“The choice we made is coherent” Arcom responds to BFM’s attacks on the new TNT numbering

Asked initially about the departure of (very) many public figures from the social network X (formerly Twitter), Roch-Olivier Maistre, president of Arcom, believes that “the debate is legitimate”.

“The question is whether we should abandon the fight against disinformation or continue it. I'm more of the second idea. We have to compete in this field,” he certifies on France Inter this Tuesday January 21, 2025.

We are lucky to be on a continent which tries to regulate, with the DSA in particular, and which wants to protect freedoms, but which asks its actors to fight against illicit content, which is prohibited by law. Free speech is not the right to share false information. It's the law.

Close C8a scandal for freedom of expression?

Then questioned about the new numbering of the free TNT channels “a scandal in terms of freedom of expression, according to Cyril Hanouna”, the president of Arcom, replied that “the frequencies belong to the nation, they are allocated for a limited time. The competition worked, and on the basis of criteria chosen by law, the French chose two new channels”, without mentioning the flagship host of C8.

He was reminded that Daniel Kretinsky, owner of CMI TV in particular, who is one of the two new arrivals on TNT, is singled out for “also being a billionaire who has numerous press groups like Elle, Marianne, TV 7 daysand actions TF1“, according to Sonia Devillers, the public radio interviewer.

“The television landscape will expand. We have expanded pluralism. Two new publishers will be present in the television landscape, that's what we have to remember,” simply replied the president of Arcom. “We must revisit this right of concentration,” he nevertheless added, without saying more.

Where we must be attentive is the economic model of our media, written, radio, and TV. 50% of advertising resources devoted to media are captured by digital players. It will be 65% in 2030. This will dry up our media. This pluralism is important. We must support our public and private media.

“We cannot be a fan of liberalism and oppose it when it concerns us”

Last week, BFM TV issued a statement disapproving of Arcom's recent decisions. The chain believes that this new numbering “disadvantages the consumer”.

For Roch-Olivier Maistre and Sonia Devillers, it is above all because the grouping of the four news channels next to each other “encourages zapping”, which does not help the affairs of BFM.

“I think the choice we made is coherent. It is always in the logic of an offer of pluralism. BFMits editorial project must be strong enough to defend itself against competition. We cannot be a fan of liberalism and oppose it when it concerns us,” responds dryly the president of Arcom, who will leave his place to Martin Adjari by February 2025.

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