Canal+ Group has launched an appeal against the decision by the media regulator Arcom not to renew the licence for its controversial news channel C8. In July, Arcom announced it had not reselected C8 as part of the reallocation of frequencies in 2025. At the same time NRJ 12 will also lose its channel. In a statement, Canal said it “firmly opposes” the decision which threatens the “entire ecosystem” of the company.
C8 has been on the receiving end of a series of fines, warnings and formal notices, many relating to the Touche Pas à Mon Poste programme. In total it has received fines of €7.6 million. Canal says it has already been heavily sanctioned because of the show and nothing has been authorised allowing the regulator to take further action.
Canal says that Arcom has redefined the notion of public interest, which it gives as the number one criteria in the frequency allocation process. It adds that it will do everything possible to safeguard the interests of the 300 employees that have worked on the channel in the last 20 years. Next February, the two channels will be replaced by new arrivals OFTV, part of the Ouest-France group, and Reels TV from Daniel Kretinsky’s CMI Media.