Arcom has chosen the new channel projects of Daniel Kretinsky and Ouest France.
An explosion in the French audiovisual landscape. This Wednesday morning in plenary session, Arcom confirmed the withdrawal of the TNT frequency of C8 and NRJ 12. The media regulator, which some criticized for its inaction, therefore opted for a strong method. Sanctioned on multiple occasions, C8 has never taken into account the sanctions imposed by Arcom and has accumulated more than 7.6 million euros in fines due to the lapses of its star presenter, Cyril Hanouna. The audiovisual policeman undoubtedly wanted to remind us that its obligations could not be flouted indefinitely. Cnews, another channel under the control of Vincent Bolloré, is keeping its TNT frequency, despite the numerous reminders to order it has received.
As for NRJ 12, it is doubtless that the low audiences and the numerous reruns did not convince Arcom on the criterion of public interest or that of pluralism. After having heard the representatives of 24 projects in July, the nine members of the college of the audiovisual regulator announced the candidates remaining in the running for the allocation of the channels put back into play. It selected to replace C8 and NRJ 12, the files of Daniel Kretinsky, and his channel RéelsTV, as well as that of Ouest France, with OFTV. In its press release, Arcom claims to have made its decision based on “the interest of each project for the public with regard to the priority imperative of pluralism of socio-cultural currents of expression”.
New channels with defined contours
The audiovisual sector was quick to make itself heard. “With this decision, Arcom is drawing the first logical consequences of the excesses of the antennas controlled by Vincent Bolloré.”reacted the new general director of RSF, Thibaut Bruttin. The regulator “took the measure of his responsibilities”he considers. At the Canal+ group, the decision is having a hard time getting through. Its CEO denounces “a form of contempt for the public.” “We walk on the head !”, he wrote in a post on the X network. “How can we understand this unprecedented decision in the history of TNT with regard to a channel which contributed to its popularity?” he asks.
The two projects selected to replace TNT channel 8 and channel 12 were presented to Arcom at the beginning of July. RéelsTV, the audiovisual project of Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky, owner of the CMI France group (Marianne, She, TV 7 Days, Free-Shooter…) intended to “reconciling the French with reality”explained the president of CMI France and Editis, Denis Olivennes. A general channel in 3D, built around documentaries, debates, with a daily news show from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., and entertainment with cultural shows every evening. The media magnate, also the owner of Casino and lender of the newspaper Releaseexplained in front of Arcom “observe with great frustration the deterioration and even destruction of public debate.”
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The project defended by the Sipa Ouest-France group also aims to be disruptive. OF TV will be a channel produced in the region, from Rennes. “A channel of real life and real people” intended to highlight the territories and mainly addressed “to young adults aged 25 to 49 who live outside city centres”, explained the chairman of the board of Ouest-France, François-Xavier Lefranc, during his grand oral. Its live and public programs will be structured around several pillars: a daily talk show, a news program, magazines, documentaries, cinema and fiction. The Sipa Ouest-France group, owned and controlled by a non-profit association, will retain exclusive control of the channel.
In total, 24 projects were in the running for 15 DTT frequencies expiring in 2025. The project of the independent and left-wing news site The media is one of the applications rejected by the audiovisual regulator, just like the weekly magazine’s television channel project The Express. “It is a shame, unfair, that one of the three projects presented by the press was rejected” This is how Alain Weill, its president, reacted: on X. For C8 and NRJ 12, the withdrawal of their frequencies does not necessarily mean the total cessation of their activities. Many broadcasting possibilities are offered by the web, boxes and connected TVs. Cyril Hanouna could work on another channel or another media.