Its leader Thomas Rabe explained Monday this reversal by "the legal risks and uncertainties" linked to the authorization of the sale by the various regulatory and competition authorities.

Following a strategy of withdrawing into national markets, the Bertelsmann group had been looking for almost two years for a buyer for its 48.3% stake in the M6 ​​group (publisher of the M6, W9, 6ter, Gulli and Paris Première channels and radio stations RTL, RTL2 and Fun Radio), which it owns via the RTL group.

He had first chosen the alliance with the Bouygues group, owner of the competing channel TF1, and pleaded for months for the creation of a French television champion capable of opposing streaming platforms (Netflix, Disney or Amazon).

But in mid-September, faced with the reluctance of the French Competition Authority to authorize the operation, the two groups preferred to abandon their project.

Since then, as TF1 rebounded by changing bosses, it became urgent for the M6 ​​shareholder to launch a "plan B".

The channel's authorization to broadcast on DTT must be renewed in May 2023 by the audiovisual regulator, Arcom, after which any change in frequency control will be impossible for five years, as provided for by law.

Questioned by senators, the presidents of Arcom and the Competition Authority had given no hope of any postponement of this fateful date, emphasizing the time required to assess such an operation.

What future for M6?

However, "several financially attractive offers" had been received, RTL said in its press release, and three buyers had submitted binding offers on Thursday.

That from French producer Stéphane Courbit (Banijay), allied with Rodolphe Saadé, the boss of the shipping giant CMA-CGM, valued Bertelsmann's stake at around 1.2 billion euros, but could have boosted the French producers.

Another offer from billionaire Xavier Niel (Iliad group), associated for the occasion with the Berlusconi family (MediaForEurope group), had been widely decried in the media, the former Italian leader being linked to the extreme right in power and involved in the fiasco of the chain La Cinq in France in the 1990s.

The third proposal was signed by the Czech Daniel Kretinsky, owner of the press group CMI France (Elle, Marianne), and also a shareholder of Le Monde and TF1.

Potentially simpler competitively, it was also the lowest bidder, according to several sources.

What future now for the former "small rising channel", launched in 1987 and today the second private group in terms of audience in France?

Despite its decision to retain its equity stake in M6, "RTL Group remains convinced that market consolidation is necessary to compete with global technology platforms - and that market consolidation will happen sooner or later in European television markets" , the group said.

"The M6 ​​Group will play a key role in any further consolidation of the French television industry", insisted Thomas Rabe.

But until then, "M6 will have to get back in motion anyway," media expert Philippe Bailly recently anticipated, interviewed by AFP.

Among the subjects put "in brackets" for a few months, which the indestructible boss of the chain Nicolas de Tavernost, 72, will have to tackle: the development of audiovisual production in the face of the rise of competitors in Europe, the development of free streaming and the future of the Salto platform, launched with TF1 and France Télévision.

© 2022 AFP