EUROPE

Europe encompasses the CANAL+ group’s subscription-TV (live and on-demand, mostly through CANAL+ premium offers & its myCANAL OTT and super aggregation platform) and advertising-supported free-to-air TV businesses across France, the French Overseas and adjacent territories, Poland, Central Europe and Benelux (through its wholly owned subsidiary M7) and the Nordics (through a minority interest in Viaplay) as well as telecommunication services in the French Overseas Territories. As of year-end 2023, the CANAL+ group had a total subscriber base of 17.4 million in Europe.

France is the historical centre and flagship operation of the group’s TV business. The CANAL+ group has a 40-year presence and history in France, having launched the first subscription-TV channel in the country in 1984. It remains the leading subscription-TV operator and its subscriber base has been growing for 8 consecutive years. It has an attractive, premium positioning in France, where it is the market leader in terms of revenues. It continues to set industry standards with high-quality, distinctive and exclusive content.

The CANAL+ group is the leading subscription-TV group in terms of revenue in the Overseas Territories, i.e. in the Caribbean (French West Indies, French Guiana and Haiti), the Indian Ocean (La Réunion, Mayotte, Comoros and Mauritius) and the Pacific (New Caledonia, Wallis and Futuna, French Polynesia, Vanuatu and Australia).

Poland is home to the CANAL+ group’s second-largest country subscription base. The CANAL+ group is the second largest player in terms of revenue amongst subscription-TV broadcasters and streaming platforms in Poland, where it enjoys a strong brand awareness of more than 80%. The group operates in Poland through its consolidated subsidiary CANAL+ Polska.

In particular CANAL+ Polska offers one of the most comprehensive premium television experiences in the country with 12 in-house CANAL+ premium channels, 4 additional in-house CANAL+ premium UEFA Champions League channels and 7 in-house themed basic channels dedicated to Cinema, Sports, Family, Documentaries and Lifestyle. It produces a broad variety of local content including original series (such as “Raven”, “The Teach”, “The Office PL” and “Emigration XD”), representing a volume of approximately 25 hours per year. The group also co-produces award-winning films, such as “The Peasants”, “Green Border”, “Lampo” and the “Travelling Dog”.

The CANAL+ group has a strong presence in Central Europe and the Benelux through M7. Acquired in 2019, M7 is a Luxembourg-based operator, aggregator and distributor of local and international channels, offering cultural and language-specific packages via satellite and OTT platforms in several countries in Central Europe (Austria, Germany, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Switzerland, Hungary, Romania) and Benelux (Belgium and the Netherlands).

The CANAL+ group is a major player in each of its markets in the region, consistently ranking within the top 10 players in terms of revenue. More particularly, the CANAL+ group ranks second in both Slovakia and the Czech Republic.

Across its markets, M7 has a hybrid TV offering including key channels for live entertainment and sports being increasingly complemented with a wide range of VOD services, benefiting from the expertise of SPI International (a channel broadcasting and distribution company acquired by the CANAL+ group in a two-step transaction in 2022/2023) and the rich library of films and series of the CANAL+ group and STUDIOCANAL.

Moreover, M7 is developing and introducing proprietary premium channels and VOD services often under the “CANAL+” brand as part of an overall “premiumisation” strategy. Drawing on the CANAL+ group’s resources, several international, regional and local own productions and co-productions have been successfully released.

The CANAL+ group holds a 29.33% stake in Viaplay following a two-step acquisition in 2023/2024. Viaplay, headquartered in Stockholm, is a publicly listed commercial video-on-demand streaming, TV and radio entertainment provider.

Viaplay offers its streaming service on a DtoC basis in the following core countries : Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland and the Netherlands. It provides on its streaming platform a wide range of entertainment, including TV series, films, documentaries, children’s content and premium live sports, and its Viaplay Select branded content is available in 23 countries globally.

As of 30 June 2024, Viaplay had approximately 4.7 million subscribers in its core operating geographies.