The former star of TF1 criticizes the television channel for no longer paying him royalties for the exploitation of cosmetic products marketed under the brand which takes its name from the famous show.
Nothing is going well between Nicolas Hulot and TF1. According to information from the site L'Informé, the former star host of the shows “Ushuaïa, the extreme magazine” et «Ushuaïa Nature» appealed to the Nanterre commercial court regarding the marketing of products derived from the Ushuaïa brand (shampoo, shower gels, etc.). The environmentalist figure is opposed to the television channel, which recently sold its brand to L'Oréal, stopping paying him royalties for the exploitation of this name which he made popular with the general public.
Let's go back through the events. In 1994, Nicolas Hulot signed an agreement with TF1 allowing him to receive rights to the use of the Ushuaïa brand of hygiene products, launched a year earlier by the channel to take advantage of the colossal success experienced by the show reports. The brand is then owned by the chain and an operating license is transferred to L'Oréal. In 2017, at the time of the appointment of Nicolas Hulot as Minister of Ecology, Le Canard chainé pointed out the hundreds of thousands of euros earned annually by Eole Conseil, the personal company of the former host, as of these royalties.
But TF1 did not envisage this annuity as eternal. At the end of last year, the channel reportedly notified Nicolas Hulot of its intention to terminate the agreement concluded in 1994 on the grounds that he, absent from the small screen for around ten years, no longer contributes sufficiently to the brand awareness. “TF1 had the possibility every 5 years to exit this contract with Nicolas Hulot. He exercised this faculty which was contractual”indicates a spokesperson for the television group at Figaro. Firmly opposed to this decision, the main interested party argued, according to our colleagues, that his “past contribution to brand awareness” is likely to justify the continuation of royalties. According to l'Informed, TF1 then responded by accusing Nicolas Hulot «d’usurper» its ownership right to the brand.
New owner
Contrary to the wishes expressed by the channel, it is the Nanterre commercial court which will decide on the merits of the case. And this already promises to be difficult to unravel. Because, from now on, the derived product brand is no longer owned by TF1. The group sold it last September to its long-time partner, L'Oréal, for 27.5 million euros. According to the terms of the agreement revealed a few months ago by l'Informed, the French cosmetics giant is now entitled to exploit all licenses on derivative products, in particular shower gels, shampoo and other deodorants.
In the future, L'Oréal could even market new product categories, since the agreement applies to future licenses. What will happen then with the royalties claimed by Nicolas Hulot? Everything will depend on the final decision rendered by the courts… and the goodwill of the new owner of the brand. Furthermore, the former figurehead of the environmental movement, who recently withdrew from the media and political landscape, remains linked to TF1 by another contract, which, according to l'Informed, concerns revenues generated by secondary exploitations and derived from programs Ushuaïa et Ushuaïa Nature.
