TF1 and M6, the first two private French television groups, announced on Monday May 17 that they had entered into exclusive negotiations with the ambition of merging.
German Bertelsmann, owner of RTL Group, to which M6 belongs, has been officially looking since the end of 2020 for a buyer for its French television and radio subsidiary. At the end of the transaction, the Bouygues group, which belongs to Martin Bouygues, would be the controlling shareholder of the new group with 30% of the capital, for which it will have to pay 641 million euros; RTL Group will retain 16%. Nicolas de Tavernost, CEO of M6, will head the new group.
By joining forces, the two groups hope to better fight the American giants, like Netflix, YouTube or Disney, by strengthening themselves in advertising, by accelerating in streaming through the Salto platform and by deploying in production.
This merger will however be subject to the agreement of the Competition Authority and the Superior Audiovisual Council (CSA), with an outcome at best at the end of 2022. On paper, the operation seems impossible: together , TF1 and M6 represent 75% of the television advertising market and would enjoy an envious position in audiovisual production.
Whatever happens, TF1 and M6 will not be able to keep all of the ten terrestrial channels they own, the M6 group owning M6, W9, 6ter, Gulli and Paris Première, while the TF1 group owns TF1, TMC, LCI, TFX, TF1 Séries Films. Three channels should be divested.
What future for the chains of the two groups? What about their programs? Could such a merger destabilize the French audiovisual landscape? Sandrine Cassini, journalist at World media officer, answers your questions live, starting at 2:30 p.m.