Digital cinema:a tale of two worlds?

Obhi ChatterjeeState aid - Information, communication & media

Competition Directorate-GeneralEuropean Commission

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times,it was the age of foolishness, it was the age of wisdom,it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity,it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness,it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair,we had everything before us, we had nothing before us,we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way ....”

Charles Dickens - A tale of two cities (1859)

“Era il tempo migliore e il tempo peggiore,l'età della follia e l'età della saggezza,l'epoca della fede e l'epoca dell'incredulità,la stagione della Luce e la stagione delle Tenebre,la primavera della speranza e l'inverno della disperazione,avevamo tutto davanti a noi e non avevamo nulla davanti a noi,eravamo tutti diretti al Cielo ed eravamo tutti diretti dall'altra parte....”

Charles Dickens - Le due città (1859)

Commission doubts – State aid

•Necessity?

•Proportionality?

•Adequacy?

•Economic, social and cultural impact?

Commission doubts about Italy’s proposed digital cinema

tax credit•€100,000 per screen?

•Microcinema digital circuit?

•Main beneficiaries of proposed aid multiplexes?

•Could the aid undermine commercial models?

•Would the 91% of Italy’s cinemas which have 1-4 screens have enough taxable income to benefit from the tax credit?

Commission consultation about Italy’s digital cinema tax

credit

•Consultation: http://ec.europa.eu/competition/consultations/2009_digital_cinema/index.html

•e-mail: stateaidgreffe@ec.europa.eu

EU cinema screensSource: 2007 data from the ThinkTank on European Film and Film Policy

EU cinemasSource: 2007 data from the ThinkTank on European Film and Film Policy

EU cinemasSource: 2007 data from the ThinkTank on European Film and Film Policy

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times,it was the age of foolishness, it was the age of wisdom,it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity,it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness,it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair,we had everything before us, we had nothing before us,we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way ....”

Charles Dickens - A tale of two cities (1859)

“Era il tempo migliore e il tempo peggiore,l'età della follia e l'età della saggezza,l'epoca della fede e l'epoca dell'incredulità,la stagione della Luce e la stagione delle Tenebre,la primavera della speranza e l'inverno della disperazione,avevamo tutto davanti a noi e non avevamo nulla davanti a noi,eravamo tutti diretti al Cielo ed eravamo tutti diretti dall'altra parte....”

Charles Dickens - Le due città (1859)