Xavier Niel presented and defended this February 15 before ARCOM his SIX project with the ambition of ” create a new channel which would replace M6 in the frequency renewal game.
After having launched in December 2022 a call for applications for the allocation of two DTT frequencies for the next 10 years, the Regulatory Authority for Audiovisual and Digital Communication (ARCOM) received this morning the three parties concerned: Métropole Television (M6), French Television 1 (TF1) and NJJ Project 5523 (SIX), under the leadership of the father of the operator Free, Xavier Niel. The latter hopes to have convinced the assembly of the interest of his project, to which are associated ” TV and social media professionals “, in his words.
A very offensive Xavier Niel who wants the skin instead of M6
For the first time since 1987, the year of its creation, M6 had to defend the balance sheet of its channel before the regulator and reveal its plans to continue to use the DTT frequency it occupies and which belongs to the State. This situation is doubly unprecedented, because the M6 channel is called into question by Xavier Niel and his “SIX” project. The billionaire therefore presented him in the early morning to the members of the authority.
The situation is simple: two authorizations expire on May 5, that of DTT channel 1, occupied by TF1, and that of DTT channel 6, on which M6 is installed. If the TF1 group is the only candidate for its own succession, the M6 group led by Nicolas de Tavernost must face competition from NJJ Project 5523 and its SIX project, led by Xavier Niel.
” My concern is that there will no longer be any innovation and that television, as we know it, will disappear, and that for our young people, our children, it will be replaced by platforms, social networks, controlled by operators in the United States, and potentially in China. The Iliad Group boss quickly set the scene, adding that “ those who made television no longer believe in television », With a small tackle, you will understand, addressed to M6.
Standing as ” last Gauls ” of television, Xavier Niel and his associates (including Maxime Lombardini, former of Bouygues, TPS and TF1, and now vice-president of the CA of the Iliad group) praised their exploits in the telecoms, media and digital sectors. ” A chain can no longer be satisfied with targeting commercial targets […]. What we want is to create a new major general media aimed at everyone, putting the viewer before everything else, before the advertiser, and which does not confine the viewer. »
SIX tries to seduce ARCOM with strong themes such as information and fiction
Behind the big words, Xavier Niel unveiled the details of his project, evoking the desire to create ” A brand present on all screens. This will go through enhanced information, with two daily 90-minute news slots, at 12 p.m. and 7 p.m. He promises the independence of the 200 journalists who would be recruited by the end of 2024, the return of music and concerts (neglected by television), and the end of advertising tunnels (in reference to prime time programs which start at 9 p.m. 15, compared to 20 to 30 minutes less at one time). The latter benefit content platforms more than French television. ” By shifting the viewer, television has lost him. And our first strong commitment is that the first part of the evening will never start after 9 p.m. on this channel “, did he declare.
Also referring to the war that pitted Internet service providers against television channels (which demanded a fee so that the operators could retransmit them), Xavier Niel promised to make the linear signal free ” to anyone who wishes to distribute it. »
The creation is also part of the strategy of “SIX”, with more original French creation in prime time, which requires investment. ” Today, in free TV, producers have two major partners: TF1 and France Télévisions. We want SIX to be this third major partner. We are not a producer, but a publisher. Everyone has their place “added the businessman. 12.5% of the turnover of this potential channel should be devoted to French fiction and documentaries. Today, M6, the most profitable channel in Europe, peaks at 11.5%. However, SIX should take several years to reach this ceiling.
Another notable fact, Xavier Niel never mentioned during his presentation the channel “M6. On the other hand, he quoted several times, often in a benevolent way, TF1. He had to justify himself by saying that he was not used to speaking well of the subsidiary of the Bouygues group, which he never really cared about (Free has just had Bouygues Telecom heavily condemned for its grouped).
Relaunched by the president of ARCOM, Roch-Olivier Maistre, on his long-term future (after the failure of the takeover of the M6 channel last year), Xavier Niel wanted to reassure by promising to keep control of the chain for 10 years. The final allocation of frequencies will be formalized in the coming weeks.
Source : ARCOM
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