Vivendi’s formats and entertainment division has shopped a couple format to C8, the free-to-air DTT channel also part of the Vivendi group. Couple or Not is a gameshow format in which contestants have to correctly identify couples from a group of strangers – and the more they successfully pick out, the more cash they can […]
Julien Lalande has been appointed head of entertainment at Canal+’s DTT service D8. He replaces Frank Appietto who was upped to director general of D8 and took a wider role at Canal+ earlier this year. Lalande will report to Appietto. He started his career as a journalist before moving into TV as development director, and […]
Vivendi chairman Vincent Bolloré has given the strongest indication yet that he plans to reduce or eliminate the free-to-air element of French pay TV service Canal+. Bolloré told financial daily Les Echos that Canal+ was not obliged to make content available unencrypted and said that while free-to-air content could gain advertising revenue in the short […]
Canal+ France lost 183,000 subscriptions in the first quarter, taking its domestic total to 8.3 million. The ongoing problems experienced by the group in France were to some extent offset by a strong international performance. Overall the group added 170,000 subscriptions in the quarter, thanks in particular to its strong showing in Africa, taking its […]
Vivendi-owned pay TV operator Canal+ has given free-to-air channel D8’s director of live and entertainment programming, Franck Appietto, the same responsibilities across Canal+. In his new role, Appietto will report to Canal+ Group CEO Maxime Saada. He will retain his responsibilities at D8 under the channel’s director-general Xavier Gandon. Appietto has held a number of […]
Several broadcasters including History in the US have acquired Back to the Present, the pop-science and entertainment special released to coincide with the thirtieth anniversary of classic movie Back to Future II. The show is distributed by Can’t Stop Media, the London-based content specialist recently acquired by Vivendi as part of the French media giant’s […]
French media powerhouse Vivendi has made three prodco acquisitions in its ongoing content drive, including Can’t Stop Media, the formats creator and distributor run by former Zodiak Media executive Matthieu Porte. Vivendi has also bought French prodco Flab Lab, a talkshow specialist that is well-known in France, if not internationally. The third deal is for […]
Vivendi chairman Vincent Bolloré plans to install long-term confidant and Havas Média CEO Dominique Delport as president of Canal+ to replace Bertrand Méheut, according to French press reports. Financial daily Les Echos and news magazine Le Point reported Bolloré is set to follow up the replacement of the pay TV group’s CEO Rodolphe Belmer by […]
Lebanese broadcaster MTV has licensed a local version of a French TV-themed comedy panel show. Studiovision will produce a 39x60mins weekly primetime version of It’s Only TV for the network that will be known as Menna w Jerr launching next month. The follows a licensing agreement with format rights holder Banijay International, the sales arm […]
International growth and subscription video-on-demand in France lifted pay TV operator Canal+’s third quarter performance, with domestic free-to-air channel D8 and production arm Studiocanal also making positive contributions. Overall, Canal+’s global subscriber base now stands at 14.8 million, up 605,000 year-on-year, largely thanks to strong growth from Africa and Vietnam, while French subscription VOD service […]
