![]() | |
Company type | Public |
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LSE: CAN | |
Industry | Media |
Predecessors | Vivendi |
Founded | 1984 |
Headquarters | , |
Area served | France |
Key people | Jean-Christophe Thiery (president) Maxime Saada (CEO) |
Products | Pay TV Television production Film production & distribution |
Revenue | ![]() |
Number of employees | 7,582 (2023) ![]() |
Subsidiaries |
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Website | www.canalplusgroup.com |
Footnotes /references [1] |
Canal+ S.A., formerly Groupe Canal+, is a French media and telecommunications conglomerate based in Paris. It runs its own eponymous over-the-top subscription video on-demand service, subscription TV channels in France, distributes third-party channels and services, and is a major source of finance for domestic film production, participating in the financing of the vast majority of films produced in France. Canal+ was a subsidiary of the French conglomerate Vivendi until 9 December 2024.
As part of the spin-off from Vivendi, Groupe Canal+ became the independent entity Canal+ S.A. on 9 December, with a view to listing on the London Stock Exchange on 16 December 2024. [2]
The conglomerate also has its own subsidiary companies with direct involvement in film production and distribution, such as StudioCanal. Apart from extensive operations in mainland France, the company owns many subsidiaries and operates in countries across Europe, Africa, the Asia-Pacific region, and in French Overseas Territories.
The subscription channel Canal+ was launched in November 1984, when there were only three government-owned channels available in France. [3] The company was co-founded by André Rousselet, president of the French multinational advertising company Havas, [3] and Pierre Lescure, which proved very popular with media professionals and politicians. [4] There were 186,000 subscribers, who committed to paying 140 francs (21.34 euros) per month for the service. [5]
Alain de Greef (c. 1947 – 29 June 2015) joined in 1986, [6] joining his longtime friend Pierre Lescure. De Greef was first appointed director of production, then head of programmes, and finally as director general (1986–2000). [7] [6] De Greef was later described as a pioneer and visionary, who set the tone and created the "Canal Plus spirit", which embodied anti-conformism along with edgy satire that became very popular. He created the satirical puppet show Les Guignols de l'Info and cult talk shows Nulle part ailleurs , Groland , and Les Deschiens . [6] [7]
The new channel got off to a slow start, and some politicians, including prime minister Laurent Fabius, railed against the idea of having a commercial TV channel. However, Rousselet was a personal friend of the president, François Mitterrand, and so obtained favourable terms for the setup. Pierre Lescure was director-general at that time. A combination of political connections and clever programming – giving the French public American hit comedies and French drama not available on the government channels – worked and subscriptions soon increased. Government regulations required that the channel give several hours of free programming each day, which was used by Canal+ to promote the subscription service. [3]
The channel initially had to use 45% of its air-time on films, until the film industry pushed back. Sports, interview shows, documentaries, and soft pornography joined films as the main staples of programming at this time. In 1985, the government opened up the market to other private commercial television stations, offering some serious competition. However, aggressive marketing and policies ensured that the company kept growing. By 1989, Canal+ had almost three million subscribers. Around this time the company expanded into some European markets, notably Belgium, Spain, and Germany, where in partnership with Bertelsmann and the Kirch Group, the first national pay TV service, Premiere TV, was established. With its expansion into Africa in 1990 with Canal+ Horizons, Canal+ was not only the most successful subscription channel in Europe, but also second only to HBO globally. [3]
In the mid-1980s, Canal+ started acquiring rights to American TV shows and blockbusters, but buying rights from Hollywood was expensive, so the company moved into producing its own films. [3] On 1 January 1987, Canal+ Productions was founded as a cinema film co-production subsidiary of the cable channel, [5] which later partnered with Universal Pictures to co-produce films. [3]
On 1 March 1987, another subsidiary, Ellipse Programs, was established, with the aim of producing television works intended for all broadcasters, which would promote Canal+ producers' talent. [5] On 18 April 1990, Canal+ Horizons was created to export Canal+ content to countries on the African continent. [5] Also in 1987, Canal+ went public. [3]
By December 1990, Canal+ Productions rebranded to Le Studio Canal+, and released its first film, The Double Life of Veronique , by Krzysztof Kieslowski. [5] By the early 1990s, it became apparent that Canal+ was a major contributor to the French film industry, with its obligation to spend 10% of its income on French-made films, as well as being Europe's largest buyer of American film rights. [3] Canal+ also made investments in other companies. In 1991, it bought a five percent stake in the independent American studio Carolco Pictures. [3] However, in 1992, Studio Canal+ suffered financial difficulties after Carolco entered a corporate restructure.[ citation needed ]
On 6 December 1991, CanalSatellite was created. [5] Canal+ started began satellite broadcasting in 1992, to reach parts of France not covered by cable. [3] Digital satellite provider CanalSatellite was launched as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Canal+ on 6 December 1991. On 27 April 1996, Canal+ received two new sister channels: Canal+ Jaune and Canal+ Bleu. [5] In 1999, Canal+ partnered with Vivendi to create V-Net. During the 1990s it also expanded further into Europe and the UK, with BSkyB and TVS. Later it bought up NetHold in the Netherlands, and took majority control of France's NC Numericable (formerly CGV). [3]
In 1994, Rousselet quit the board, and was replaced by director-general Lescure. [3]
In January 1996, Le Studio Canal+ acquired the bankrupted Carolco Pictures' library for $56 million, making its first foray into library acquisitions. [8] [9] It also bought up a film library from UGC DA. [3]
On 27 April 1996, CanalSatellite launched as a digital satellite platform, with 24 channels and interactive services. CANAL+ became available on two additional channels, Canal+ Jaune (Yellow) and Canal+ Bleu (Blue), later named Canal+ Cinema and Canal+ Confort. [5]
On 1 December 1998, all film, television, music, video production activities, etc. were grouped into a new entity, Canal+ Image, which was rebranded as StudioCanal in 2000. [5] On 1 December 1999, a new subsidiary, Canal+ Technologies, was created, to develop and market its access control and interactivity technology. [5]
In January 2000, it was announced that French arms and media conglomerate Lagardère Group had purchased a major stake in the digital television division, taking 34 percent of CanalSatellite and nearly 27.5 percent of MultiThematiques, for a price of more than US$890 million. Lagardère acquired the 30.2% MultiThematiques stake then held by Vivendi. [10] [11] In February 2000, Canal+ announced the merger of its Ellipse Programme TV production company into the programming provider Expand. The company continued to grow as it moved into Internet and multi-access content markets. [3] On 15 June 2001, it took over control of Expand, leading producer of French audiovisual content. [5]
On 9 December 2000, Vivendi acquired Canal+. [12] On 11 December 2000, Vivendi Universal was created from the merger of Canal+, Seagram, and Vivendi. Groupe Canal+, made up of Canal+ Distribution, Canal+ Régie, and the Canal+ channel, was then wholly owned by Vivendi Universal. Legislation required that the channel was held at 49%. [5]
From 2000 to 2002, Virginie Calmels successively held three positions: chief financial officer, deputy CEO, and then joint chief operating officer of the group. [13] [14] In 2001, co-founder Alain De Greef was fired from his position as director-general and replaced by Michel Denisot, when the organisation was restructured under the leadership of Jean-Marie Messier, chief executive of Vivendi. [7] Criticism of Vivendi's poor share performance since the takeover grew, and in April 2002, De Greef's co-founder and CEO Pierre Lescure, clashed with Messier and was fired. [4]
On 23 May 2005, CanalSatellite was renamed Canalsat. [5]
An alternative Canal+ logo was used between 2006 and 2009.
On 7 December 2010, all Canal+ channels, plus the 90 CanalSat channels, became available live on Microsoft's Xbox 360. [5]
In December 2013, Canal+ announced that they creating CanalStart, a new structure to support young entrepreneurs' media and new technology initiatives and projects [15] in the form of a financial investment or contracts awarded by Canal+. [16] CanalStart presented at SXSW 2014. [17] In April 2015, CanalStart announced a first commercial partnership with Wildmoka, a start-up specialising in the design of enriched television services, [18] after it won MIPLab 2015, a global B2B startup competition in TV and online video. [19] The company was removed from the companies register on 29 November 2016. [20]
In September 2015, Vincent Bolloré, chairman of parent company Vivendi, was appointed as chairman of Canal Plus. He changed several former executives and aligned Canal+'s operations with Vivendi's. [21]
In May 2019, Groupe Canal+ announced that they've acquires Luxembourg-based French television proivder M7 Group who operated pay-TV platforms in Benelux and Central Europe for more than $1.1 billion, thrus expanding Groupe Canal+'s operations into the Benelux and Central Europe territories. The M7 Group acquisition marks Groupe Canal+'s return to the Netherlands country with Canal Digitaal being brought back to their original parent Groupe Canal+. [22]
Canal+ signed an exclusive distribution agreement with Disney in December 2019, ahead of Disney+ launch in France on 31 March 2020. The company would continue to have exclusive rights to Disney content (including the Star Wars and Avengers films, and would also be the only distributor of Disney channels in France. It would also retain its distribution of National Geographic, Voyage, and Fox Play channels. [23]
Canal+ S.A. started trading at London Stock Exchange after its spin-off from Vivendi on 16 December 2024, the shares were trading at 242 pence on that day, down 16% on the opening price of 290 pence. [24]
Canal+ 3D was established in June 2010, to broadcast some matches of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in 3D. It then only ran a single movie and one live event each month, obtaining 3D content produced in the UK and Spain. After the channel only attracted around 30,000 subscribers, it stopped broadcasting on 24 January 2012. After this date, it was still possible to receive transmissions were receivable on Canal's PVRs, as well as IPTV Networks Free and SFR. However, there were still plans to broadcast 200 hours in 3D for the London 2012 Olympics. [25] [26]
Canal+ Hi-Tech, called Canal+ 16/9 until March 2005, was dedicated to the broadcasting of films in an aspect ratio of 16:9 and high-definition television. The channel was deleted when switching Canal+ to the 16:9 format.[ citation needed ] [a]
Canal+ S.A. [27] is headquartered in Issy-les-Moulineaux, in the suburbs of Paris. [28]
The group distributes third-party channels and services, as well as being a major source of finance for domestic film production, participating in the financing of the vast majority of films produced in France. It also has its own subsidiary companies with direct involvement in film production and distribution, StudioCanal. [27] [29] The Wall Street Journal described Canal+ as "the French film industry's biggest financial backer, beloved by French cineastes". [30]
The company purports to have one of the 50 most powerful French brands in the world in 2023, with 26.4 million subscribers in 50 countries around the world. Its production company StudioCanal has 14 production companies in Europe and the US, and holds more than 9,000 titles. [27]
Canal+ S.A. is governed by a dual board system, with a Supervisory Board (Conseil de Surveillance) [31] and an Executive Committee (Comité éxecutif).
As of May 2024 [update] , the president of the Supervisory Board is Jean-Christophe Thiery. [32] [33]
Executive positions include: [32]
The flagship brand of the organisation is Canal+, a French premium television channel launched in 1984. It is encrypted for most of the day, and viewers who wish to watch the channel's more popular programming (new-release movies and live sport) must subscribe to the service. Previously this involved the purchase of a decoder to decrypt the signal, but today Canal+ is offered as part of a multi-channel satellite or cable television package.[ citation needed ]
Formerly Canal Satellite Numérique, then Canalsat, a pay satellite and IPTV distributor (as CanalSAT DSL). Canal+ is a satellite TV package launched in 1992 as an extension to the original Canal+ analogue channel. [34] The subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service is launched in 2013 as "myCanal", later renamed Canal+.
StudioCanal is a production company formed in 1988, associated with NBCUniversal until 2011. [35] Nowadays, StudioCanal is operating in several countries such as Germany, Japan, or Australia. [36] For the movie industry, it is a major player at the European level. [37]
StudioCanal announced in 2011 that it would spend €200 million a year on movie production, establishing its position as "the first port of call outside the U.S. for intelligent upmarket movies" such as Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy , which is fully financed by the studio. [38]
Thema is a Canal+ Group company that oversees distribution of Pay TV services, FAST channels, YouTube Channels, and other content to cable, IPTV, and DTH operators and streaming services. As of 2024 [update] , it covers over 180 TV channels worldwide and has partnerships with major pay TV platforms in France, Europe, Africa, Middle East, Asia, Canada, Latin America, and the US. [39] [40]
Thema was founded in 2005 by François Thiellet, and acquired by Canal+ in 2014. At this time, it was the parent company of Nollywood TV. [41] From January 2024, it has handled the distribution of Brazilian media giant Globo's offering across Asia, including Japan, South Korea, India, Indonesia, Vietnam and Singapore. [42] There is a subdivision called Thema America that covers Latin America, which in January 2024 partnered with SPI International to offer more channels. [43]
Movie Network, an Australian premium television service launched in 1995, was founded as a partnership between Canal+, HBO (a subsidiary of Time Warner), The Walt Disney Company, MGM/UA and Village Roadshow. A few years later, Canal+ dropped out of the partnership.[ when? ][ citation needed ]
Canal Plus was the first cable TV channel to operate in Brazil, in 1989. It operated on the MMDS system and broadcast part of ESPN programming. Its Brazilian operations were sold to Grupo Abril in 1991. [44] [45]
Canal+ International is a subsidiary of the group. By 31 December 2023, it had 6.6 million subscribers in over 50 countries across Africa, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and French Overseas Territories in the Caribbean and Indian Ocean regions. As of 2024 [update] , Canal+ International also produces over 100 channels for international distribution. [46]
On 15 November 2017, Quebec cable system Videotron began carrying Canal+ International, marking it the first provider to carry the channel. [47] It is also the second attempt at making Canal+ available in Canada since the former paid Canal+ Canada channel on Dailymotion, launched in 2013. [48]
As of August 2018, Canal+ International is on U.S. satellite provider DirecTV in HD on channel 2010.[ citation needed ]
Canal+ Afrique was launched as Canal+ Horizons [5] or Canal Horizons in 1991, initially broadcasting mostly in Tunisia and Senegal. [49] By the end of 2023, it had 8.1 million subscribers. [46] In July 2014, the launch of a new pan-African TV channel - A+ - was announced. Based in Abidjan (Ivory Coast), it aimed to become the leading television company in French-speaking Africa. [50]
The Canal+ Group has other activities in Africa as well as the Canal+ Afrique service; by 2018, the whole group's offerings including over 200 channels, radio stations, and other services, while the Canal+ Afrique's platform offered more than 50 channels. [51] On 30 June 2023, the Canal+ Group bought 144.2 million shares (32.6% of the capital) in the South African subscription provider MultiChoice, which, with 20 million subscribers, is the market leader in English and Portuguese-speaking Africa. Their main competitor on the continent is the Chinese-owned StarTimes; however, estimated audience shares by 2028 are 32 million for Canal+/MultiChoice and 19 million for StarTimes. [52] [53]
Canal+ Ethiopia was launched in 2021. [54]
As mentioned above, Canal+ expanded into several European companies in the 1990s, [3] but as of 2016, it was only active in Poland and France, due to many of these divisions being sold to other companies such as Sky Europe and Movistar.[ citation needed ] Canal+ began returning to European markets outside of France and Poland in 2022 as a streaming service, in countries such as Austria, Czechia, and Slovakia.[ citation needed ]
Canal Plus came to the Nordic countries in 1997, acquiring the two FilmNet-channels and renaming them. The Nordic part was sold in October 2003 to the Telenor-owned Canal Digital, and the Canal+ brand was used under license until 2012, when the channels were re-branded C More Entertainment.[ citation needed ]
Canal+ Poland is CANAL+ Group's second largest base in terms of number of subscribers, with 3 million. [46]
Canal Group bought M7 Group in 2019, which has expanded its presence in Europe, which now includes distribution brands in Belgium, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Austria, Germany, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, and Romania. M7 is also intending to produce content for broadcast in Europe. The CANAL+ brand now exists in Austria, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and the Netherlands. [46] In addition, as of 2024 [update] , the group owns SPI International, which operates TV channels and digital platforms in many countries, and 29.33% of Swedish streaming service Viaplay. [46]
Canal+ Czechia and Slovakia was launched on 28 February 2023 as a streaming service. [55]
FilmNet in the Netherlands was rebranded as Canal+ in 1997. [56] In 2005, the channels were bought by Liberty Global and renamed Sport1 and Film1 in February 2006. [57] Sport1 changed its name to Ziggo Sport Totaal in November 2015, [58] Film1 was sold to Sony Pictures Television in the same year. [59] In April 2019 was announced by Sony that Film1 would close on 1 August 2019; [60] [61] however, it was sold to SPI International instead, [62] which was fully acquired by Canal+ in August 2023. Canal+ was reintroduced in Netherlands as a streaming service on 20 January 2024. [63]
Canal+ Luxembourg (former M7 Group) is a Luxembourg-based television provider which operates several direct broadcast satellite pay TV platforms: HD Austria in Austria, Télésat in Belgium and Luxembourg, TV Vlaanderen in the Flanders region in Belgium, Skylink in Czech Republic and Slovakia, Canal Digitaal in the Netherlands, Focus Sat in Romania, and Direct One in Hungary. It also operates a terrestrial pay television platform in Flanders, Belgium and offers B2B multimedia services. Canal+ acquired M7 Group for 1.1 billion euros on 12 September 2019. [64] [65]
Past involvement in European services include:
In May 2009, K+ founded by Canal+ and VTV was launched. K+ brings national level satellite TV service and OTT service to Vietnamese households, offering five premium and exclusive channels, [67] up to 170 SD channels and HD channels across genres: sports, movies, general entertainment, news, music, and documentaries. [68] [46]
Canal+ Myanmar, originally launched by Forever Group as 4TV in 2006, became a joint venture with Canal+ Group in 2017.[ citation needed ] Canal+ has been operating in Myanmar in collaboration with Forever since 2018. [46]
In June 2023, Canal+ partnered with PCCW to expand the streaming service Viu, which serves Asia and the Middle East, and in February 2024, Canal+ increased its stake in Viu to 30%. [46] Also in 2023, CANAL+ also partnered with the Onati group to broadcast its content in Polynesia. [46]
Canal+ Group has 800,000 subscribers in the French Overseas Territories, with Canal+ International's subsidiaries operating in the Caribbean (Antilles, French Guiana, and Haiti); the Indian Ocean (Réunion, Mayotte, and Mauritius) and the Pacific (New Caledonia, Wallis and Futuna, and French Polynesia). [46]
Lagardère S.A. is an international group with operations in over 40 countries. Based in the 16th arrondissement of Paris, the group was founded and created in 1992 by Jean-Luc Lagardère under the name Matra, Hachette & Lagardère.
Canal+, also spelt Canal Plus and sometimes abbreviated C+ or Canal, is a French premium television channel owned by Canal+. The channel was launched in November 1984, and broadcasts to Metropolitan France. It broadcasts several kinds of programming, mostly encrypted, but some unencrypted content can be viewed free of charge.
Vivendi SE is a French investment company headquartered in Paris. It currrently wholly-owns Gameloft as well as a number of investments in several companies, primarily involved in content, entertainment, media, and telecommunications. In 2000, Vivendi Universal was created from the merger with Groupe Canal+ and Seagram Company Ltd., owner of Universal Pictures. Vivendi sold 80% of Universal to the now-defunct General Electric in 2004, forming what is now NBCUniversal. In 2006, it sold off most of the Universal components and its name reverted to Vivendi. GE bought out Vivendi's 20% stake in NBCUniversal during Comcast's acquisition of the latter. As of 2021, Vivendi's chairman Yannick Bolloré is also CEO of Havas, which was spun off from Vivendi in 2000 but has since become a subsidiary. The company is known for its stake in Universal Music Group, which it partially spun off from 2021. In 2024, Vivendi spun-off its non-investment businesses into three companies: Canal+ (entertainment), Havas (advertising), and Louis Hachette Group.
CanalDigitaal is a provider of digital television via satellite for the Dutch market, using the Astra satellites at 23.5° east.
Sundance TV is an American pay television channel owned by AMC Networks that launched on February 1, 1996. The channel is named after Robert Redford's character in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and, while it is an extension of Redford's non-profit Sundance Institute, the channel operates independently of both the Institute and the Sundance Film Festival.
Canal+ is a French subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and subscription TV provider. The TV provider was established as CanalSatellite in 1992 and later rebranding to CanalSat and the streaming service was launched as myCanal in 2013. It is a subsidiary of Canal+ S.A..
MCM is a French music video and entertainment TV channel owned by Groupe M6. It was started in 1989 by Europe 1 Communication following the MTV model, as a programming block of the Monegasque TV station TMC.
TV Vlaanderen is a digital satellite television and terrestrial television service provider for the Flanders region and community in Belgium.
Focus Sat is a direct broadcast satellite television platform owned by M7 Group, a subsidiary of Canal+ Group, in Romania.
Television in France was introduced in 1931, when the first experimental broadcasts began. Colour television was introduced in October 1967 on La Deuxième Chaîne.
Film1 is a Dutch premium television and video on demand service that replaced Canal+ and is owned by SPI International.
FilmNet was the name used for several premium television channels in Europe during the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s. It was launched on 9 March 1985, broadcasting with a focus on Scandinavia, the Netherlands and the northern part of Belgium (Flanders). Filmnet channels were later launched in Poland and Greece.
Film1 Action is a Dutch premium television channel owned by SPI International. Its main focus is on thriller, action and horror films. Film1 launched together with its sister service Sport1 on 1 February 2006 and replaced the Canal+ Netherlands television channels. Film1 offers multiple channels with Dutch and international film and television series productions. On 1 October 2008 Film1 launched Film1 Action.
OCS, or previously known as Orange Cinéma Séries, was a group of French pay television networks that is dedicated to films and series. It was launched in November 2008 by Orange S.A. and was later sold to Groupe Canal+
AlloCiné is an entertainment website founded by Jean-David Blanc in 1988, then joined by Patrick Holzman. It has belonged to the company since 2013 Webedia. which specializes in providing information on French cinema, mostly centering on novelties' promotion with DVD, Blu-ray, and VOD information. In 2005, it began covering television series. The website is considered the "French equivalent of IMDb."
Film1 Sundance was a Dutch premium television channel. It was the Dutch version of the American cable television network SundanceTV devoted to airing independent feature films, world cinema, documentaries, short films, television series, and original programs, such as news about the latest developments from each year's Sundance Film Festival.
Canal+ Thématiques is a French company created in 1988, that publishes thematic television channels broadcast by cable and by satellite on the Canal+ satellite provider. The president and CEO of the company is Michel Denisot.
Canal+ Luxembourg S.à.r.l. is a Luxembourg-based television provider owned by the French media conglomerate Canal+.
Groupe MCM was a French television company, created by Europe 1 Communication. In 2000, Europe 1 Communication was integrated into the Lagardère Active holding and made an digital alliance with Groupe Canal+ taking a 49% share in its thematic channels. In January 2005, Lagardère Active and Canal+ divested their cross-shareholdings in order to launch their channels on DTT from which the CSA had cancelled their licenses on the grounds of their joint ownerships, including the Groupe MCM-led i-MCM, which project was renamed and launched as Europe 2 TV. In May 2019, Lagardère sold most its television assets including MCM to the Groupe M6, who incorporated its channels to its thematic unit.
SPI International is an international media company based in the Netherlands. It is owned by Canal+ Group. It operates 42 TV channels, multiple digital products across six continents, and is a major player in content distribution and broadcasting worldwide.
She then joined the Canal+ group where she successively held the positions of Chief Financial Officer, Deputy CEO and joint Chief Operating Officer between 2000 and 2002.
Les séries, les films et les documentaires du groupe Canal seront accessibles depuis le Canada à compter de mi-novembre...
Constant perimeter notably reflects the impacts of the acquisition of M7 by Canal+ Group (September 12, 2019), the acquisition of the remaining interest in Ingrooves Music Group, which has been consolidated by Universal Music Group (March 15, 2019), the acquisition of Editis (January 31, 2019), the acquisition of Paylogic by Vivendi Village (April 16, 2018) and the sale of MyBestPro by Vivendi Village (December 21, 2018).