Channel Profile: Canal+

OWNERSHIP: Canal+ Group, a division Vivendi. The channel is part of a portfolio that also includes Canal+ Cinéma, Canal+ Family and JIMMY
SENIOR EXECUTIVES:
Bertrand Méheut, CEO, Canal+ Group
Rodolphe Belmer, COO, Canal+ Group
Manuel Alduy, Director of Cinema, Canal+ Group
Franck Appietto, Director of Entertainment Channels, Canal+ Group Aline Marrache-Tesseraud, Head of Foreign Drama Acquisition, Canal+

LAUNCH DATE: November 1984
LANGUAGE: French
GENRE: General entertainment
TARGET DEMOGRAPHIC: All viewers
HD FEED?: Yes
AVAILABILITY: Distributed on cable, satellite and IPTV in France

Programming Strategy
ACQUIRED TO ORIGINAL RATIO: Mainly original.
SIGNATURE BRANDS: Original productions on Canal+ include Mafiosa 3, Maison Close, Pigalle. Imports include Pillars of the Earth, Mad Men, Desperate Housewives, Weeds.
SCHEDULING: 24/7 pay service based on premium content.
INTERNATIONAL ACQUISITIONS: The channel acquires a lot of feature films and series from the U.S. studios.
COMMISSIONING: “What matters most to our subscribers is premium, exclusive content,” says Bertrand Méhuet. “This is what primarily drives our investments. Genre is not necessarily relevant. Obviously, some programs are more valuable to us than others. But this is only because of their quality and scarcity—not because they fall into one particular category.”