[Medianext.MX]

So we can say that there is a reasonable chance that M6 is going to lose?

Well, the plans presented by Six, although well-resourced, don't mean M6 is going to lose the franchise round. M6 is counter-offering with an increase on the production of French content, and boosting its news programming offerings thanks to the use of RTL resources. Additionally, M6 has a large string of sports content which, for them, wouldn't be very good to lose them, especially as the Rugby World Cup is close. To sum it up, M6 is longer-established and has a pretty good reputation by the French population, even if it has often become criticised for its tutti-frutti family-oriented populist remit; it also benefits from RTL's resources, especially since M6 took over the radio networks and has used many of its resources on the TV side (RTL reporters and specialists working on M6's newscasts, Julien Courbet's show airing on the channel and on radio, and RTL2's morning show airing on W9...)

In the other hand, Six's presentation video looks like something made for a digital TNT channel bid, and, although the plans might solve many of M6's existing woes, Niel (even with his vast experience on the telecoms and media side) doesn't have the experience to run a TV channel on its own (even through Mediawan). If Six wins, it will be a big and unexpected surprise, and the biggest realignment on French TV since 2005; however, I'm inclined for a M6 license renewal given its history and its recent improvements thanks to RTL.

[Allanbuzzy]

In the other hand, Six's presentation video looks like something made for a digital TNT channel bid

Yeah, don't know why but the proposals here that Niel is showing kind of stick out to me as trying to replicate the format of what used to be the programming of France 4. Still technically is, if you count Culturebox's diverse range of festival coverage. Not sure if it's going to ideally work in it's early stages, as it'll come across as what happened to Carlton when it had launched, it took them years to produce content people worthwhile remember watching.

[London Lite]

As much as I like M6's virtual studio, I wish they'd get a real set instead of using a refresh of the existing set to use in their bid to keep their license.

I like the proposals of the rival bid, especially expanding their news coverage which would fill a void left by France 3 when they concentrate on the regions with national/international copy from Franceinfo. Not scheduling US imports in prime-time is a bonus.

However I think M6 will keep their slot based on sports rights and maintaining the existing news coverage while increasing home-grown production, even if the output continues to be as mentioned above as "tutti fruitti"

[matthieu1221]

On Europe 1, if M6 is not renewed, and Six chosen instead, the channel could move to W9's current spot instead. In practice, no clue how that would work as they would have to renegotiate the convention for W9 to fit M6's current programming.

Some are saying that Niel has already won by making M6 pledge to increase French programming as it would mean Mediawan get to produce some of the potential new programs.

[Medianext.MX]

Canal+ is beginning a reorganisation process of its cinema channels as it plans to integrate and close its Ciné+ and OCS channels to its main brand. In a press conference prior to the Cesar French cinema awards, Canal+ CEO Maxime Saada announced the launch of Canal+ Box Office and a new strategy for its cinema offering:



[*]Canal+ will continue to premiere films on French TV, six months after its release on theatres
[*]Canal+ Box Office will focus on mainstream films, with emphasis on more recent releases
[*]Canal+ Grand Écran, launched last year, will retain a focus on films well known for its cultural impact and critical recognition
[*]Canal+ Cinéma, with the launch of the new services, will be refocused to air arthouse and international cinema


The merger of the OCS channels into the Canal+ core offering will happen during the summer, with Canal+ Box Office launching in September.

twitter.com 

advanced-television.com 

Canal+ plans new Box Office movie channel | Advanced Television
Canal+ is set to launch a cinema-focused channel, Canal+ Box Office, in Septembe…
  Source: advanced-television.com

[London Lite]

So that will be the end of Ciné+ and OCS on Molotov then? I can't see Molotov offering Canal branded channels on their platform.

[London Lite]

Salto is closing on March 27th.

www.broadbandtvnews.com 

Salto confirms closure date
French streaming platform Salto has announced when it will cease operations. Sha…
  Source: www.broadbandtvnews.com

[Roger Darthwell]

Salto is closing on March 27th.

www.broadbandtvnews.com 

And apparently they also criticised the industry and the government as well........

[DamC]

Canal+ didn't say it was going to close Ciné+, it's not part of their plans at this point. Some people are guessing it will happen down the line but not before a few years.

Canal+ plans to submit their bid to buy OCS to the antitrust regulator before summer but there's no set timeline as to what will happen for now. A closure of the OCS channels and the transfer of the subscriber base towards a new version of Canal's Ciné-Series package (including Ciné+) could happen since they're both around the same price and offer the same type of content. The regulator could force Canal+ to keep the OCS channels running for a few years though.

[Medianext.MX]

Canal+ didn't say it was going to close Ciné+, it's not part of their plans at this point. Some people are guessing it will happen down the line but not before a few years.

Actually, they did say so in 2021, after signing a new deal with French distributors to allow for a reduced 6-month window. No word currently on if this is going to happen very soon.

twitter.com 

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In other news, NRJ Group has bought a large pack of syndicated repeats of Plus belle la vie, increasing their fan base's expectations for a possible revival if Xavier Niel's project to challenge M6 is successful. The pack of repeats, beginning from season 9 up to the final series, will air on Chérie 25 (now largely a passthrough for automated programming, including repeats of true crime shows and other NRJ 12 programming) from March 13, airing a daily marathon of up to 8 episodes (including 2 episodes from recent seasons) every day from 12h45. At least, they are finally giving the channel some kind of use.

www.ozap.com 

"Plus belle la vie" : Chérie 25 rediffuse l'ex-feuilleton phare de France 3 à pa…
Les fans vont crier Hourra !. A partir de ce lundi 13 mars, Chérie 25 diffusera …
  Source: www.ozap.com