Canal+ adds 1.5 million subs for the year

Canal+ ended 2020 with a total of 21.8 million subscribers, an increase of 1.5 million from the end of 2019.

Announced by parent company Vivendi during its year-end financial report, Canal+ Group’s revenues were at €5.5 billion, up 4.4% year-over-year. The group‘s profitability significantly improved in the year, with EBITA up 26.7% to €435 million (compared to €343 in 2019).

The French market added 262,000 subscribers for the year to make a total of 8.7 million for the year. In its announcement, the group lauded the recently reclaimed Canal+ rights and announced that it had retained rights to Rugby League’s Top 14 in an exclusive four-year deal reported to be worth €454.4 million.

Internationally, Canal+ added 1.2 million subscribers. The group saw significant growth in all geographical areas, except from Asia-Pacific, and integrated M7. International revenues increased by 19.8%.

Production division Studiocanal however took a sizable hit of 17% for the year. This was due to Covid-19 pandemic’s impact on filming and distribution of movies and series.

Overall, Vivendi slightly beat market expectations thanks to Canal+’s strong performance, along with music label Universal. The overall company’s EBITA grew by 3.7% to €1.63, beating analyst consensus of €1.59 billion. The company still plans on a €30 billion spin-off of Universal on the stock market.