Vivendi: Canal+ negotiates with Bercy on the VAT rate applicable to its offers -Dir.Fin

PARIS (Agefi-Dow Jones)–The Canal+ pay-TV channel should be fixed within “a few weeks, or a few months” on the VAT rate that applies to its offers, said Thursday the financial director of Vivendi, Francois Laroze.

“We are still in a process of negotiation with the French tax authorities,” the official stressed during a conference call with analysts.

The tax administration had informed the encrypted channel in April that it could see its VAT rate increase from 10% to 20% on some of its offers. This higher rate is the one that applies to video-on-demand (SVOD) services, the latter increasingly taking precedence over live television consumption.

“We can prove that Canal+’s operations are closer to linear television than to SVOD. 90% of programs are seen on linear television”, affirmed François Laroze, judging the group’s position in the ongoing discussions “very strong”.

However, he stressed that in the event of a rise in the VAT rate, Canal+ would pass on part of it to the price of its subscriptions.

The leader made these comments on the occasion of the publication of Vivendi’s third quarter sales. The group published sales up 4.1% during the past quarter, despite a 3.3% drop in revenue from its subsidiary Canal+.

-Francois Schott, Agefi-Dow Jones; 01 41 27 47 92; [email protected] ed: ECH

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October 20, 2022 13:20 ET (17:20 GMT)