This Wednesday, according to Arcom, the media regulator, Xavier Niel’s project, which aimed to replace M6 to operate channel 6 of DTT, was eliminated from the procedure for allocating this frequency. An announcement which quickly reacted to the person concerned who published a message with an offbeat tone on Twitter.
Billionaire Xavier Niel’s project, which aimed to replace M6 to operate channel 6 of digital terrestrial television (TNT), has been eliminated from the procedure for allocating this frequency, media regulator Arcom said on Wednesday. . Even if the frequency of M6 and that of TF1, also subject to renewal, have not yet been formally reallocated, only their current holders remain in the running for the last part of the procedure, decided Arcom. As soon as this announcement was made by Arcom, Xavier Niel reacted with an offbeat message on Twitter. He wrote “The frequency of M6” above the photo of a crying teenager saying “How the fuck can I get you back, NEVER can I get her back”.
The frequency of M6: pic.twitter.com/0bJCw2WLos
— Xavier Niel (@Xavier75) February 22, 2023
The authorizations to operate channels 1 and 6 of the DTT expire on May 5, and their reattribution for ten years had been the subject of a call for applications.
A channel project called “SIX”
This procedure is a first since 1987, the year of the privatization of TF1 and the arrival of M6 on the sixth hertzian network. Until now, these pioneers had benefited from a renewal without a call for candidates and in return for commitments to the regulator. Xavier Niel wanted to create a channel called “SIX” to replace M6, promising less advertising, more new programs and early evening shows starting before 9:00 p.m. Arcom “will now initiate discussions with the selected candidates (TF1 and M6, editor’s note) in order to conclude an agreement intended to define the obligations and commitments of each of the two services”, she explained in a press release.
“This agreement must be adopted before the issuance of an authorization to use the (frequency) on DTT, which itself must take place before May 5, 2023”, she added to specify the timetable.