Canal+ Groups French Channel C8, Which Airs Controversial Talk Show, to Be Discontinued by

Publish date: 2024-09-22

Canal + Group’s popular channel C8, which airs the controversial talk show “Touche pas à mon poste,” looks bound to disappear.

France’s broadcasting regulatory authority (Arcom) has decided not to grant the renewal of the TNT channel’s frequency to Canal+ Group following auditions with leaders of the Vivendi-owned TV banner.

Contacted by Variety, Canal+ Group declined to comment. The outlet could now appeal Arcom’s decision to the state council.

C8 is not the only frequency that failed to be renewed by the eight-member board of Arcom. The regulatory body also turned down NRJ12. In total, Arcom pre-selected 15 channels out of 24 applicants.

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Canal+ Group’s other frequencies, such as its right-wing news channel CNews (often referred to as France’s equivalent to Fox News) made the cut, but will have to sign a convention that Arcom will be submitting soon to all 15 pre-selected services. The convention will set guidelines in terms of broadcasting obligations.

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The license to operate these frequencies are handed out for an initial duration of 10 years, which can be extended by five years.

The notorious talk show “Touche pas a mon poste,” presented by Cyril Hanouna, has been on the radar of Arcom for many years and has been accused of bolstering the popularity of far-right leaders. The amount of fines it received from Arcom is believed to have reached a cumulated €7.5 million. The talk show received a record €3.5 million fine last year after Hanouna clashed with a member of hard left party La France Insoumise and insulted him. During the audition process, its boss Gérald-Brice Viret suggested that “Touche pas a mon poste” would start being pre-recorded instead of airing live starting in September.

While Canal+ Group is poised to lose C8, Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky — who recently bought publishing group Editis from Vivendi — saw two of its channel proposals turn up among Arcom’s pre-selection.

Launched in 2005, France’s TNT channels now represent more than 90% of TV audiences in France.

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