Canal Plus (France)

Canal Plus’ loss of Champions League rights – announced late this week – is a blow to the broadcaster, softened slightly by its recent extension of Formula One rights.

Strong competition is expected between France’s main pay-television broadcasters for Uefa Champions League, Formula One and European rugby rights, with all three properties currently on the market.

SFR Sport lost out to French pay-television rival Canal Plus in a fourth round of bidding for International Basketball Federation (Fiba) events this month, but added the Diamond League to its slow-growing portfolio of sports rights.

French pay-television broadcaster Canal Plus has renewed its rights agreement with the International Basketball Federation (Fiba).

Mike Kiernan reviews television audiences across the big five markets for the recently concluded Formula One World Championship

French pay-television broadcaster Canal Plus has renewed a rights deal for the NHL North American ice hockey league.

The French football league last month agreed deals for beIN Sports and Canal Plus to show its matches in public places, increasing fees by 15 per cent.

Beleaguered French pay-television broadcaster Canal Plus has retained a host of golf properties and added third-tier domestic football rights in recent weeks as it seeks to stem subscriber losses.

France’s competition authority, l'Autorité de la Concurrence, has blocked an exclusive carriage deal between Canal Plus and pay-television rival beIN Sports.

French pay-television broadcaster Canal Plus has retained rights for the Top 14, the top division of rugby union in the country.

Canal Plus has confirmed that it has agreed a five-year deal, from 2016 to 2020, to become the exclusive carriage partner in France for rival pay-television broadcaster beIN Sports’ channels.

Vivendi-owned Canal Plus has signed an exclusive distribution deal with rival pay-television broadcaster beIN Sports France, according to daily newspaper Le Monde.

Vincent Bolloré, chief executive of media company Vivendi, has held talks about agreeing a carriage deal with, and acquiring a stake in, pay-television broadcaster beIN Sports France – according to a report in French newspaper Libération.

Canal Plus’s recent loss of English Premier League rights in France helped the value of Coupe de la Ligue media rights increase by 119 per cent last month.

Telco Altice last week blindsided French broadcasters to acquire Premier League rights in the country with a knockout first-round bid.

With a new round of international broadcast deals in place from the 2015-16 season of French rugby’s Top 14, rights distributor Canal Plus has increased the value of the rights 10-fold in the last six seasons.

French pay-television broadcaster Canal Plus has opted to broadcast the final of the Davis Cup national team tennis tournament this weekend.

Media company Vivendi has increased its stake in the French unit of its Canal Plus broadcaster to 93.6 per cent following a public tender offer.