Free

Free signs new channels deal with Altice but sues over Virgin Mobile acquisition

Altice France/SFR has signed a new agreement with Iliad Telecom/Free for the continued carriage of its channels BFM TV, RMC Découverte, RMC Story, BFM Paris and BFM Lyon Métropole. At the same time, Free has opened hostilities with Altice on another front by filing a lawsuit. The agreement for carriage of Altice France’s TV channels […]

Altice France’s Weill concedes defeat in battle with Orange

Altice France CEO Alain Weill has admitted defeat and will make the group’s TV channels BFM TV, BFM Business, RMC Découverte and RMC Story available free of charge to operators after Orange this week came good on its threat to cut their signal in the absence of a deal between the pair. BFM TV disappeared […]

Free posts mixed results, moves towards fibre partnership

French service provider Iliad Telecom/Free lost 77,000 mobile and 15,000 fixed broadband customers in France in the quarter to June, meaning that its total subscriber base in the French market has dropped by 92,000. On the upside, Free added 172,000 new fibre customers in the quarter, taking its total to 1.3 million at the end […]

Orange may follow Free in dropping Altice France channels

Orange may follow rival French service provider Free in dropping Altice France’s TV channels over disputed carriage terms, according to CEO Stéphane Richard. Speaking on the France 2 TV channel, Richard said that Orange was likely to follow Free by refusing to pay for the carriage of free-to-air channels BFM TV, RMC Découverte and RMC […]

Free poised to drop Altice France channels

French service provider Free is poised to cease distributing Altice France’s channels as the carriage fee dispute between the pair rumbles on, according to a press report. According to Le Figaro, citing unnamed sources, Free is set to stop distributing the channels from Friday, following demand by Altice that telecom operators pay for the channels […]

Watchdog rules in Free’s favour in channel carriage dispute with Altice France

French media watchdog the Conseil Supérieur de l’Audiovisuel (CSA) has ruled that service provider Free has the right to refuse to carry the channels of Altice France and associated services. The ruling deals a blow to Altice France, which has been in dispute with Free over the terms under which BFM TV, RMC Découverte and […]

Free signals strong opposition to Salto streaming plan

homepInternet service provider Free has communicated its vehement opposition to parts of the French broadcasters’ plans for streaming platform Salto to the competition watchdog currently assessing the project, according to a report by Le Monde. According to the paper, Free has sent a letter to the Autorité de la Concurrence outlining its concerns about plans […]

SFR takes on Free with new box, rollout in other markets to follow

French service provider Altice France/SFR has unveiled its latest set-top box, the AFR Box 8, designed by the group’s in-house R&D unit, Altice Labs. The box, which is being launched in France, will in fact be rolled out across Altice Europe’s other markets subsequently. The launch of the box follows the much higher-profile unveiling of […]

Xavier Niel reportedly looking at investment in Molotov as Altice stumbles

Free founder Xavier Niel may step into the breach if French OTT TV player Molotov’s investors block the company’s planned sale to Altice France, according to local reports. According to L’Opinion, citing unnamed sources, Niel, a long-time acquaintance of Molotov co-founder Jean-David Blanc, is prepared to take part in a new capital increase via his […]

Free sees modest bounce back

French service provider Free experienced a modest bounce back in the first quarter, with 150,000 new fibre customers, a solid result in Italy and a 7.7% lift in revenues. Free posted revenues of €1.293 billion, up 7.7%, with services revenue up 6.6% to €1.22 billion and a 30.4% increase in equipment sales to €73 million. Services […]

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