The Competitors Authority knowledgeable TF1 and M6 that the proposed merger of the 2 teams poses “important competitors issues” and that they should modify their venture for it to be accepted. The 2 tv channels are usually not abandoning their plan, nevertheless.
In Could 2021, the Bouygues and M6 teams introduced that they have been getting into into unique negotiations to start a merger venture with the goal of making an enormous French media group. A merger presently deliberate for the tip of 2022. Nonetheless, to finalize the merger, the approval of the Competitors Authority is required. The general public establishment started an in-depth overview part final March for a call to be made subsequent fall.
As reported The gallery this Wednesday, the president of the M6 group Nicolas de Tavernost ” claimed {that a} report freshly submitted by the establishment was hardly favorable to this unionin parallel with the presentation of the corporate’s half-year outcomes. Furthermore, it’s he who ought to lead the brand new entity if the venture succeeds.
The Competitors Authority’s reservations on the TF1-M6 merger
In an announcement, the TF1 group mentioned that ” the investigation companies take into account that the transaction raises important competitors issues (specifically on the promoting market) “. We be taught that the Competitors Authority has proposed “treatments “which might facilitate the validation of the venture, however that the latter” would make the venture of the events lose all relevance, which, on this case, would abandon it“.
For Nicolas de Tavernost, these options proposed by the executive authority “wouldn’t make it attainable to construct a coherent industrial venture“. ForThe gallerythese can beasset transfers or Chinese language wall methods between completely different departments“. TF1 and M6 “intend to keep up their venture because it was introduced» and plan to «reply inside three weeks to the Authority“. Additionally they train us thathearings earlier than the Board of the Autorité de la concurrence are scheduled for September 5 and 6“. On the aspect of M6, the group declares {that a} “communication will likely be launched very quicklyconcerning the merger, with out saying extra.
TF1 and M6 characterize 70% of the tv promoting market, it is an excessive amount of for the Competitors Authority
As the 2 tv teams are already the most important in France, their merger would lead the TF1-M6 group to acquire greater than 70% market share in tv promoting, which might characterize an issue of competitors in comparison with the opposite gamers within the PAF .
The 2 gamers defend themselves by arguing that this determine doesn’t embrace digital promoting which is now the work of American corporations.The galleryremembers that TF1 and M6 justify their venture which might bean crucial to keep away from, in the long run, discovering oneself in an deadlockin comparison with the competitors from SVoD companies, significantly American ones (Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, Netflix, Discovery+, and so forth.).
TF1 and M6 overlook a bit Salto
Do not forget that within the TF1-M6 merger venture, the 2 teams deliberate to “aspeed up the event of a high-performance nationwide platform combining a catch-up and streaming supply (based mostly on MyTF1 and 6play) and an SVOD supply“. It will even be a chance todevelop cutting-edge applied sciences in streaming […] and in addressed promoting, to fulfill the wants of viewers and prospects“.
Embarking on these tasks isn’t a foul factor in itself, however it is a bit of forgetting Salto in historical past. It’s a French SVoD platform launched in August 2019 collectively by TF1, M6 and France Télévisions, which had already had issues with the Competitors Authority. A survey ofCapitalrevealed earlier this 12 months that Salto was failing to spice up its subscriber depend and was missing in unique content material. Furthermore, Salto, which was to compete with different streaming platforms, joined forces with Amazon Prime Video to supply its service to the catalog. We will additionally assume that France Télévisions would withdraw from Salto within the occasion that the TF1-M6 merger takes place. Sufficient to go away the sector open to the brand new large of tv.
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