No less than 18 parties have applied for a licence to the French media regulator CSA for the remaining digital terrestrial capacity in Paris. A single channel became available after public broadcaster France Ô left the R1 multiplex.
The interested parties include France 24, NextRadioTV, France Télécom Orange, NRJ Group and Euronews, but also a number of hopeful local broadcasters. This prompted the existing local and regional broadcasters to appeal to the CSA not to endanger the “fragile advertising market.” Rather they see that the Council will grant an HD channel the licence.
France Ô vacated the R1 multiplex as it now has national distribution in another mux.