End of the partnership with the Cannes Film Festival: why Canal + is changing its strategy

The news surprised: Canal + will no longer broadcast the opening and closing ceremonies, preceded by the famous climb of the steps, of the Cannes Film Festival. Thus putting an end to twenty-eight years of collaboration. France Télévisions, associated with Brut, will replace the encrypted channel during the next edition of the high mass of world cinema, from May 17 to 28, 2022. The director of Canal + programs, Gérald-Brice Viret, confirms to JDD the information released on Friday by Point. “Between Cannes and Canal +, it’s a long love story. We faced an escalation from the public service, which offered more money than us,” he underlines.

A large editorial system all the same deployed

“We did not want to participate in this escalation, so we withdrew from the call for tenders. Cannes is a big machine, we are talking about several million euros. We are not at war, we wish them good Luck. We remain on excellent terms with the town hall, particularly through the Canneseries festival “, continues Gérald-Brice Viret. And the manager adds that, despite the prestige of the event, “the audience is not always up to the task with around 600,000 viewers per gala evening”.

But that will not prevent Canal + from deploying an important editorial device. “We can cover the Cannes Film Festival without being a partner, specifies Gérald-Brice Viret. And, with the savings made, we will have more resources. In addition to the work of our journalists on site, the Circle and its columnists, we are planning a daily program in access prime time! Among our ideas: strolling in different places of the Croisette or settling on a beach or a plateau, with the public. Without forgetting the digital one with Twitter and TikTok. “

The partnership with the Césars renewed

We remember a golden age, when Nulle Part Outre and Le Grand Journal settled in front of the Martinez hotel. “There was an incredible expectation at the time, remembers the program director. This is less the case today, and the Covid did not help. Our grid will also echo Cannes by broadcasting for the first time Titane, by Julia Ducournau, the Palme d’Or 2021. What makes the strength of Canal + is the diversity of its offer. In the Césars box set addressed to voters, we see that we participated to the financing of almost all of the feature films in the running, sometimes from the Cannes Film Market, through Studiocanal. “

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We wanted to secure, the Césars, this evening which values ​​the whole profession

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The Vivendi group subsidiary has renewed for four years the partnership with the French cinema awards ceremony, which attracts 2 million viewers each year. The next one will take place on February 25, hosted by Antoine de Caunes, historic pillar of Canal +. “This meeting is essential for the public which, in this case, has the advantage of having seen the films in theaters or on Canal + and which clearly shows an appetite, indicates Gérald-Brice Viret. We have pre-bought, produced or 95% of them co-produced! We wanted to secure this evening which promotes the whole profession. “

Canal + has also just maintained its participation of 200 million euros of investment in the French industry. “We finalized the agreements with the entire production chain to protect the cinema, he maintains. Canal + is the first partner of French cinema for at least the next three years. We offer 600 recent feature films per year, and 4,500 titles are available in the MyCanal catalog. With sport and series, it’s in our DNA, acclaimed by 9 million subscribers. ” What about the future? “Establish the broadcasting of all the award ceremonies in Europe, as we are already doing with the Oscars and the Bafta. And why not the Berlinale and the Venice Mostra…”