The proposed merger of two of France's biggest television operators was called off due to antitrust hurdles.
Television Francaise 1 SA and Groupe M6 had a tie-up that the French Competition Authority was concerned about. The companies said in a statement Friday that they were abandoning the project.
The companies said that only structural remedies would be enough to approve the merger. The project didn't present any industrial logic according to the parties.
The plan's collapse is a blow to French construction and telecom conglomerate Bouygues SA, which is the biggest shareholder in the company.
Traditional free-to-air TV still accounts for the majority of viewing time, but most of the growth is in streaming platforms. To create a stronger player in the market, a tie-up would have been necessary.
The French competition authority acknowledges that there are challenges to the sector from video on demand services, but that television is still a powerful medium for the French population.
The competition authority said that the transaction could have created major competitive risks.
The companies think a merger of M6 and TF1 would be a good response to international competition.
The parties regret that the Competition Authority didn't take into account the changes in the French broadcasting sector.
With assistance from Lin Cheng.
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