On October 14th the Conseil Supérieur de l’Audiovisuel (the French broadcasting watchdog) announced its verdict on the proposed sale of Numéro 23 to the NextRadioTV group, owner of BFM TV, RMC and RMC Découverte, for €88.3 million. In a statement the French broadcasting regulating authority announced it is withdrawing its authorization for the channel to transmit as from June 30th 2016.
The CSA justified its decision because Diversity TV, Numéro 23’s owner, has not honoured its commitments, “hoping to profit from the licence it obtained by making a quick sale”. The company was given the channel free of charge in 2012. The Council considers “such a step constitutes an abuse of law marred by fraud, contrary to the objective pursued by the legislature.”
Sources: Press Release CSA, cbnews.fr and tvmag.lefigaro.fr
