Altice France unveils initiatives for growth, renames SFR Sport

Altice France/SFR CEO Alain Weill has promised a return to growth for the beleaguered French operator. Weill has also renamed the operator’s SFR Sport offering as RMC Sport to aid it in finding new distribution agreements outside the parent organization. The operator also plans to develop its OTT TV offering.

Weill told journalists in Paris that the group would now benefit from a simplified structure and a focus on the customer.

Altice has simplified its fixed and mobile video offerings. SFR customers will have access to the operator’s sport offering including Champions League football for €5, with the service being available to non-customers for €15.

The operator said it also planned to further develop its satellite and – especially – its OTT offering, with a plant to position its OTT TV service as a viable alternative to existing platforms in the market.

As part of the reset, Altice France has renamed SFR Sport as RMC Sport as part of a new line-up of channels including a news service, catch-up TV and sports.

SFR said that it was now reaping the benefits of its €6 billion investment in its broadband network over the last three years. The operator has tested 10Gbps speeds over fibre-to-the-home at its laboratory in Vélizy and said that it would also launch 500Mbps broadband over its 4G+ network in 13 ccities and regions between now and the end of the year, with 1Gbps mobile broadband to follow in 2019.