Hollywood's major studios have changed their plan to promote the digitization of cinemas in Europe to the European Commission's suspicion that he might constitute a violation of antitrust law by damaging the independent distributors.
"I'm pleased that Hollywood studios have considered our legitimate concerns and amended contracts so that movie lovers can see U.S. successes but also low-budget films and art films with the latest technology", said Competition Commissioner, Joaquin Almunia in Spanish, in a press release.
Following the changes in contracts with intermediaries studies and exhibitors to promote the digitization, the EU executive announced today that it has completed the preliminary investigation was opened against the American majors.
Before the changes now, the major Hollywood studios had been exported to Europe, the model used in the United States to encourage the costly installation of digital projection systems, which allows distributors (including trials) and the theaters themselves to share costs .
Through this system, a pre-paid middleman equipment installation and distributors are returning most of the costs in stages, with a payment each time a digital movie projected on film. Thus, the payment to the Board concerned to do is reduced.
However, the Commission had begun to study the contract between Hollywood studios and brokers, after finding that many of these agreements grant benefits to these producers.
The changes proposed by the major American distributors doubts have been cleared earlier by the Commission, considering that these contracts could hinder the signing of agreements between brokers and distributors of independent films and arthouse.
The European Commission estimates that about 18,000 rooms, about 50% of European screens, will move to digital technology by the end of 2012.
