Vivendi’s Multi-Fined French C8 Channel Loses Terrestrial Frequency

Controversial French free-to-air channel C8, a subsidiary of Vivendi’s Canal Plus Group, is ready to lose its TNT frequency, following a bombshell choice by France’s Arcom audiovisual and digital communication authority.

The physique is within the means of renewing the 15 licenses for France’s terrestrial frequencies and has been auditioning present frequency holders and new candidates for the reason that spring forward of a call.

There have been questions over whether or not C8 would retain its frequency for a while.

C8, which is house to the controversial populist presenter Cyril Hanouna and his provocative chat present Touche pas à mon poste, has racked up near $8.2 M (€7.6M) in Arcom fines on numerous counts of lack of honesty and political plurality in recent times.

French deputy Sophie Taillé-Polian, a member of the left-wing and ecologist Génération.s celebration, launched a marketing campaign in February for C8 and its equally controversial sister channel CNews to be stripped of their frequencies, citing sanctions in opposition to the channels for “disinformation, racism, sexism, incitement to hate, non respect of pluralism and lack of honesty.”

C8 was amongst two present frequency holders, alongside NRJ12, lacking from a listing of preselected candidate channels introduced by Arcom on Wednesday.

The choice doesn’t imply the tip of both channel however it would dent their audiences, with an estimated 20% of the French viewers nonetheless accessing TV by way of terrestrial channels.

CNews, which is also known as France’s Fox Information, has retained its frequency and is on the preselection listing.

Two new channels have secured a frequency, regional community Ouest-France TV’s OF TV and Réels TV, backed by Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky’s CMI group.

In a presentation in mid-July, CMI France President Denis Olivennes mentioned Réels TV can be a generalist channel on which 50% of the content material can be documentary, with discuss exhibits and leisure taking making up one other 25% every.

Arcom mentioned in a observe accompanying the preselection listing that its choice had been taken in “the curiosity of every venture for the general public with regard to the precedence crucial of pluralism of socio-cultural currents of expression.”

The physique mentioned that 25 candidates made purposes for a frequency. The prevailing frequency mandates finish in 2025.

The Full-Checklist Of Pre-Chosen Channels: