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Canal+ (French TV channel)

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Canal+
CountryFrance
NetworkCanal+ Group
HeadquartersIssy-les-Moulineaux, Paris, France
Programming
Language(s)French
Ownership
OwnerVivendi

Canal+ ("Canal Plus", "C+", French pronunciation: [kanalˈplys], meaning "Channel Plus/More") is a French premium cable television channel launched in 1984. It is 100% owned by the Canal+ Group, which in turn is owned by Vivendi SA. The channel broadcasts several kinds of programming, mostly encrypted. Unencrypted programming can be viewed free of charge on Canal+ and on satellite on Canal+ Clair (Clear).

Canal+ is a supporter of the Hybrid Broadcast Broadband TV (HbbTV) initiative (a consortium of broadcasting and Internet industry companies including SES, OpenTV and Institut für Rundfunktechnik), which promotes and establishes an open European standard for hybrid set-top boxes for the reception of broadcast TV and broadband multimedia applications with a single user interface.

History

After the announcement about the launch of the fourth French television channel, Canal+ started broadcasting on 4 November 1984. In 1986, the channel had one million subscribers. It has produced numerous films of auteurs, including David Lynch's The Straight Story, Mulholland Dr., and Inland Empire.

With the launch of the digital satellite channel CanalSatellite on 27 April 1996, Canal+ received two new sister channels: Canal+ Jaune and Canal+ Bleu.[1] A fourth channel, called Canal+ Vert came along on 31 August 1998. The channels changed their names to Canal+ Confort (now known as Canal+ Décalé since 2005), Canal+ Cinéma and Canal+ Sport in 1 November 2003.

In September 2005, Canal+, Canal+ Cinéma and Canal+ Sport started broadcasting in the French digital terrestrial television network. The free-to-air parts of Canal+ had already been broadcasting for a few months by then. In August 2008, Canal+ started broadcasting the encrypted parts of its main channel in high-definition in the terrestrial network. Canal+ announced plans to turn off the analogue terrestrial signals by 2010.[2]

An account of the rise of Canal+ and CanalSatellite, and the establishment of the Canal+ Group as a major satellite broadcaster in Europe is given in the book, High Above, which tells the story of the foundation and development of the leading European satellite operator, Astra.

In February 2013, for €29 million (per year), Canal+ bought the TV rights for the FIA Formula One World Championship. The same year, the group bought the rights of the English Premier League, the most watched football league in the world.[3]

In July 2014, the launch of a new pan-African TV channel - A+ - was announced. Based in Abidjan (Ivory Coast), it aims to become the leading television company in French-speaking Africa.[4]

Programmes

  • French erotic TV series : X Femmes (2008–2009)

Les Chaînes Canal+

Les Chaînes Canal+[5] is the brand name used for all the Canal+-branded channels in France. Prior to 2008 it was called Canal+ Le Bouquet.

Channel Launched Notes Availability Format Broadcast Hours
DTT Satellite IPTV Cable
Canal+ 1984 Yes Yes Yes Yes 16:9 SDTV 24 hours
Canal+ HD 2006 previously known as Canal+ 16/9 then as Canal+ Hi-Tech Yes Yes Yes Yes 16:9 HDTV 24 hours
Canal+ Cinéma 1996 A dedicated movie channel, previously known as Canal+ Jaune Yes Yes Yes Yes 16:9 SDTV 24 hours
Canal+ Cinéma HD 2010 No Yes Yes Yes 1080i HDTV 24 hours
Canal+ Sport 1998 A sports channel, previously known as Canal+ Vert Yes Yes Yes Yes 16:9 SDTV 24 hours
Canal+ Sport HD 2010 No Yes Yes Yes 1080i HDTV 24 hours
Canal+ Family 2007 A channel broadcasting familial programmes, series and cartoons No Yes Yes Yes 16:9 SDTV 24 hours
Canal+ Family HD 2010 No Yes Yes Yes 1080i HDTV 24 hours
Canal+ Séries 2013 A channel broadcasting series No Yes Yes Yes 16:9 SDTV 24 hours
Canal+ Séries HD 2013 No Yes Yes Yes 1080i HDTV 24 hours
Canal+ Décalé 1996 Shows repeats of programs shown on Canal+, previously known as Canal+ Bleu No Yes Yes Yes 16:9 SDTV 24 hours
Canal+ Décalé HD 2010 No Yes Yes Yes 1080i HDTV 24 hours
Canal 8 2013 A channel broadcasting entertainment programmes and films. It is free-to-air. No Yes Yes Yes 1080i HDTV 24 hours
Canal Star 2016 A channel broadcasting music videos and reality shows and documentaries. It is free-to-air. No Yes Yes Yes 1080i HDTV 24 hours
Canal News 2016 A 24-hour News channel. It is free-to-air No Yes Yes Yes 1080i HDTV 24 hours

Sister channels

As Canal+ was launched in new markets the brand has been used in several countries. When launching additional channels the channels were usually given colour-coded names, such as Canal+ Blue, Canal+ Green and Canal+ Yellow. Many of these subsidiaries have been sold and as of 2007, only the Spanish and Polish Canal+ were partially owned by French Canal+.

See also

References

  1. ^ "L'histoire du Groupe Canal+ de 1983 à nos jours". Retrieved 3 April 2009.
  2. ^ "Canal plans analogue switch-off". broadbandtvnews. 3 April 2009.
  3. ^ The National Sport.
  4. ^ Le Monde.
  5. ^ "Les Chaînes Canal+ : Programs for all tastes". Retrieved 25 June 2009.