Canal+ is considering pulling out of the French terrestrial system, known as TNT.
The customers now only represent 5% of the subscriber base making them disproportionately expensive.
Canal has been a fixture of the terrestrial scene since its single pay-TV channel launched on the old analogue Secam system in 1984. With the emergence of satellite, IPTV and OTT the terrestrial format is no longer popular with customers.
“We have only 400,000 customers on DTT out of a total of 8.2 million customers. in France. Most customers are either on IPTV or satellite. These are 5% of my clients, and they do not have access to a non-linear service,” Frank Cadoret, managing director, Canal + France told 01TV.
Cadoret added that in some departments of France there were as few as 100 subscribers.
With half of the remaining customers already holding an internet connection, an upgrade to persuade them to move away from DTT is straightforward, for the remainder there is satellite, says Cadoret, pointing to the 4K service that is available.
As the only channel that applied for the DTT frequency when it became available last year, Canal’s next conversation is just as likely to be with regulator CSA than its customers.