includes the Tour de France, the Women’s Euro, and the Women’s Rugby World Cup.
You might be wondering “What about France 1”? My understanding is that there is no France 1, with France 2 being the primary channel that France Télévisions operates. Yes, there is a lot about the French that we could never hope to understand.
Unlike the Netflix TF1 deal, this will require customers to pay a subscription fee, in the same way Prime Video users can subscribe to, say, Max or MGM+ through its platform. France Télévisions already operates the subscription service france.tv, which is what is being added to Prime.
TV broadcasters are feeling tension globally. It is interesting to me that with two major deals, it seems as though French broadcasters are all happy to get in bed with large, international streaming competitors. It seems a safe way to maintain a local brand identity without being subsumed entirely. TF1’s tie-up with Netflix feels like more of a sure-thing than a subscription add-on via Prime Video - the deeper partner integration aspect of it is clearly more of a substantial move.
Quote of the Day
I adore Embeth Davidtz. We have all seen her in tons of TV shows and movies over the years. Notably for me, it was her role as Lane Price’s suffering wife in Mad Men, but her filmography is extensive.
She has just made her first movie, a low-budget indie filmed for $1.4m: Don’t Let’s Go To The Dogs Tonight. It feels like that is a film title in need of a comma.
Here she is talking about taking a role in a never-released TV series, which she took purely to fund part of her movie. The quote is a reminder that jobbing actors are just that - they don’t have easy access to money.
Proceeding on the movie hinged on a stroke of luck. “I took a Starz Network job [‘The Venery of Samantha Bird’],” she said. “It was a good, well-written pilot, which was then going to be an eight-part series, and we got most of the way through it. Then they got in trouble with the writing, and they fired the showrunner, and then the strike happened. I took that job because I said, ‘Whatever I make on this is going to hire me the DP and the camera package that I want.’ That job that I shot in the five months, went away. They were not airing it because it didn’t get finished. It wasn’t very good, but I got the money. So [the financing] was cobbled together.”
Read more: Indiewire
Dick Cavett visits the Criterion Closet?
I was tickled to find Dick Cavett offering his picks in the Criterion Closet in a new video posted earlier today. The 88 year-old legendary talk show host has some great asides in this.
News Desk
I’m not sure what is more embarrassing: Sex & The City sequel series And Just Like That killing off a character’s father twice in one series, or admitting that you are watching the show closely enough to have noticed. Read: THR
Denis Villeneuve is shooting Dune Messiah entirely with IMAX cameras - only the second film to shoot completely with the tech, the first being Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey. Read: Dark Horizons
Are we all tired of the Mushroom Lady trial yet? If you still have a bit of juice in you, here’s a good chat with Nine News boss Hugh Nailon about the Nine coverage of it yesterday. Read: Mediaweek
Weird - ABC TV in Australia has replaced Q+A with Planet America - it’s cheaply-filmed show covering the week in US politics. Surely there’s a better use for that timeslot… Read: Mediaweek
Demascus, a show dumped by AMC before release in a cost-saving effort, has been saved. It’ll debut as a Tubi original. Read: Deadline
There’s panic in the streets in the UK this week with Eastenders scheduled episodes thrown into chaos thanks to the BBC's broadcast of Wimbledon and the women's Euros. The good news is that impacted episodes will be on iPlayer at 6pm as always. Keep calm and carry on. Read: Radio Times
Netflix says that 50% of its global users now watch anime. That figure just seems a little high to me. Read: THR
New 52 storylines Trinity War and Forever Evil will form the basis for new mobile game DC Worlds Collide. Read: Polygon
Trailer Park
Alice in Borderland returns to Netflix for season 3 Sept 25.
My Life with The Walter Boys returns to Netflix for season 2 on August 28.
The Sandman season 2, volume 2 debuts on Netflix July 24.
She Said Maybe debuts on Netflix Sept 19
From Hamburg to Istanbul. One journey, two worlds, and a decision that changes everything.
That’s the newsletter for today.
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There is no France1 because there is TF1! The numbers refer to the channels (original) position on the dial...