Orange to carry on investing in content

France Telecom/Orange plans to carry on investing in exclusive content this year, despite recent regulatory reverses, according to a report in French financial daily Les Echos.

Orange content chief Xavier Couture told the paper the company would carry on investing in its premium channels. However, the new France Telecom CEO, Stephane Richard, has indicated he will look again at the company’s approach to acquiring exclusive rights. The operator has been heavily criticised by competitors for not making its exclusive sports rights available to third party distributors. France Telecom has spent approximately €400m acquiring exclusive sport, movie and series rights to fill the channels on its pay-TV platform.

Separately, Orange is moving ahead with plans to develop games on-demand delivered to the TV screen. The operator has launched a trial service to 200 households. According to reports, a commercial launch could be timed to coincide with the launch of a new media centre-type set-top box later this year.