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Group Profile |
Businesses
| Litigation | Risk Factors
Universal Music Group
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2.1.9.3. Partnership in Poland
The Canal+ Group and the ITI and TVN groups entered into a strategic
partnership agreement to combine their pay-TV channel packages in
Poland on acquisition by Canal+ Group of a significant interest in the
capital of TVN. This partnership was approved without conditions by the
Polish Competition Authority on September 14, 2012 and by the European
Commission on November 30, 2012.
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2.1.9.4. Competitive Environment in France
The French pay-TV market is changing rapidly due to:
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new players entering the market and offering premium content. These
include Orange, which has positioned itself in the upstream market
for the acquisition of audiovisual rights and in the intermediate
market comprising the production and distribution of movie and
drama channels (“OCS” channels); and Al Jazeera, which has
substantial financial backing, recently launched the beIN sport
channels, expanded its offer to a third channel, and offers a number
of premium sports events;
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the proliferation of distribution platforms and technologies, such as
connected TV;
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the development and enrichment of deals offered by ISPs;
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new non-linear services offering quality and premium content in VoD
and SVoD. Netflix, the world leader in SVoD services, entered the
French market in 2014. These new services represent real growth
relays for ISPs in particular, insofar as they allow providers to rapidly
build pay-TV offerings without the editorial or regulatory constraints
resulting from the production of a television service;
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the growing attraction of these usages for consumers; the entry
of - frequently global - ISPs into this market is thus favored.
They now have a strong presence in the audiovisual production
sector;
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the competitive pressure that will be exerted by the new entity
resulting from the merger of SFR and cable operator Numericable,
which benefits from dual expertise in the development of fiber optic
networks and pay-TV. Ultra high-speed Internet, which expands
capacity in video and data flows, and allows the new entity to
propose an attractive offer, in terms of both quantity (more channels)
and quality (including more HD channels, new VoD services, new
interactive opportunities and opportunities for recommendations);
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the undeniable and growing success of DVB in France, which is
helping drive radical change in the audiovisual landscape. It has
significantly opened the market to a new wave of competition from
the producers of free television.
2.1.10.
Research and Development
Canal+ Group’s research and development (R&D) policy primarily focuses
on innovations in new services, new uses and new technologies.
The advancement of an idea or concept from the monitoring phase into
the prototyping phase, and then to its ultimate roll-out, is controlled by
a cross-disciplinary committee composed of the operations directors
(Distribution, Programming, Technology and Information Systems).
Some of the projects implemented within this framework receive
research tax credits.
2.2. Universal Music Group
Universal Music Group (UMG) is the world’s leading music company with
three main operating businesses: recorded music, music publishing and
merchandising.
2.2.1.
Strategy/Positioning
The recorded music business discovers and develops recording artists,
and then markets and promotes their music across a wide array of
formats and platforms. UMG also continues to expand its operations in
other areas related to recording artists, such as brand rights management
and sponsorship.
The music publishing business discovers and develops songwriters, and
owns and administers the copyright for musical compositions for use
in recordings, public performances and related uses, such as films and
advertisements.
The merchandising business produces and sells artist-branded and other
branded products via multiple sales points, including fashion retail,
concert touring and the Internet.
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Annual Report 2014