Canal Plus is showing signs of improvement after revenues declined by just 2.7 per cent in the first half of 2017.
Management are hoping that the French pay-TV operator has reached the bottom of its recent decline after a period of subscriber losses.
At the end of June 2017, Canal+ Group’s individual subscriber base stood at 14 million, up 2.8 million year-on-year, thanks to growth in international operations and wholesale agreements with Orange and Free. But the agreement with the telcos was not all good news, as increased wholesale subscribers resulted in a reduction in individual subscriptions.
International pay-TV operations saw an increase of 309,000 year-on-year with revenues rising by 6.2 per cent.
However, domestic revenues fell by 5.3 per cent compared to the first six months of 2016. It followed a reduction in the free-to-air advertising revenue. There was also a self-inflicted fall at terrestrial channel C8 after sanctions imposed by the French Broadcasting Authority (Conseil Supérieur de l’Audiovisuel). The three week bar on commercial activity followed the airing of controversial sequences in Touche pas à mon poste.
Canal+ Group’s income from operations amounted to €186 million, compared to €297 million for the first half of 2016.
