A new carriage dispute has begun in France after it emerged that M6 Group was seeking payment for free-to-air channels M6, W9 and 6TER from Molotov.
The online platform, launched two years ago by Pierre Lescure and Jean-David Blanc, now claims close to 2 million subscribers.
Its contract with M6 Group is shortly due to expire, and in a move that reflects a similar strategy by TF1, the broadcaster is now seeking payment for its channels retransmission as well as positioning them in pay rather than free tiers.
Such a move could destabalised Molotov’s business model which hinges on its users upgrading from free to pay options.
Like TF1, M6 has also made similar requests of the cablenets and Canal+.
M6’s move has angered Molotov because the channels are available free online through the broadcaster’s own app.
But M6 is standing firm, arguing that while it has been happy to support Molotov during its first two years of operation, its strategy remains unchanged.
