Rapid TV News

France: mobile TV takes shape

Rose Major ©RapidTVNews | 28-05-2008

Thirty-six proposed DVB-H mobile TV channels for France have been whittled down to a final 13 by regulator the CSA, with L’Equipe and Euronews among those losing out. Services are expected to start before the end of the year. 

The country’s major broadcasters will have multiple channels. TF1 and sports subsidiary Eurosport both got a spot, with M6 and its sister channel from digital-terrestrial, W9, also gaining licences. Pay-TV operator Canal+ will offer a mobile version of its main channel, plus news service i-Télé.

But all three missed out with some of their proposals. TF1 wanted a mobile version of its news service LCI and its joint veture with Groupe AB, Tele Monte Carlo (TMC) while Canal+ had proposed Infosport and M6 its Teva channel.

Lagardere, meanwhile, got only one of its six proposals – Virgin 17. Among the five proposed but not given licences were its Elle and Gulli channels.

Also winning licences were some of France’s DTT services. Bolloré’s entertainment and magazine show channel Direct 8, news channel BFM TV and youth-skewed NRJ12 were all awarded licences, as was AB Groupe’s kids’ and youth channel NT1. Luc Besson’s EuropaCorp TV and Orange Sport also got spots on the platform. Orange had its O’TV channel knocked back.

Euronews had proposed a mobile version of its channel, but the CSA went with Canal+ and BFM TV for news services. A proposal from L’Equipe, Equidia and Les Echos for an equestrian channel also failed to gain a licence, as did Mobibase’s One TV Plus. Mobibase is a made-for-mobile entertainment company, but the CSA has plumped for exclusively French broadcasters for the platform.

Public broadcaster France Télévisions had already been awarded licences for three channels – France 2, France 3 and France 5.