Democratising access to domestic audiovisual production in the digital environment: the case of the Argentinian VOD service Cine.Ar Play

• Published in: International journal of cultural policy : CP Vol. 30; no. 3; pp. 325 - 340
• Main Authors: Albornoz, Luis A., Krakowiak, Fernando
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Abingdon Routledge 15.04.2024; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: Access; Argentina; audiovisual policy; Cine.Ar Play; Democratization; Dissemination; Exploitation; INCAA; Motion pictures; Production; Public policy; Telecommunications; VOD services
• ISSN: 1028-6632; 1477-2833
• DOI: 10.1080/10286632.2023.2195421

This article analyses the case of Cine.Ar Play, an Argentinian video-on-demand service (VOD) launched in 2015 by the National Institute of Cinema and Audiovisual Arts (INCAA) with the support of the state-owned telecommunications company ARSAT. Cine.Ar Play expresses the will to democratise access to domestic audiovisual production, intervening in the distribution and dissemination phase. This VOD service is particularly relevant in a country with a considerable territorial extension and a high volume of domestic films that do not find adequate conditions for their commercial exploitation. Two elements stand out in the case of Cine.Ar Play: its insertion in a public policy led by the INCAA, whose aim is to guarantee the circulation of works produced in the country, and the implementation of a particular mechanism that serves to nurture the service's catalogue by linking public funding for new film projects with the temporary and non-exclusive transfer of exhibition rights. Six years after its launch, the service has more than two million users and has a catalogue of more than 3,300 titles.