Posted on Nov 12, 2021, 6:36 PM
The competitors of Canal Plus, but also some of its partners, only moderately tasted the attitude of the encrypted channel during the confinement of March 2020. At the time, several sports competitions had been canceled, forcing the broadcasters to jostle their programs.
This is the case with Eurosport, which receives around 40 million euros each year from Canal Plus as part of a distribution agreement. Problem: deprived of the promised content, the Vivendi subsidiary has unilaterally decided not to honor part of its commitments.
In January, Eurosport thus sued Canal Plus before the Paris Court of Justice. The case is still at the preliminary stage, and a “pre-trial” hearing (which will not cover the merits) is scheduled for January 2022, the court was told.
Already a dispute with TF1 and France Télévisions
In court, the Discovery subsidiary is demanding reimbursement of unpaid amounts, and the payment of damages for unfair competition. All for a total of 10 million euros.
When questioned, Canal Plus did not respond while Eurosport put the scope of this dispute into perspective. “Discovery and CANAL + are long-standing partners,” says one on the side of Eurosport. “It is in this momentum that the agreement between Eurosport and CANAL + was renewed in 2020 on a non-exclusive basis. Discussions following this agreement, like the previous one, are specific to both parties and are not intended to be shared. “
This case recalls the dispute between Canal Plus, TF1 and France Télévisions, also relating to the period of confinement. Vivendi’s subsidiary is accused of having betrayed the media chronology agreement during this period, with its competitors claiming about 40 million euros.