Canal Plus to give up control of OCS while remaining shareholder

Canal Plus is to relinquish all control over the Orange Cinéma Series (OCS) channels while remaining a shareholder, according to local reports.

The competition authority ruled in July that Canal Plus should withdraw from the venture, in which it holds a 33.3% stake. However, Orange expressed its opposition to a sale to the regulator and the latter decided to allow the Vivendi-owned pay TV operator to remain a shareholder while giving up all management control.

According to financial daily Les Echos, Canal Plus’s two representatives on the OCS management board will be replaced by independent administrators and the Orange channels will no longer be obliged to devote a certain part of its acquisition budget to Canal Plus content.