Right for films on sky cinema

[Anonymous]

Hello, I am trying to speak to the right person to gain permission to show a film on Sky Cinema at our local cafe to riase money for charity. I am struggling to confirm if I am allowed to do this and who I need to get permission from? The film is an Australian film called The Dry

[GD1]

@Anonymous  If the film is on DVD/BluRay then Sky has nothing to do with that.

Best place to start is here https://www.gov.uk/showing-films-in-public

Having Sky TV under a domestic subscription would prevent you showing any films to the public and most certainly you couldn't use your subscription anywhere else but your registered address you may need to go down the route in the link posted above.

[Anonymous]

@GD1 thank you for your message. It is on DVD/Bluray however I thought you still had to get permission from the distributor of the film - in this case Sky Cinema. I just want to do the right thing. 

I have read up on the .gov website and they talk about Filmbank etc. I found the UK distributer for this film (Cornerstone) and they directed me back to Sky Cinema but finding it difficult to speak to someone who knows.

So you think I can show a film in the cafe if it has gone to DVD without permission?

[GD1]

@Anonymous  Sky are not a distributor, they a broadcaster and pay the studios for the rights to air the films. 

Distributors are seperate. I'm not sure why the distributor seems to think it's a Sky issue unless you mentioned you wanted to air it directly from Sky cinema? Or they assumed that because you may have mentioned Sky cinema they are referring you back to them.

As already advised you couldn't air it publicly  even if you have Sky cinema subscription as the T & C's of that subscription explicitly forbid that and it is only for use at your registered home address.

As DVD's are for home also any use any public displaying would need to be licensed so you would need to go back to the distributor and explain you have the DVD and it has nothing to do with Sky Cinema.

[d2h]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Hello, I am trying to speak to the right person to gain permission to show a film on Sky Cinema at our local cafe to riase money for charity. I am struggling to confirm if I am allowed to do this and who I need to get permission from? The film is an Australian film called The Dry

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This question pops up quite often. 

You would need to get permission from the distributor for a Single Title Licence. You'll most likely find the title listed on https://www.filmbankmedia.com/licences/stsl/ or https://www.themplc.co.uk/page/single-title-movie-licence. 

If you intended an event to be held for profit, you'd also need to licence your venue by speaking to the local authority. 

[nolte]

Hi Charlie, 

This is more a customer to customer forum

Maybe try contacting sky business through https://skyforbusiness.sky.com/sb/portal/business/uk/terms_and_conditions/contact_us

[d2h]

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@nolte wrote:

Hi Charlie, 

This is more a customer to customer forum

Maybe try contacting sky business through https://skyforbusiness.sky.com/sb/portal/business/uk/terms_and_conditions/contact_us

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Sky have no authority to allow public screenings as their service is for domestic use only. 

Contacting Sky in any capacity will result in the person being advised to seek permission from the rights holder - usually the distributor for the territory in question. 

[nolte]

@d2h as "the dry" (the film mentioned by the opening poster) was branded as a "sky original" in the uk, would that mean they are the distributor in UK?

As it was a sky original in the UK, could that be cornerstone directed the original poster to contact sky?

[d2h]

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@nolte wrote:

@d2h as "the dry" (the film mentioned by the opening poster) was branded as a "sky original" in the uk, would that mean they are the distributor in UK?

As it was a sky original in the UK, could that be cornerstone directed the original poster to contact sky?

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It's an interesting question. A 'Sky Original', for the most part, is just a third-party movie that Sky has purchased the exclusive rights to within their service area - as a way of keeping a pipeline of releases coming through for Sky Cinema. Those rights are purchased from the distributor. 

Even though Sky has exclusive broadcast rights to exploit on TV, streaming etc., they aren't the distributor and couldn't provide the approval needed for somebody to broadcast a film in a public venue. 

[Plektrum]

Deleted as already answered by an earlier post. 

[Plektrum]

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@d2h wrote:

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@nolte wrote:

@d2h as "the dry" (the film mentioned by the opening poster) was branded as a "sky original" in the uk, would that mean they are the distributor in UK?

As it was a sky original in the UK, could that be cornerstone directed the original poster to contact sky?

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It's an interesting question. A 'Sky Original', for the most part, is just a third-party movie that Sky has purchased the exclusive rights to within their service area - as a way of keeping a pipeline of releases coming through for Sky Cinema. Those rights are purchased from the distributor. 

Even though Sky has exclusive broadcast rights to exploit on TV, streaming etc., they aren't the distributor and couldn't provide the approval needed for somebody to broadcast a film in a public venue. 

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Not entirely correct as in a lot of cases with these original movies Sky are usually aquiring a territory outright... In most cases these are indie films that are being sold or pre-sold globally by the production entity behind it or more commonly by a sales agent on behalf of them  (someone like Beta Film, Rocket Science or Filmnation for example) and usually when Sky are buying the territory outright (for what is known as a term)that would usually mean Pay tv/streaming (which is their primary strategy) but they will likely acquire all other rights such as home video, transational sales, theatrical and free tv as well during that term... in the majority of cases they are the distributor of the film as they usually own all rights to that the territory - The Dry hasn't had any other release outside of Sky by another party so I would imagine they retain the UK for that title. 

(There are all sorts of deviations from that I should say (Unhinged is an Altitude title for theatrical & video and Antebellum was acquired from Lionsgate in the UK but they still handle the home video release) and I doubt you could cover every commercial scenario but by and large, Sky are the UK distrubutors of these titles)

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Hello, I am trying to speak to the right person to gain permission to show a film on Sky Cinema at our local cafe to [raise] money for charity. I am struggling to confirm if I am allowed to do this and who I need to get permission from? The film is an Australian film called The Dry

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Hi, I don't think I or anyone here can give you a definitive answer. However, you should consult the Motion Picture Licensing Company at themplc.co.uk or mplc.ie. From the outset, they look like they consult with rights holders on your behalf.