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France: Competition authority may derail Canal Plus-beIN partnership

By  |  June 6, 2016

The French antitrust watchdog is likely to impose tough conditions on the alliance Vivendi’s pay-TV Canal Plus seeks with Qatar-controlled beIN Sports this the week, business daily Les Echos reported on Monday.

The authority may demand that Canal Plus, which started talks with beIN Sports in February, may have to resell beIN Sports content to competitors, which could lead to the deal being called off, Les Echos reported.

An agreement between Canal Plus and beIN Sports, which are the two leaders in the distribution of sports content in France, represents a risk for consumers and sports rights sellers, the newspaper said.

Vivendi, led by French tycoon Vincent Bollore, seeks to stem the losses of Canal Plus’ French channels, which totaled 264 million euros in 2015 and could amount to 400 million in 2016, according to the media company.

Full Content: Reuters

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