Italian distributorassociation ANICA, exhibitor body ANEC and multiplex association ANEM haveagreed to a 15-week window between a film's theatrical and DVD release.

The formal agreement settlesa row over windows sparked earlier this month when Universal Pictures decidedto release Miami Vice on DVD just two months after its theatrical outing here.

Exhibitors were irate and thefilm was pulled from most cinemas.

Universal gave in to theuproar and pushed the December DVD releaseback to January.

While exhibitors and distributors concur that the windows agreement is preferable, they left room for "flexibility in specific cases," confirming a shared "desire for a 15-week window between theatrical and any other form of audiovisual release."

The associations specified that windows are "an essential element for the stability, importance and economics of the theatrical market."