Orange seeks to get rid of OCS. The operator has put its shares of the streaming service up for sale, which has never been truly profitable and will probably be even less so after the loss of the HBO catalog. Canal+, which holds 33% of the shares, is a candidate for the takeover, as well as Mediawan, the company of Xavier Niel.
It’s time for the transition at Orange. While the operator has officially announced the end of its copper ADSL network by 2030, we learn in the columns of Total Daily Screen that it is now looking for Marc Ladreit de Lacharrière, including the Webedia group. The streaming service has had a certain success in France, accounting for no less than 3 million subscribers. But that is not enough to make it profitable.
A finding sealed by the loss of the HBO catalog, which prompted many users to subscribe to the subscription. Party to create HBO Max, already available in the United States, but not yet in France, the American channel carries with it the last hopes of Orange to impose itself on the territory of the SVOD. Christian Bombrun, boss of Orange Content, had nevertheless announced the arrival of a new OCS last year, before throwing in the towel and joining Emmanuel Macron’s campaign team.
OCS will soon no longer belong to Orange
The new OCS will therefore see the light of day, but probably not under the Orange banner. Indeed, several potential buyers have already come forward. Unsurprisingly, we find among Canal+, which already owns 33% of the shares of the streaming platform. Its catalog is also already offered within the group’s offers, and this acquisition would therefore consolidate this control.
On the same subject: Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Canal+ Series, OCS, Disney+, Apple TV+ — video streaming comparison
But the chain is not the only one on the spot. Mediawan, a company founded by Xavier Niel, Pierre-Antoine and Matthieu Pigasse has also expressed its interest. From there to seeing Xavier Niel and Vincent Bolloré at the head of the same project, there is probably a long way to go. Other great fortunes are in the running, including Pascal Breton, creator of the studio Federation Entertainmentand Marc Ladreit de Lacharrière, who owns Webedia.
