Shutdown of C8 and TPMP: it “is not confirmed” that Cyril Hanouna remains in the Canal+ group, says its president

Is the union between Baba and Canal+ coming to an end? The retention of host Cyril Hanouna in the Canal+ group after the announced shutdown of the C8 channel “is not confirmed” at this stage, even if this is what the company wants, said the president of the group in an interview given Wednesday to Stratégies.

Although the Council of State must still examine an appeal by C8 against the non-renewal of its frequency, “we were forced (d’)“act” the shutdown of the channel on February 28, declared Maxime Saada in an interview with this newspaper. Will Cyril Hanouna stay in the Canal+ group afterwards? “That’s what I want but it hasn’t been implemented,” replied the leader.

Owned by the Canal+ group, in the hands of conservative billionaire Vincent Bolloré, C8 has accumulated fines of 7.6 million euros due to the slip-ups of Hanouna, its star host.

“I underestimated the risk of withdrawal”

“I underestimated the risk of withdrawal (of frequency) until the end”, admitted Maxime Saada, according to whom “this decision of the Arcom is (…) totally incomprehensible.”

Monday evening, for the return of her show “Touche pas à mon poste” (TPMP), Hanouna assured that there was “nothing done” about her future. According to him, a “serious option” would be for him to switch to CStar, another channel of the Canal + group, for “a TPMP type talk show from 6:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.”.

In recent months, he has also mentioned the project of broadcasting programs on the Internet.

At the beginning of December, the group also announced that it would withdraw its four pay channels (Canal+, Canal+ Cinéma, Canal+ Sport, Planète) from DTT from June, citing the non-renewal of C8 and “a tax and regulatory environment more and more restrictive.

A prospect which could lead Canal+ to reduce its financing in the cinema sector. “The nature of our commitment depends on the conditions that will be offered to us by cinema organizations,” said Maxime Saada, while discussions are underway on the media chronology, the time limit for broadcasting films by channels and platforms after their release in theaters. “Do we want to lower our obligations? Certainly. Do we therefore want to reduce our investments? We’ll see,” he said.