Canal+ international buyouts: the search to eliminate territorial dependencies

On January 10, 2023, Viaplay convened an Extraordinary General Meeting to consider Canal+'s proposal to increase its stake in the group to 29.33%. An accepted proposition that makes the French group the largest shareholder in the Swedish platform and represents the latest chapter of the French international expansion. Since Maxime Saada took on the role of CEO in 2015, the objective to strengthen the group's position abroad and reduce its dependence on its original market has taken a central focus. Canal+ France completes its shift to OTT and positions itself as an aggregator Canal+ has reinforced its position in recent years and the group appears stronger than ever, aiming to enter the big leagues as a pan-regional player. However, this international venture initially started with a restructuring of the group's strategy in France, attempting to reduce dependence on French football broadcasting rights and strengthening its content offering through aggregation to attract a broader audience. Indeed, Canal+ has gradually distanced itself from the French Ligue 1 since Amazon's opportunistic move and the Mediapro fiasco in 2021. The group didn't even participate in the bidding process in October 2023 and diversified into other, more affordable sports rights that remain attractive. The operator has complemented the remaining traditional football foundation with an increased focus on motorsports. It has entered into a long-term agreement with Formula 1 and holds exclusive broadcasting rights for the MotoGP World Championship, with both contracts extended until 2029. The motorcycle league has experienced particular success, with each race now attracting over a million viewers. Additionally, Canal+ also holds exclusive broadcasting rights for the UEFA Champions League for the next three seasons, as well as for the Top 14 rugby until 2027. But one of the major turning points for Canal+ in France has been to strengthen its fiction and entertainment stream of content. The operator relies on StudioCanal, its in-house production company, which produces an average of 80 films and 20 series yearly and is set to invest €600 million in French production between 2022 and 2024. It also secured distribution agreements with all major American studios.  However, it is primarily by positioning itself as an aggregator that the group has gained considerable weight: after partnering with Netflix, MyCanal now offers content from OCS, Disney+, Lionsgate+, Paramount+, Apple TV+ since April 2023, and, the latest addition in August 2023, DAZN. In the era of multiplying platforms, these partnerships provide a real advantage to consumers in terms of user convenience and also in pricing. These initiatives have allowed Canal to diversify the demographic profiles within its subscriber base – with targeted actions, such as the launch of the MyCanal offer for those under 26, which brought together over 400k new...