They made it official “the signing of a memorandum of understanding”. The audiovisual group Canal+ will acquire OCS, the bouquet of pay channels from the telecommunications operator Orange, as well as its subsidiary for the co-production of films and series, they announced on Monday January 9 in a joint press release. The two French groups also explain that “Canal+ will become the sole shareholder of both companies following this transaction”OCS et Orange Studio.
#Agreement???? The CANAL+ Group and Orange are pleased to announce that they have entered into a memorandum of understanding with a view to… https://t.co/9cjEihHdFI
The amount of the transaction is not specified. But, according to the business daily The echoes, “once is not custom, it is the seller, that is to say Orange, who pays money to the Canal+ buyer”. Indeed, OCS, launched in 2008 and which has some 3 million subscribers, is “in debt and at a loss”. This amount “would be less than 100 million euros and above all would not take the form of a dry check to Canal+”claim The echoes. According to the newspaper, this agreement closes a “negotiation of almost two years”.
Canal+, main distributor of OCS
“Orange will have to bear the negative cash flows [quand l’entreprise sort plus d’argent qu’elle n’en rentre] future »continues the newspaper, according to which “the operator has undertaken to pay guaranteed minimums to Canal+ over three to four years”. “OCS, billed 11 euros per month alone, has accumulated between 400 million and 500 million euros in losses since its launch, according to our information”add The echoes.
At present, Canal+ is the main distributor of OCS and holds a 33.34% stake in it, which gave it a right of first refusal. Since 1is January, OCS lost one of its major contents, the emblematic series of the American chain HBO, like Game of Thrones or The Sopranos. HBO has decided not to renew their distribution contract, in order to reserve its programs for its own streaming platform, which is not yet available in France.
