New episode in the showdown between the TF1 Group and Canal+. As part of the renewal of the distribution contract between the two parties, the Canal+ Group announced, on Friday September 2, ” to renouncer “ the broadcasting of the TF1 Group’s free channels (TF1, TMC, TFX, TF1 Séries Films and LCI).
“Faced with these unfounded and unreasonable demands for channels which are accessible free of charge for all and which must remain so, the Canal+ Group, a long-standing partner of the TF1 Group, is forced to give up broadcasting these channels in metropolitan France”writes Canal + in a press release.
“Aware of the importance of the FIFA World Cup [20 novembre-18 décembre] for its subscribers, and backed by its partnership with BeIN Sports, which owns all the rights to the competition, the Canal+ Group will be able to offer the entire event to its subscribers.”also insures the subsidiary of Vivendi.
TF1 replied by rejecting, in a press release, the fault on Canal+, which according to him did not “did not wish to conclude a new agreement (…), despite weeks of discussions. We very strongly deplore this situation, which penalizes consumers”we assure TF1, arguing that “agreements have been reached in recent years with all operators”. “The TF1 Group is distributed by all distributors Free, SFR, Bouygues Telecom, Orange, Molotov and Salto”can we read in the press release.
In practice, only households that receive television only via a Canal+ Group satellite subscription (and therefore do not have access to it via a box from another operator or free DTT) will be completely deprived of TF1 channels. According to the latest figures from the Audiovisual and Digital Communication Regulatory Authority (Arcom, ex-CSA), 7% of French households equipped with a television receive television only via satellite. But even if they can watch TF1 channels in another way, this will force Canal+ subscribers to juggle several remote controls.
Previous of 2018
Before the forceps signing of the previous contract at the end of 2018, the discussions between the two groups had turned into a commercial conflict: refusing to pay to be able to broadcast channels otherwise accessible free of charge via DTT, Canal + had decided to cut the broadcast of TF1 for a time. to its subscribers, causing an uproar among some viewers.
This unprecedented showdown within the French audiovisual landscape had dramatically illustrated the rise of operators and other intermediaries in the reception modes of TV channels, to the detriment of DTT (which can be received without any subscription ). This had notably pushed the public authorities to bang their fists on the table, the Superior Council of Audiovisual (CSA, now Arcom) and the government had thus stepped up to the plate by calling on the two groups to agree.
For TF1, charging the operators who until now distributed its programs to their subscribers without compensation is a key element of its strategy and should help it diversify its income. This additional resource is all the more important at a time when the group has to face growing competition from Netflix and others.