ARCEP could force Canal Plus to reveal exclusivity prices

French competition regulator ARCEP could force Canal Plus to make details of the prices it offers for exclusive carriage of channels available to rival distribution platforms, enabling them to make counter offers, according to French financial daily Les Echos.

ARCEP wants Canal Plus to create a ‘reference offer’ outlining the general principles under which it will carry a channel, and has said it wants to organise a public consultation on this, seeking the views of distributors and channel providers. According to Les Echos, the regulator wants Canal Plus to make the price it agrees with channels available to rivals, enabling them to make a counter offer. Until now, Canal Plus has been forced only to give a global figure for what it spent on channel distribution deals.

Canal Plus may also be forced to make available the price distributors, including Canal Plus itself, pay for the exclusive distribution of its own channels as part of the reference offer.