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France: Antitrust authority halts CanalPlus, beIN Sports deal

By  |  June 9, 2016

The French antitrust competition authority has rejected CanalPlus’ bid to become the exclusive distributor of beIN Sports on channels across the country.

Parent company Vivendi and chair Vincent Bollore had touted the deal as a way for the pay TV channel to stop losing subscribers and bleeding cash. While the parent company has billions in its deep pockets after a rash of sales of its telecoms holdings in 2013 and 2014, it is projected to lose up to €475 million by 2017 on the channel.

CanalPlus seeing to lead in the sports arena allowing the channel to bring back subscribers and boost its subscription price.

Bollore has brandished the threat of closing the channel, which would reverberate throughout the French film and television industry. He has already made several structural changes, ousting longtime executives and taken cost-cutting measures such as killing its popular beach-side Le Grand Journal program during the Cannes film festival.

Full Content: Hollywood Reporter

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