The French Council of State (Conseil d’Etat) will decide before October 23 on the case about the Canal+ and TPS merger.
On August 30, 2012, the Canal+ group appealed against the sanctions taken by the competition authority (l’Autorité de la concurrence) following the merger between the CanalSatellite and TPS platforms.
The appeal followed a decision of the authority on July 23, 2012 about the Canalsat/TPS merger.
Canal has also appealed against an earlier ruling by the authority in which slapped it with a €30 million fine for failing to comply with a number of commitments, some of which it regards as “essential”, in the acquisition of TPS in 2006.
According to Les Echos, Canal+ CEO Bertrand Meheut expects huge losses for the operator if it has to abandon the exclusive distribution rights of its premium channels.
He foresees a loss of 300,000 subscribers from a total of four million to its Cine+, channels as well as a further loss of 100,000 subs to Canal+.
The Canal group has also protested against the rule that its VOD and S-VOD offers cannot contain exclusive rights.
According to Meheut, Amazon will launch its Kindle Fire services in France in March 2013. “we know, because our production company Studio Canal has signed exclusive rights with them.”