2024-01-12 18:29:14
By Le Figaro with AFP
Published yesterday at 7:29 p.m., Updated yesterday at 7:38 p.m.
The Canal+ head office, in Issy-les-Moulineaux, in Hauts-de-Seine. JeanLuc Ichard / stock.adobe.com
The group is notably committed to maintaining an OCS/Ciné+ acquisition team, dedicated to the pre-purchase of French films from French producers, separate from that of Canal+.
The Competition Authority authorized on Friday “sous conditions» the acquisition by the audiovisual group Canal+ of OCS, the pay channel bouquet of the telecommunications operator Orange, as well as its film and series co-production subsidiary, according to a press release. Canal+ (Vivendi group) and Orange announced a memorandum of understanding a year ago for this operation. The Authority indicates that it has given the green light, while, “in order to remedy the risks of harm to competition identified, the Canal Plus group has subscribed to commitments aimed in particular at preserving the diversity of the French cinematographic offering».
In fact, the operation would have placed Canal+ “in the position of sole pre-purchaser of recent French films for broadcast in the first paid window“. The group therefore “committed to maintaining an OCS/Ciné+ acquisition team, dedicated to the pre-purchase of first-window paid French films from French producers, distinct from that of Canal+», Specifies the Competition Authority.
Another risk was that “possible limitations on the availability of French films from Orange Studio’s catalog on catch-up television services of free-to-air channels“. To respond to this, Canal+ is committed “not to oppose the transfer of broadcasting rights to a catch-up television service from a free-to-air broadcaster“. These commitments are made for five years and can be reviewed.
Through this acquisition, Canal+ expands its offering and strengthens itself against American platforms, while Orange abandons content creation. OCS, of which Canal+ already owned a third, had accumulated losses since its creation in 2008.
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