M6, Altice discuss 6ter sale
March 1, 2022
By Colin Mann
French commercial broadcaster M6 Group has confirmed that it has received a put option for the 6ter channel from Altice Media, and that it has granted it exclusive negotiation rights.
The sale of 6ter would be part of the proposed merger of the M6 and TF1 Groups, announced on May 17th, 2021. Following this merger, the combined group will only be able to hold seven national channels on DTT, in accordance with the limit defined by French regulation.
The relevant employee representative bodies of M6 Group will be informed and consulted on this proposed sale of 6ter, which is also subject to (i) the agreement of the French Competition Authority and the ARCOM as well as (ii) the effective completion of the merger operation between the M6 and TF1 Groups.
In light of the various authorisations required, both from the French Competition Authority and from the ARCOM, the effective completion of the merger between the M6 and TF1 Groups is now expected for the very beginning of January 2023.
Accordingly, 6ter will remain fully controlled by M6 Group throughout the 2022 financial year.
In order to comply with the audiovisual law and provided that the planned merger between the M6 and TF1 Groups is carried out, M6 Group plans to return the DTT frequency of the Paris Premièrechannel, after approval by the ARCOM, but will continue to exploit it on cable and satellite networks.