A week after Altice channels were removed from Free screens, the boss of Orange has said it’s a path his network could also find itself on.
“We would not like to get there, but it is obviously possible,” said Stéphane Richard on Thursday. An immediate withdrawal is not in prospect given that Orange’s contract for the retransmission of BFMTV, RMC Découverte and RMC Story has several more months to run.
The chief executive said a balance was required between channel operators and distributors. Pointing to last year’s disagreement with TF1, Richard said the question was not the amount of the cheque, but whether the operator would receive anything in return.
There are currently no negotiations in play between Orange and Altice.
Altice and Free had failed to agree on a retransmission agreement for the DTT channels leading to their removal last Friday (August 23).
Altice wants payment for the linear channels, however Free will only agree to compensation for the accompanying on demand services.
