France Télévisions, RAI & ZDF Enter Alliance

France Télévisions is joining forces with RAI in Italy and ZDF in Germany to launch a European production pool that will finance series.

Thus far, “The Alliance” consists of the three European pubcasters, with the potential participation of several other public service broadcasters from the region on a project basis: RTVE (Spain), RTBF (Belgium), VRT (Belgium) and RTS (Switzerland).

Members can either carry out co-productions with one or several public partners of The Alliance, or other partners outside The Alliance. The idea behind the pact is to ensure that linear and nonlinear TV rights remain within European pubcasters’ services.

Delphine Ernotte Cunci, CEO of France Télévisions, said: “I think we have to implement one or more SVOD services, but we cannot copycat Netflix’s scheme because it does not fit our European political and economic organization. But I would say that we have the means to create this positive environment whose sole purpose is to foster European creation to very high standards. That’s why I’m fighting, and it’s the right time.”