During a recent speech, Nicolas de Tavernost, CEO of M6 Group, mentioned in passing the idea—not officially confirmed—of drawing on the international expertise of the Lagardère group to develop its activities internationally, particularly in Africa.
As announced at the end of May, the Lagardère Group has decided to sell the majority of its TV division to the M6 Group. The agreement has not yet been formally ratified as it is still subject to approval by the French authorities, who are expected to give their opinion at the end of July.
Gulli Africa, the pan-African channel developed by the Lagardère Group and broadcast exclusively on CANAL+ packages, is part of the deal between Lagardère and the M6 Group and thus represents a solid foundation for implementing this intention.
It is still too early to say what form Nicolas de Tavernost's international ambitions will take: the launch of a new international M6 channel to complement Gulli Africa, the enrichment of Gulli Africa with M6 content, etc.
It should also be noted that the M6 Group recently acquired a 30% stake in the new Ivorian private channel Life TV, but that the departure a few months ago of Life TV's CEO, who came from the M6 Group, and the arrival at the head of the channel of a team from the VOODOO Group, are fueling rumors of the M6 Group's withdrawal from this alliance.
Nevertheless, the acquisition of Lagardère's TV division is a perfect opportunity to strongly reaffirm that French-speaking Africa remains a key element in the M6 Group's international development, especially since CANAL stopped broadcasting M6 on its television offerings more than two years ago.