French media giant Vivendi has released its Q2 numbers showing organic growth up 1.3 per cent, helped by solid growth in its music business (up +4.5 per cent).  But strip out the music and other non-broadcast activity, leaving just Canal Plus, and the picture is more depressing.

Canal Plus suffered zero per cent organic revenue growth, and a 9 per cent fall in adjusted EBITA, showing no growth in French pay-TV and an inevitable rise in the cost of content.

Investment bank Exane BNP-Paribas said Canal was clearly “suffering” with subscriptions continuing to decline. “We remain concerned over Canal,” admits the bank’s analysts.

Indeed, if it wasn’t for a 5.9 per cent organic growth from Canal’s international operations the broadcaster’s bottom line would be even more depressed.

Its decline in its French subscription base continues, with a 68,000 net loss in Q2 (vs. -88k Q1, -14k Q3). International pay-TV registered organic revenue growth of +5.9 oer cent y/y in H1 (vs +8.4 per cent Q1) implying a slowdown in Q2. International subscriber net additions of 125,000 in Q2 compared against 500k in the World Cup impacted 2Q14. Studiocanal delivered 6.3 per cent organic revenue growth in 1H15 (vs. 9.5 per cent Q1, 2.8 per cent FY 2014).

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