Several channels are currently engaged in a battle, because of the new numbering which could occur after the announced shutdown of C8 and NRJ 12. Explanations.
Will we soon have to get used to pressing other buttons to find our favorite television program? On March 1, the numbering of channels could indeed change, at least for those called TNT and located beyond number 7.
Holes in the zappette
Indeed, with the announced shutdown of the C8 and NRJ 12 channels, the consequence of a very controversial decision by Arcom (Regulatory Authority for Audiovisual and Digital Communication), there will be holes in the zappette. In addition to channels no. 8 and 12, no. 20 is today unoccupied, in fact since the shutdown in 2020 of France Ô.
A priori, Arcom could therefore not simply reallocate the slots left free to the two new channels selected (Ouest-France and Réels TV), but shake up the French television landscape. Especially since requests come from everywhere.
Bring LCI and France Info back behind BFM and CNews?
During his hearing for the renewal of LCI’s TNT frequency, currently broadcast on channel 26. The CEO of the TF1 group Rodolphe Belmer thus asked to move up the hierarchy. The deputy general director for information of the TF1 group, Thierry Thuillier, completed the request by demanding the “creating an info channel block” Who “would allow us to recreate a form of fairness of opportunity“. “The very distant numbering of LCI is a handicap“, he argued, its competitors BFM and CNews being easier to find on numbers 15 and 16.
This grouping would also benefit France Info, currently broadcast on channel 27. But Nicolas de Tavernost, CEO of RMC BFM, refuses the hypothesis, even speaking of a “real hold-up”. “BFM was the first to invest since 2005 in the development of this offer. No one has invested as much as BFM and employs as many journalists. For twenty years, BFM has been in the information field, and today, some would like to capture part of its audience by getting closer to it. Would we consider letting a competing store open in the parking lot of a supermarket so that it can take advantage of its catchment area?“, he defended in the columns of Les Echos.
What about the two new channels?
This grouping could also benefit the two newcomers, since RéelsTV, the channel of Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky, presents itself as “an original place for public debate” and Ouest-France presented a more varied program but still very focused on information. In any case, its leaders have already announced that they would refuse any number beyond 23.
This is good, number 18 could also become free. In any case, Gulli, a channel which offers content for children, is asking to get closer to France 4, broadcast on “14”, and whose programs target a similar audience.
This television game of hats therefore promises to be a real headache for Arcom, which must submit its copy by the end of the year for implementation on March 1st. Especially since C8 and NRJ 12 contested their ouster from TNT before the Council of State and they could therefore possibly return to this great numbering debate.
