The decision to remove the four Canal+ pay-TV channels from the French DTT system will benefit the broadcaster to the tune of €20 million a year, according to CEO Maxime Saada.
Speaking at the company’s AGM on June 6 – the same day that Canal brought an end to its terrestrial broadcasting – Chief Financial Officer Amandine Ferré explained the”fixed costs” of DTT broadcasting were “around €5 million per year per channel, so it’s significant.” Added to that was the decline in the number of viewers choosing to watch the four channels (Canal+, Canal+ Cinéma[s], Canal+ Sport, and Planète+) in that way.
The announcement last December that Canal would leave DTT was also seen as a reaction to the decision by regulator Arcom not to renew the licence to broadcast its free-to-air channel C8.
There is now just a single pay-TV channel on DTT France, Paris Première, which is operated by M6.
