the secrets of Gérald-Brice Viret, general manager of the group for France

Canal+ celebrates his birthday with great fanfare. On the occasion of its 40th anniversary, the pay channel – the first of its kind in France when it was launched – is showing its muscles more than ever with a plethora of content on offer. “40 years is still very young for a channel, but above all it is a channel at its peak in terms of offers”announcement Gérald-Brice Viret the general director for France in charge of programs and antennas.

Successfully launched around sport and cinema, the Canal+ group has evolved to reach 10 million subscribers. From now on, the chain is based on four essential pillars according to Gérald-Brice Viret: “Our backbone is French and American cinema since all box office films are broadcast on Canal+ 6 months after their theatrical release! Our second pillar is sport with 10,000 hours of broadcast per year with unique editorialization. Our 3rd pillar is original creation. We have launched 105 fictions and series over 40 years with references like The legends office, Hippocrates, The ghosts or Silver and blood. And our 4th pillar is the new flow programs with On the Microphone et Werewolves which is a very unifying show. There will also be a season 2 and a season 3! »

Gérald-Brice Viret also speaks on the non-renewal of the C8 frequency, evoking a “drama” for all teams: “C8 is the first TNT channel, it is popular with the public. And Arcom would ask us to stop on February 28! Can you imagine the anguish for us? It’s a tragedy because there are more than 400 people who work for this channel […] I hope this is not a political decision. We appealed but I don’t have much faith in it… Other candidates have been selected even though they won’t even be ready in March.”

“Cyril Hanouna is part of the Canal+ family”

Gérald-Brice Viret

Concerning the future of Cyril Hanouna, the general director ensures that he is working on different options with the host: “Cyril, it’s a television phenomenon! He and his team are an important social link for our audience. It is part of the Canal+ family. We will continue until February 28 with TPMP and, for the future, we are working on several options with him. We want to continue with Cyril Hanouna and there is no divorce between us.

Finally, responding to attacks that regularly qualify CNews as an ideological channel, Gérald-Brice Viret sets things straight: “It’s nonsense! Cnews has been the leading news channel in France since the start of the school year. It’s a chain of journalists who do very respectable work. Just like BFMTV, but they are simply 2nd and we are first. We found our niche with news, analysis and speakers from all walks of life. We are very comfortable with CNews where all opinions can be expressed. It is the information and freedom of expression channel acclaimed by the public. »