It looks likely that CanalSat will continue to have exclusive carriage of the thematic pay channels from TF1 and M6. Bids from the main IPTV providers to gain access to these channels stalled at €25 million.
At the moment, the Canal+ group pays €60 million to distribute the channels Histoire, TV Breizh, Ushuaïa TV, Odyssée, Série Club and Eurosport on an exclusive basis to its 4.5 million subscribers, according to a report in Le Figaro.
Should Canal lose its exclusivity on these channels, the platform is willing to pay only €25 million.
The IPTV providers, including Orange, Free and Neuf, are also willing to pay €25 million, which leaves TF1 and M6 €10 million short on an annual basis. The total number of subscribers of the combined IPTV services is believed to be around 500,000 homes.
Both TF1 and M6 have until September 15 to renew their exclusive contract with the Canal group.
