A week after the failure of the merger project between TF1 and M6, the TF1 group announced on Friday September 23 that Rodolphe Belmer would replace Gilles Pélisson as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO).
This movement will be proposed to the board of directors on October 27, for entry into office in February 2023, according to a press release. Gilles Pélisson will retain a non-executive chairmanship in the meantime. It will then become “Deputy Managing Director of the Bouygues Group in charge of media and development”.
Rodolphe Belmer, 53, has built most of his career at the head of Canal+, which he directed from 2003 to 2015. Until last July, he was managing director of the French IT group Atos, after having occupied the post of general manager of the satellite operator Eutelsat Communications from 2016 to 2021. In parallel, Mr. Belmer has served on the board of directors of the American streaming giant, Netflix, since 2018 and has chaired the Series Mania Festival since 2019.
“Responding to the multiple challenges of the new media world”
“I am convinced that together we will be able to meet the many challenges of the new media world and open up new prospects for development and growth in the era for the TF1 group” digital, said Mr. Belmer, quoted in the TF1 press release.
TF1 and M6 announced on September 16 that they were abandoning the merger because of the concessions demanded by the Competition Authority. This subordinated its green light to the sale of the TF1 or M6 channels to another actor, to avoid the creation of a juggernaut which, according to it, would have distorted the advertising market.