Once again, they showed that they would not go on vacation together. Historical enemy brothers, Xavier Niel (personal shareholder of the World) and Martin Bouygues, who successively answered questions from the senators of the commission of inquiry into media concentration, Friday, February 18, exchanged various courtesies by interposed hearings.
Without ever mentioning the name of the president of the Bouygues group, Xavier Niel said all the bad things he thought about the merger between TF1 and M6. Heard following him and from a distance because he tested positive for Covid-19, Martin Bouygues continued to contradict the founder of Free. Xavier Niel, who has multiplied the legal actions against the merger, began with an attack in good standing against the State.
“My country is a great democracy, I believe in its justice, but sometimes I have a little doubt in its authorities”first pinged the businessman. “Even before hearing us, the president of ARCOM [l’ex-CSA] and the Minister of Culture tell us: “everything is fine, move on” »he recalled, referring to the first statements that had followed, in early 2020, the announcement of the merger project.
“Colossal financial risk”
“The President of the Competition Authority, says “we are going to watch”, she’s fired. So, at some point, we are not too confident., he exclaimed, aiming, without saying so, at Emmanuel Macron himself – whom he usually says he appreciates. He then attacked the bride and groom, the Bouygues and Bertelsmann groups. “The creation of a monopoly is a fantastic thing. Well done if they make it! They are good traders. And good traders, they want to make money”taunted the billionaire before listing the problems that this marriage posed to him.
In advertising first, he estimated to “100 million euros” likely price increases. Either a “colossal financial risk” for his Iliad group, a major TV advertiser. Something to make Martin Bouygues smile gently. His turn came, the sexagenarian did not fail to specify that in 2020, Iliad had spent “4 million euros” in advertising spots on TF1, a tiny sum compared to the 1.8 billion euros in gross operating profit of the operator.
“He’s still not quite buried,” he tackled. On the contrary, Mr. Bouygues affirmed that the TF1-M6 merger was likely to respond to the gigantism of Netflix and other Amazon Prime Video. “We consider that we are too small, facing actors who worry us a lot”he recalled, taking up a now known antiphon.
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