The Canal+ group confirmed this Friday, during its general meeting, the end of the broadcasting of its four pay channels on digital terrestrial television. A strategic decision motivated primarily by economic considerations: the withdrawal will allow the audiovisual group to achieve approximately 20 million euros in annual savings, according to its leaders.
"We made the choice to abandon pay-TV – that was yesterday – to make savings, with a very positive impact for Canal+ from an economic point of view.", said Maxime Saada, chairman of the board of Canal+. This decision concerns the Canal+, Canal+ Cinema, Canal+ Sport and Planète+ channels, which were accessible via a TNT subscription.
La Financial Director Amandine Ferré clarified that the "fixed costs" broadcasting on DTT represented around 5 million euros per year per channelA charge that is increasingly difficult to justify, while the number of subscribers using this technology is in sharp decline. "Pay-TV is in sharp decline. We therefore preferred to support the migration of these subscribers to other platforms.", she explained, citing in particular internet boxes, OTT offers and satellite.
A reorganization of the audiovisual landscape
The withdrawal of Canal+ channels is also part of a tense regulatory contextLast December, the group announced that it would not renew the TNT frequency of its free channel. C8, evoking “an increasingly restrictive tax and regulatory environment”Since June 7, channel 4, formerly occupied by Canal+, has been taken over by France 4, as part of a numbering overhaul decided by theArcom, the audiovisual regulator.
This redistribution of channels is part of a broader desire to rebalance the free DTT offer and to better reflect the habits of viewers, who are increasingly focused on on-demand consumption and digital platforms.
Tax disputes and concessions
Canal+ took advantage of its general meeting to take stock of its ongoing disputes with the French StateThe group announced that it has concluded an agreement with the National Cinema Center, ending a long-running dispute over the calculation of the television services tax, which finances film production. This agreement allows Canal+ to avoid a payment of nearly 90 million euros for the years 2020 to 2023.
On the other hand, a another major dispute remains, concerning the VAT rate applicable to its offers (10% or 20%). According to Ms. Ferré, this dispute with the tax authorities represents a risk of 655 million that holds the top spot. " We are actively in dialogue with the tax authorities to find a solution as quickly as possible.", she said.
A strategic shift towards digital
The withdrawal of DTT is part of a broader strategy of digital transformation of the group, which is now banking on streaming, subscriptions via telecom operators, and international partnerships, particularly in Africa, Central Europe, and Asia.
With more than 26 million subscribers worldwide According to its latest figures, the Canal+ group, a subsidiary of Vivendi, is accelerating its transformation to remain competitive against giants such as Netflix, Amazon PrimeVideo ou Disney +DTT is gradually becoming a marginal channel in this global audiovisual battle.
