PARIS/MILAN :The collapse of a deal to form a French TV giant to challenge U.S. streaming services such as Netflix knocked shares in M6 Group and TF1 on Monday.
Like other local broadcasters in Europe, M6 and TF1 are struggling to stay competitive as global video platforms increase their dominance of the industry and a tie-up was seen as an answer to those challenges. O'Shea added that German media group Bertelsmann needed to find a buyer by early next year for the 48.3 per cent stake it holds in M6 through its RTL unit as the renewal of M6’s broadcasting channel license will lead to a five-year ban on any sale.
On Friday Bertelsmann said the"creation of national media champions to compete with the global platforms" was still part of its strategy to which it remains"firmly committed". RTL said on Monday it would meet with M6's leadership team and assess its options.Investors doubt a new suitor can be found in time and fears about a recession in the euro zone have hit media stocks hard.