Canal+ Group is in exclusive talks to buy French telco Orange’s film and pay TV operations, in a deal that could help it to challenge US streaming giants in the territory.
Orange’s pay TV arm OCS (Orange Cinema Series) and production, distribution and sales division Orange Studio have been on the market for nearly two years.
Talks between Canal+ and Orange have been taking place for several months, but have now accelerated. Local media is reporting an expected transaction in the next few days.
Canal+ already holds a 34% stake in OCS and is the main distributor of its content.
A deal would see Orange Studio’s film catalogue combined with StudioCanal, making Canal+ more competitive against US streaming giants like Netflix, Prime Video and Disney+ which have swept into the country in recent months, challenging windows and investing in local production.
A deal would also add an additional three million subscribers to Canal+’s subscriber base.
OCS launched in 2008 and is now France’s second-biggest pay TV service after Canal+. OCS is the distributor of HBO series, including exclusive content like Game of Thrones, The Walking Dead and Euphoria. But its multi-year deal is ending at the end of the year with no renewal in sight.
Orange Studio launched in 2007 and co-produces, distributes and handles international sales for a large catalogue including Florian Zeller’s Oscar-winning The Father to the more recent Haute Couture starring Nathalie Baye, Olivier Assayas’ Wasp Network and Pietro Marcello’s Cannes 2022 title Scarlet. Nicolas Bedos’ Mascarade is currently topping new releases at the French box office and sold worldwide across the globe via Pathe. Orange Studio’s catalogue houses more than 1800 films and series.
A Canal+ and OCS marriage would have to be approved by the French competition authority. Earlier this year, local media reported that broadcasters TF1 and M6 would merge but the deal was blocked.
The same French competition authority previously blocked a 2011 attempted merger between Canal+ Group and OCS to launch their own premium pay channel. However, that occurred before the launch of US streaming services in France.
As of this summer, Netflix boasted more than 10 million subscribers in France. Canal+ currently has 9.6 million subscribers in mainland France (and more than 23 million worldwide.
Warner Bros. Discovery, parent company of HBO, has also been a rumored buyer of OCS as it makes plans for its future streaming service, replacing HBO Max in France.
Canal+ and Orange would not comment on the negotiations.
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