New measures to help the audiovisual industry deal with the COVID-19 crisis

In line with the package of measures being implemented to deal with the economic and social impact of the COVID-19 crisis and, in particular, with the measures approved by Royal Decree Law 17/2020, of May 5, to support the cinematography and audiovisual arts sector, Order CUD/807/2020, of August 27 (the “Order”), extending the period a movie released through certain audiovisual communication or program catalog services can be considered a commercial release, was published in the Official Gazette of the Spanish State yesterday.

Among other supporting and tax measures, that Royal Decree had adapted the temporary definition of “commercial release” of movies, allowing releases through the communication services mentioned above to be regarded as commercial releases without losing their motion picture status (as described in the applicable regulations) until August 31, 2020.

Given the apparent delay in the return to normal for cinemas (not all are open to the public, the obvious capacity restrictions and people’s potential reluctance to return) and its consequences for the motion pictures distribution strategy, the order extends the period to be considered a commercial release through the  audiovisual communication or program catalog services (again, without losing the status as such) until January 31, 2021.

The order came into effect the day it was published in the Official Gazette of the Spanish State, and we await the new measures that may eventually be adopted to prevent the economic slowdown from significantly affecting audiovisual production companies. We will keep you updated in this blog.

Authors: Ana Sánchez and Jorge Monclús