Canal+ drops Canalsat brand in French overhaul

Canal+ Group is revamping its domestic French pay TV offering, retiring the Canalsat brand used for its wider DTH service and integrating its premium pay TV channels with the former Canalsat service under the Canal brand.

The new offering, which will be launched on November 15, will comprise a simplified service integrating the Canal+ channels with the thematic channel offering for the first time.

The flagship Canal+ channel will serve as the point of entry for subscribers to the Canal pay TV platform. Customers will have the option to add on thematic packages Les Chaînes Ciné Séries, Les Chaînes Sport and Les Chaînes Canal+.

Ciné Séries subscribers will also have access to the Canalplay SVOD offering.

The overall Canal offering will include access to over 6,000 films and 300 series as well as Canal+’s sports services, including France’s Ligue 1 and Champions League football.

Programmes will be available on-demand via the myCanal app, which is included in the packages of all Canal subscribers and will soon be available on the Apple TV platform for the first time.

For the first time, all packages will be available with or without a long-term commitment in a move designed to attract younger subscribers. The no-commitment version of the service will be available on PCs, tablets and smarthphones and includes all the pacages of the Canal offering, live or on-demand.

Pricing for Canal ranges from €19.90 (US$22) to €99 depending on the services taken.

The revamp follows the launch by Orange of its bundled offering including Canal+ channels. Canal+ has struck strategic partnership deals with both Orange and Free to include its services as part of a triple-play bundle from these operators for the first time.

The pay TV operator said that the latest move would considerably advance its goal of enlarging the number of subscribers that take the service. This follows a period when Canal+ has seen its pay TV base in France decline rapidly in the face of competition from rival services.