Nicolas de Tavernost, the president of the M6 group. Thomas SAMSON / AFP
The chairman of the management board of the M6 group presented his project for the renewal of the TNT frequency that the channel has held for thirty-six years and that Xavier Niel covets.
“ This hearing rejuvenates me on the eve of the thirty-sixth anniversary of our TNT frequency, in March“. The tone was immediately set by Nicolas de Tavernost, the chairman of the management board of the M6 group. This Wednesday afternoon, he presented, with his team, his project for the renewal of his TNT frequency. A frequency that the chain has held for thirty-six years and which is coveted by the boss of Free, Xavier Niel, auditioned the same morning by Arcom, the regulator. “25 million viewers receive us today via DTT, of which 10 million have no other options. Last night, for example, out of the 3 million people who watched Les Bodin’s, 1.8 million received them only by DTT», continues Nicolas de Tavernost.
Read alsoXavier Niel, the man who wants to dynamite French television
Against Xavier Niel’s project, the boss of the private audiovisual group did not hesitate to mention Free directly. “Who asked for the abandonment of DTT standards? Who refuses to do targeted advertising, which is essential for the future of generalist television?asks, facing the sages of Arcom, the boss of M6. “If I have a message to convey here, Free is the only one who does not want to do targeted advertising, I encourage it to do so“, he insists, before recalling the balance sheet of M6. “For thirty-six years, we have respected our commitments to political neutrality and editorial independence. Should a good citizen be punished?“, he points.
Information with an ecological angle
To obtain the renewal of its DTT frequency, the M6 channel first intends to rely on the brand’s flagship content such as the news magazines “Capital” and “Zone prohibited”, while “renewing them“. A large axis of the project is also devoted to the reinforcement of information. M6 has two major current events, the “12:45 p.m.” and the “7:45 p.m.“, watched by 12 million French people every day, recalled Guillaume Charles. “ We are going to consolidate the position of news on our channels with the talents of M6, RTL and other group media, relying on social networks to relay our information“explained the director general of programs, recently joined the group’s management board.
“We will highlight three themes in particular: ecological issues, deciphering false information and promoting territories”
Guillaume Charles, Director General of Programs
A subject devoted to ecology would be broadcast every day in the M6 newspapers, which will be added the presence of an ecological referent in the drafting“. Regarding the fight against false information, the channel promises the “deployment of the infox section on all our media, with new information formats on social networks, under the M6 info brand.Finally, for education in digital citizenship, the channel intends to continue to make specific commitments to Arcom on “parity and representation of people with disabilities“, took as an example Guillaume Charles.
During the question-and-answer session, Nicolas de Tavernost insisted that he did not want to merge the newsrooms but to propose “more collaborations“, between them. “We believe that we need to go further in digital and that all newsrooms could contribute to stronger digital information“, specified the leader. “ The idea is to have a new format that is both a tool for debate“, added Karine Blouët, the current general secretary of the group.
“Telecom operators must be our partners, not our adversaries”
While Xavier Niel has angled his project on youth, Nicolas de Tavernost wanted to remind the weight of M6 with this target. “We are the leader in social networks with 2 million subscribers on our different accounts. We are in conversation with TikTok to pursue this ambition“, detailed the president of the group. In addition, the M6 team recalled that 25 million French people are today registered on “6play», its video on demand platform. The group also returned to the recruitment of young people, another proposal made by Xavier Niel this morning. ” Nearly 2,000 young people have been recruited over the past two years under the “youth plan”. The median age of the group is 41 years old“, clarified Karine Blouët.
The group’s team also underlined the risks taken by the channel. ” Cyril Lignac who cooks alone during confinement, in front of the French, you will only see it on M6 or a presidential candidate who confides in Karine Le Marchand you will also only see it on M6. We are always looking to take risks, with new proposals“, detailed Guillaume Charles.
Finally, Nicolas de Tavernost underlined the group’s desire, for the next ten years, “to continue to defend our values, our talents and our partners who together make the success of this channel“. Asked about the financing of the grid, the president indicated that he wanted toenhance advertising” And “ discuss with operators, like Orange “. “ Operators should be our partners not our adversaries“Launched Nicolas de Tavernost. He took the opportunity to insist on the group’s ambition to modernize access to DTT unlike “what some telecom groups would have you believe“. The ball is now in the court of the media regulator, who should decide in a few weeks on the allocation of said frequency.