The French competition watchdog l’Autorité de la concurrence has opened an investigation into whether M6 is complying with conditions imposed at the launch of streaming service Salto in 2019.
Seventeen such obligations were imposed on the commercial channel and partners TF1 and France Télévisions, which lead M6 chairman to complain that despite being a 33% shareholder he didn’t even have his own badge to enter the premises.
In a story first reported by Capital, the authority is particularly concerned with condition 13, which requires TF1, M6 and France Télévisions to provide a “transparent, objective and non-discriminatory” offer for the distribution of their channels.
Of the three broadcasters, M6 is the only one to insist that its channels should remain behind a paywall, which is at odds with one of M6’s distributors, Molotov, which wants to offer all DTT channels free of charge. It claims all three partners are in breach of their obligations.
An email from the head of the merger service, Etienne Chantrel seen by Capital suggests that while the Salto partners are obliged to offer their channels to rival platforms they are not expected to do so for free, a position which is unlikely to be welcomed by Molotov.
