Canal+ S.A.

Subscription channel and production company (1984)

The subscription channel Canal+ was launched in November 1984, when there were only three government-owned channels available in France. The company was co-founded by André Rousselet, president of the French multinational advertising company Havas, and Pierre Lescure, which proved very popular with media professionals and politicians. There were 186,000 subscribers, who committed to paying 140 francs (21.34 euros) per month for the service.

Alain de Greef (c. 1947 – 29 June 2015) joined in 1986, joining his longtime friend Pierre Lescure. De Greef was first appointed director of production, then head of programmes, and finally as director general (1986–2000). De Greef was later described as a pioneer and visionary, who set the tone and created the "Canal Plus spirit", which embodied anti-conformism along with edgy satire that became very popular. He created the satirical puppet show Les Guignols de l'Info and cult talk shows Nulle part ailleurs, Groland, and Les Deschiens.

The new channel got off to a slow start, and some politicians, including prime minister Laurent Fabius, railed against the idea of having a commercial TV channel. However, Rousselet was a personal friend of the president, François Mitterrand, and so obtained favourable terms for the setup. Pierre Lescure was director-general at that time. A combination of political connections and clever programming – giving the French public American hit comedies and French drama not available on the government channels – worked and subscriptions soon increased. Government regulations required that the channel give several hours of free programming each day, which was used by Canal+ to promote the subscription service.

The channel initially had to use 45% of its air-time on films, until the film industry pushed back. Sports, interview shows, documentaries, and soft pornography joined films as the main staples of programming at this time. In 1985, the government opened up the market to other private commercial television stations, offering some serious competition. However, aggressive marketing and policies ensured that the company kept growing. By 1989, Canal+ had almost three million subscribers. Around this time the company expanded into some European markets, notably Belgium, Spain, and Germany, where in partnership with Bertelsmann and the Kirch Group, the first national pay TV service, Premiere TV, was established. With its expansion into Africa in 1990 with Canal+ Horizons, Canal+ was not only the most successful subscription channel in Europe, but also second only to HBO globally.

In the mid-1980s, Canal+ started acquiring rights to American TV shows and blockbusters, but buying rights from Hollywood was expensive, so the company moved into producing its own films. On 1 January 1987, Canal+ Productions was founded as a cinema film co-production subsidiary of the cable channel, which later partnered with Universal Pictures to co-produce films.