In the second half of last year, Orange and the Canal+ Group were in exclusive talks regarding the acquisition of Orange's pay TV and film arm, OCS (Orange Cinéma Séries) and Orange Studio, their co-production subsidiary. This acquisition was finalized yesterday via the signing of a memorandum of understanding between both parties, which will see the Canal+ Group becoming the sole shareholder of both OCS and Orange Studio.
The quality of OCS service and content - currently distributed by all ISPs as well as within Canal+ cinema series offers - is recognized by both industry professionals and consumers. Orange Studio has more than 200 co-productions to its credit as well as a catalog of nearly 1,800 audiovisual and cinematographic works, including Oscar-winning and emblematic films such as The Artist and The Father.
Since their creation in 2007 and 2008 respectively, competition in the audiovisual sector, particularly for OCS, has continued to intensify with the emergence of powerful international platforms. Given this context, Orange has endeavored to ensure the continued development of these two subsidiaries while preserving jobs and the pre-financing of audiovisual content. To ensure these objectives, Orange entered discussions with the Canal+ Group, its historic partner and a recognized European player in the creation and distribution of content. Canal+ is already a 33.34% shareholder of OCS since 2012 and is its leading distributor. The leading film and television studio in Europe, StudioCanal has many assets to promote the Orange Studio catalog.
The operation will be presented to employee representative bodies and will be notified to the French Competition Authority.
