Vivendi, the parent company of French pay TV banner Canal+ Group, has sees revenues rise by 3.3% to €2.29 billion ($2.52 billion) during the first quarter of 2023.
Vivendi attributes the growth to all its subsidiaries, in particular Studiocanal, the film and TV production and distribution company of Canal+, whose revenues went up by 13.6% compared with the first quarter of 2022 driven by the success of several films, including the comedy “Alibi.com 2” and “John Wick 4.”
Among the several high profile deals signed by the company during the first quarter, Canal+ inked an agreement with French telco Orange to acquire all shares of its pay TV package OCS, as well as Orange Studio, the film and series co-production subsidiary.
The company’s video game banner Gameloft saw its business jump by 14%, boosted by its new game Disney Dreamlight Valley. Another popular game, Disney Speedstorm, launched this month.
Yannick Bolloré, chairman of the supervisory board of Vivendi, and Arnaud de Puyfontaine, Chairman of the Management Board and CEO, said in a joint statement, “All of our businesses progressed during the first quarter of 2023. Many positive signs have emerged in the last few months.”
The pair pointed to the the recent landmark agreement with Apple, which integrates AppleTV+ into the Canal+ package at no extra cost for all subscribers. The deal “confirms Canal+ Group’s leadership position in France as a content aggregator (while) Studiocanal once again demonstrated its ability to produce films that draw large audiences,” said Bolloré and de Puyfontaine, who also cited new contracts signed by Havas, its communication and marketing film, and Gameloft.
The Vivendi executives noted that the company’s performance was strong considered that last year’s first quarter was marked by a rebound in activity following the COVID pandemic. “The good start to the year that we just recorded allows us to look forward to 2023 with confidence, while remaining vigilant about the macro-economic and geopolitical environment,” they said.
Vivendi also addressed its pending deal to sell 100% of its publishing house Editis to a subsidiary of Czech Media Invest (CMI) founded by Daniel Kretinsky. The pact is being examined by the European Commission as part of “remedies” which Vivendi has submitted in order to be able to acquire the publishing giant Lagardere, including Hachette. The European Commission has raised anti-trust concerns over Vivendi’s contemplated ownership of both Hachette and Editis. Vivendi currently owns a 57.35-percent stake in Lagardere. Vivendi said a decision from the European Commission is expected in mid-June.
