Resumen de France: : Bonus channel - Conseil d�État rejects M6�s application
In a decision delivered on 22 October 2014, the Conseil d�État dismissed all the applications brought by the company that edits the channel M6, whose claim for the allocation of a �bonus channel� had been turned down. Under Article 103 of the Act of 30 September 1986, introduced by the Act of 5 March 2007, the French legislator had allowed those �historic� operators (TF1, M6, and Canal+) which requested the possibility of being allocated a bonus channel to compensate for the prejudice suffered as a result of the early stoppage of their broadcasting in analogue mode and the appearance of competitive channels on digital TV. However, on 29 September 2011, at the end of a procedure lasting more than two years, the European Commission sent France a reasoned opinion, holding that this arrangement was contrary to European Union law as it penalised the channels� competitors and deprived television viewers of a more attractive offer (see IRIS 2011-9/7). The legislator therefore adopted legislation on 15 November 2013 on the independence of the public audiovisual sector, which repealed this arrangement, so that the bonus channels were never actually allocated.
