What future for TF1 and M6 after the aborted merger?

The “dream” of creating an audiovisual giant in France – to use the expression of Gilles Pélisson, the boss of TF1 – is well and truly buried. After a year and a half of engagement, TF1 and M6 had to throw in the towel, given the requirements of the Competition Authority. The abandonment of this marriage reshuffles the cards. TF1 and M6 must now reinvent themselves. TF1 will have a new boss, Rodolphe Belmer, who knows the platforms well as a member of the board of directors of Netflix. He will have to prove that the leader in free television in France can grow as a “single” in the face of competition from platforms, such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney + etc.

For its part, Bertelsmann has relisted M6. Several contenders are on the finish line: Xavier Niel, individual shareholder of “Le Monde” and owner of the Iliad telecoms group, has joined forces with the Italian television group Media For Europe (which brings together the entities of Mediaset) of the Berlusconi family. It competes with an offer bringing together Stephane Courbit, behind the production giant Banijay, Rodolphe Saade, the future owner of “La Provence” and president of CMA CGM and Marc Ladreit de Lacharrière, owner of Fimalac. A third offer would come from Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky, who was already a candidate last year.