According to French newspaper reports, Canal+ has taken measures against those dealers that supply Canal+ smart cards to viewers outside of France. The broadcaster will no longer supply smart cards without a receiver.
Since December, all smart cards have been fixed to a particular satellite receiver and cannot be exchanged with another. Although no exact numbers are known, there are many ‘grey’ subscribers in Switzerland, the Benelux and Northern Africa. These people have an official Canal+ smart card for either the premium channels or the bouquet of thematic channels. Officially, this is not allowed, as Canal+ only owns the rights for subscribers residing in France.
However, in Switzerland it is possible to subscribe to certain Canal+ channels via DSL and cable. The company is looking at a way to also accommodate DTH subscriptions in that country.
