M6 chief says no option ruled out on Canal Plus channels acquisition

Nicolas de Tavernost, president of French commercial broadcaster M6, has said he will remain vigilant on Canal Plus’s implementation of its acquisition of free-to-air channels Direct 8 and Direct Star following the French competition authority’s green light for the deal.

Speaking to analysts, De Tavernost said that M6 would analyse the competition authority’s decision in detail when it was published and had not ruled anything out at this stage. He said the conditions imposed by the regulator appeared to be “relatively light”.

M6 was hit by a weak advertising market in the second quarter, with the main channel’s ad revenues declining by 6.6%.