The French commercial broadcaster TF1 is seeking €90 million for its 50% stake in the international news channel France 24, according to a report in this morning’s Les Echos. The demand is deemed too high by the French government and blocks the formation of the new holding company for all French overseas broadcasters.
France 24 is a joint venture between TF1 and public broadcaster France Télévisions, but TF1 finds the channel competing with its own national news channel LCI as more national platforms are now distributing the French language version of the channel.
The French government finds the demands of TF1 outrageous, especially since the broadcaster acquired its stake for €17,500. Also, it was paid for usage of all news items and clips it contributed to France 24. This amounted to €3.7 million until the end of last year. The payment for usage of the footage is double that of what France Télévisions receives, according to the newspaper.
