A major renumbering would be considered by the audiovisual regulator, in particular with the creation of a news block, but also a block of youth channels.
In addition to the disappearance of C8 and NRJ12 next March, the Audiovisual and Digital Communication Regulatory Authority (Arcom) is reportedly planning a real upheaval in the numbering of DTT channels. Two scenarios are being studied according to information from l'Informed.
First of all, a file that has already been talked about: the creation of a united block of news channels, by moving LCI and France Info (channels 26 and 27) up in the numbering to get closer to BFMTV and CNEWS (15 and 16). An idea which is not new but which particularly worries leaders in the field such as BFM TV, whose president has clearly indicated that he is against this plan, which he considers unfair. A competitor, however, puts things into perspective: “ BFMTV, and to a lesser extent CNEWS, play the Calimero, but they will keep their number in all cases. ARCOM therefore takes nothing away from them, and their so-called damage will be difficult to demonstrate in court. ».
A second scenario envisaged is the creation of a block of youth channels, in which Gulli and CStar (18 and 17) would be brought closer to France 4 (14), which would, for example, give a boost to LCP/Public Senate, which would thus have moved up to 8th place to leave a place for the youth bloc.
One thing is certain, Arcom cannot do anything and must follow a fair and non-discriminatory method to allocate numbers, and can expect opposition before the Council of State from disgruntled groups. . The numbering of channels is of real importance in terms of audience and accessibility, the closer you are to 1, the easier it is to come across you while browsing and thus attract a new viewer.
This article was reprinted on the Univers FreeBox website
