Variety: Canal+ Group’s French Channel C8, Which Airs Controversial Talk Show, to Be Discontinued by Broadcasting Regulatory Body

Story from Variety:

Canal + Group’s popular channel C8, which airs the controversial talk show “Touche pas à mon poste,” looks bound to disappear.

France’s broadcasting regulatory authority (Arcom) has decided not to grant the renewal of the TNT channel’s frequency to Canal+ Group following auditions with leaders of the Vivendi-owned TV banner.

Contacted by Variety, Canal+ Group declined to comment. The outlet could now appeal Arcom’s decision to the state council.

C8 is not the only frequency that failed to be renewed by the eight-member board of Arcom. The regulatory body also turned down NRJ12. In total, Arcom pre-selected 15 channels out of 24 applicants.

Canal+ Group’s other frequencies, such as its right-wing news channel CNews (often referred to as France’s equivalent to Fox News) made the cut, but will have to sign a convention that Arcom will be submitting soon to all 15 pre-selected services. The convention will set guidelines in terms of broadcasting obligations.

The license to operate these frequencies are handed out for an initial duration of 10 years, which can be extended by five years.

The notorious talk show “Touche pas a mon poste,” presented by Cyril Hanouna, has been on the radar of Arcom for many years and has been accused of bolstering the popularity of far-right leaders. The amount of fines it received from Arcom is believed to have reached a cumulated €7.5 million. The talk show received a record €3.5 million fine last year after Hanouna clashed with a member of hard left party La France Insoumise and insulted him. During the audition process, its boss Gérald-Brice Viret suggested that “Touche pas a mon poste” would start being pre-recorded instead of airing live starting in September.

While Canal+ Group is poised to lose C8, Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky — who recently bought publishing group Editis from Vivendi — saw two of its channel proposals turn up among Arcom’s pre-selection.

Launched in 2005, France’s TNT channels now represent more than 90% of TV audiences in France.