After 37 years at the helm of M6, Nicolas de Tavernost is retiring from the presidency on April 23, giving way to David Larramendy, the general director of M6 Publicité. Failure of the M6-TF1 merger which he considers to be a “historical error“, “nightmare” of the Loftor even obtaining the rights to the Football World Cup in 2026 and 2030… The future ex-boss of the M6 group takes stock of his years at the head of the one which was called “the little chain that goes up“.
A departure that takes place in complete serenity. “The transition is going wellthis is not always the case in companies (…) We have a great group”, he confides on RTL. Now aged 73, the future ex-director intends to perpetuate his activities “I will continue to work, when you are lucky enough to have good health, there is no point in stopping (…) But I will always have a little eye on M6.”
TF1-M6 merger: “a historic error”
On September 16, 2023, M6 announced the abandonment of the merger with the TF1 group. For Nicolas de Tavernost, this decision remains a “historic error”. “French groups are very small (…) We had the chance to to be able to compete with the Americans who are much more important than us. The audiovisual landscape needs to strengthen itself, and it is not by breaking it up that we will be able to do it,” explains the future ex-boss.
Rights to the 2026 and 2030 World Cup
Last March, the M6 group obtained the television rights for the next two Football World Cups, scheduled for 2026 and 2030. A successful move for M6, but not an isolated one. “M6 is no longer a small channel“, recalls Nicolas de Tavernost on RTL. “There are plenty of other sporting events, for example, for the Marseillais, we are going to put on May 2 the semi-final of the Europa League,” he specifies.
The “nightmare” of the Loft
If “Le Loft” – the first reality TV program released in 2001 – has forever marked the history of television, this show nonetheless remains a nightmare” in the career of the future ex-boss of the M6 group. “You had people who didn’t shake your hand, police protection, trash cans against the facade and what’s more, it was live, you had to manage these lofters, something happened every day,” reports he.
“On the 24-hour channel, you had someone on the headset and beeping when it was not busy.” “Some competitors had tried to take advantage of this to have the frequency taken away from us,” laments Nicolas de Tavernost. A somewhat bitter memory for the future ex-director, but without regret.
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