Picl, art house films at home on the couch

Value Proposition

Through a streaming platform, Picl makes art-house films accessible to everyone, regardless of time and place. Films are made digitally available simultaneously with their release in cinemas; this is essential to the proposition. For the audience, the threshold to explore art-house films is lowered due to online availability. For cinemas, Picl serves as an additional source of income. Creators benefit as their films reach a wider audience, and they also receive a share of the revenue.

Audience Relationship

Picl targets audiences who rarely or never visit a cinema. People who are too busy with work or family to go to a cinema. Or those who face other barriers, such as the absence of a cinema in their vicinity. Research has shown that time and location are the biggest obstacles for the audience. Cinemas cannot remove these barriers, and digital offerings provide a solution.

Data shows that a Picl user watches more films on average than a regular cinema visitor. The platform attracts a new audience and deepens the relationship with existing cinema fans. Additionally, the online screenings provide valuable audience data, enabling cinemas to better tailor their programming.

Channels

Picl functions as a digital platform and as an extension of the physical cinema. Visitors experience films not via an anonymous streaming channel but through their trusted local cinema. The platform uses a simple pay-per-view model, making it easy to step in. With the launch of a new platform in 2026, technology will become more efficient, and data utilization will become smarter. The goal: scale up further and reach more viewers without losing the local anchoring of cinemas.

Resources and Partners

The platform operates on a shared infrastructure, developed and maintained by external partners. The collective approach is crucial: cinemas share costs, knowledge, and audience data. Partners such as the Film Fund, Digitall, and European subsidies supported the start. Currently, participating cinemas contribute to financing through a subscription and revenue sharing.

Activities

Picl started as a small pilot with six cinemas, grew rapidly during the COVID lockdown, and now has 36 affiliated cinemas. Resistance turned into enthusiasm when it became clear that online and physical offerings reinforce each other. Thanks to innovation projects with HKU and Innovatielabs, the business model was further refined, and audience data was better utilized.

Revenue and Costs

The platform offers stable growth: since 2022, usage has increased annually by 10–15%. Revenues are fairly distributed between cinemas and creators. Although the income per view is lower than a ticket in the theater, the collective provides a structural additional income source and strengthens the position of cinemas in a digital age.

Platform Model

The streaming service Picl is a good example of a digital platform model. It shows that innovation does not come at the expense of physical offerings in cinemas and that digital and physical can coexist perfectly.

Important Tips

• Picl proves that digital film screenings work – provided they are made a structural part of your strategy.
• Time and iteration are crucial, as are sustainable financing and knowledge sharing.
• The platform demonstrates that collective innovation is the key to preserving and expanding the strength of cinemas to a new audience.