In total, there are three files that have been filed for the resumption of these channels: those of TF1 and M6, historical holders of existing frequencies, and that of a company of Mr. Niel, whose project called “SIX” shows that it aims the current frequency of M6.
Xavier Niel (ISA HARSIN/SIPA)
The frequency rights for TF1 and M6 for their broadcasting on DTT expire on May 5. The three candidates will be heard by Arcom, the media regulator, and this will take place on February 15, for one hour and a half each.
The billionaire who started his career with the Minitel has created an exceptionally successful multimedia group Xavier Niel is the eighth-richest person in France, according to Forbes, and is a shareholder of the Le Monde group (Le Monde, Télérama, La Vie, Le Monde diplomatique, Courrier international).
By filing his official application with his company NJJ Project 5523, he clearly announces his interest in television: he had already tried to buy RTL’s stake in the M6 group twice, in May 2021 and then in October 2022 after the failure of the merger project between TF1 and M6.
At the end of 2022, the billionaire had indeed made an offer to buy in tandem with the Berlusconi family (MediaForEurope group). The owner of M6, the German media giant Bertelsmann, had finally chosen to keep the group in its fold.
This call for applications for the renewal of these frequencies is the first since 1987, the year of the privatization of TF1 and the arrival of M6 on the sixth terrestrial network.
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