Canal+ Group & VCNI Ink Deal for French Market

ViacomCBS Networks International (VCNI) and Canal+ Group have entered into a long-term strategic partnership, which includes the expansion of Paramount+ into the French market.

Paramount+ is expanding to France this year. Upon launch, the service will be available to all Canal+ Ciné Séries French subscribers. The ViacomCBS (now Paramount) streaming service will be the home of Showtime in France. It will feature Paramount Pictures’ movies, new Paramount+ originals, Nickelodeon’s characters, entertainment from MTV and CBS Studios’ top-rated shows.

French audiences will also have direct access to Paramount+ via the Paramount+ App (iOS and Android) and via connected TVs and OTT platforms.

The partnership also sees the distribution of nine ViacomCBS brands on Canal+ Group channels: Nickelodeon, Nickelodeon Junior, Nickelodeon Teen, MTV, Paramount Channel, Game One, J-One, BET and Comedy Central.

Also, select ViacomCBS content will premiere exclusively on Canal+ Group channels and services, including films from Paramount Pictures and various original series from Showtime. For one, Canal+ Group channels will air Paramount Pictures films six months after theatrical release, in line with new French media chronology regulations.

Halo will be available as a Paramount+ original in France on Canal+ as a special partner event for Paramount+ ahead of the service’s launch later in 2022, where the series will then become available.

“Today marks an important milestone for our streaming growth story,” said Raffaele Annecchino, president and CEO of ViacomCBS Networks International. “After the U.K., Italy and Germany, the new strategic partnership with Canal+ accelerates our expansion in Europe with the launch of Paramount+ in France in 2022. Paramount+ will bring French audiences the best ViacomCBS content, including Paramount Pictures and Showtime titles as well as a strong French content pipeline. We are strategically creating a streaming model for long-term growth, rapidly gaining a solid footprint across all the major European countries. Our SVOD premium services allow us to expand our streaming business in more than 60 markets, as we build our momentum toward expanding Paramount+ in all the markets across the world.”

Maxime Saada, chairman and CEO of Canal+ Group, said, “This partnership with ViacomCBS, which includes content and brands that have marked, and continue to mark, generations, is a new demonstration of Canal+ Group’s ability to team up with the most influential global players in the content industry. It strengthens our businesses, both as an aggregator, via the distribution of Paramount+ and ViacomCBS’s channels, and as a publisher, by securing long-term exclusive access to Paramount Pictures movies and select Showtime series for our Canal+ channels. This acclaimed ViacomCBS content will strengthen Canal+ Group’s unique cinema and series offering that is available in more than 30 countries around the world.”