Arcom dismisses C8, the most sanctioned channel on French television

4 mins

A few weeks after the political upheavals, France experienced a real media thunderbolt. Arcom, the independent public authority that guarantees freedom of communication, decided not to renew C8’s authorization for digital terrestrial television (DTT) frequencies. The channel had regularly hit the headlines. Cyril Hanouna, the star host of the show Do not touch My TVhad even insulted a member of parliament live on air. These excesses had resulted in fines of up to 7.6 million euros.

Contempt or responsibility?

The decision to refuse the frequency to C8 from 2025 constitutes for the general director of Canal+ France, Gérald-Brice Viret, a form of ” contempt for the public “. He himself says “like many, in shock.” ” How can we understand this unprecedented decision in the history of TNT with regard to a channel which contributed to its popularity? ? “The Canal+ group has always been very attached to C8, despite 48.5 million euros of net losses in 2023, according to L’informé.

Unsurprisingly, the most virulent criticism of Arcom’s decision came from the far right. On X, Éric Ciotti, the conductor of the alliance of the Republicans with the National Rally (RN) even spoke of ” censorship » and a « deadly drift for our democracy “.

The leader of the National Rally, Jordan Bardella, also denied any independence to Arcom, lambasting: ” The left, which does not tolerate any questioning of its cultural hegemony, any expression different from its own, got the scalp of C8 by putting pressure on an authority “independent” ». And for Eric Zemmour, boss of Reconquête! and great follower of the theory of the great replacement, the Arcom ” breaks the momentum of those who create, who liberate and who please “.

For Thibaut Bruttin, the new general director of the NGO Reporters Without Borders, by removing the most sanctioned channel in French audiovisual media, Arcom has simply ” took the measure of his responsibilities “.

In its press release, the regulator of audiovisual and digital communications in France did not justify the exclusion of C8, but gave as a crucial criterion ” the interest of each project for the public with regard to the priority imperative of pluralism of socio-cultural currents of expression “. In addition, the Arcom ” has the mission of providing public access to a pluralistic audiovisual offering that respects rights and freedoms “.

C8 and far-right opinions

Beyond the observed excesses, many media observers had criticized C8 for promoting far-right opinions. In a column in The New Obsthe #MeTooMedia collective had even denounced “ echo chambers for sexist, misogynistic and rape culture remarks ” At the same time, the same criticism was made of CNews, also owned by the Canal+ group and therefore by billionaire Vincent Bolloré, and yet CNews, which recently became the number one news channel, was indeed confirmed and selected for a renewal of its frequency.

With its decision, Arcom has sent a thunderous signal to Bolloré and all other channel editors on the need to respect their obligations. Because DTT remains essential in France. According to Arcom, DTT channels currently represent more than 90% of the total television audience. And for nearly 20% of households, DTT remains the exclusive reception mode.

C8 is far from the only channel whose application was rejected. For example, the general channel NRJ12, the web TV L’Express TV and Le Média TV of the radical left were also in the running to get a frequency on TNT, without success. On the other hand, Réels TV, of the Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky, and OF TV, of the regional group Ouest-France, have successfully entered the prestigious and profitable TNT.

Before winning the big prize, all channels must first “establish agreements” with Arcom, ” essential condition for the issue of an authorization to use the radioelectric resource on DTT, for a maximum duration of ten years “.

And for C8, the end of TNT does not necessarily represent the end of the channel, given the broadcasting possibilities offered by the Internet, boxes or connected TVs. As for Cyril Hanouna, he had presented in June on another channel belonging to Bolloré, Europe 1, the show We walk on the head !. For the latter, Arcom had sent Europe 1 a formal notice for lack of ” measure ” and D’ ” honesty ” in his treatment of electoral news.