The boss of the M6 ​​group Nicolas de Tavernost unveils Tuesday in "Le Figaro" his strategy against streaming platforms.

Highlighting the good results of its channels, he calls for M6 to become the central figure in the consolidation of French media in their resistance to the giants of the web.

M6 will be "the pivot of the consolidation" of the media in France, his boss told

Le Figaro

on Tuesday

, while the group of televisions and radios is the object of much envy.

Its shareholder RTL Group is in fact ready to part with it.

"The analysis, which we share with our shareholder, is that we have to be strong, either at the global level or at the local level. If the French market does not consolidate in the short term, it will soon be rolled by platforms like Netflix or Amazon, "added the chairman of the board in a daily interview.

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According to him, M6 should naturally play this pivotal role "by its size and success".

Nicolas de Tavernost, on the other hand, declared himself "fiercely opposed" to a dismantling of the group that owns the television channels M6, W9, 6ter and Gulli and of the RTL, RTL2 and Fun Radio radios.

Several media and telecoms heavyweights (TF1, Vivendi, Altice) could be interested in sharing assets.

"The M6 ​​model delivers good results, crisis or no crisis"

The M6 ​​group also published on Tuesday an annual turnover down 12.5% ​​in 2020, at the end of a financial year marked by strong audiences for television but declining advertising revenues (- 11.5%).

However, it generated a net profit up 61% to 277 million euros, including 123 million euros in capital gains related to asset disposals.

In television, the group says it has offset almost all of the drop in activity with numerous savings.

"In 2020, our results are very close to those of 2019, which were already at a historic level. This shows that the M6 ​​model consistently delivers good results, crisis or not," commented the boss of the group, who However, forecasts a "difficult" first quarter of 2021.