Joint pay-TV venture between Orange, Canal + raises concerns
The Film Organisation Liaison Office (BLOC) has sounded the alarm and is asking for guarantees with regard to Orange and Canal +’s announced plan to create a joint venture by the end of 2011. This would involve taking over the Orange Cinéma Séries package (495,000 subscribers) and merging Orange Ciné Max and TPS Star (600,000 subscribers).
The joint pay-TV channel called Orange Ciné Star would be broadcast on pay-TNT on the maximum number of possible platforms. The four other Orange Cinéma Séries channels would continue to be available on the different platforms. The plan must now be examined by the competition authorities.
BLOC (which includes, among others, the Film Producers Association, United European Independent Distributors, the Independent Producers Union and the Society of Film Directors) draws attention to the "lack of guarantees against the risks of forming an acquisition monopoly in pay-TV, of reinforcing the self-provision of the channels in question to the detriment of independent production and distribution, and of reducing the channels’ investment in cinematic works through pre-acquisitions and acquisitions."
Even though Canal + and Orange have pledged to honour their obligations to French cinema to the end, BLOC has condemned "this disastrous announcement for film creation and the diversity of films on offer, a €60m reduction in programme costs for the channels in question and a lack of future commitment to the obligations undertaken by the two groups vis-à-vis film creation."
Currently, TPS Star’s total investment amounts to €80m per year, while Orange Cinéma Séries invests €100m.
(Translated from French)
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