Indeed the situation continues to be bad

In the wake of the departure of Axel Duroux of the Presidency of RTL for the branch of TF1, Nicolas de Tavernost explains why this transfer goes wrong in M6 and RTL. The President of the Executive Board of M6, which is also a member of the Supervisory Board of the radio is also the balance of a good season for the group.

In advertising terms, M6 has best withstood that TF1 in the first quarter. How do you explain it

The market is very difficult. M6 seems better resist in this difficult environment, is its hearings, which are maintained at about 11 over 4 years and older, and 18 on the housewives of less than 50 years, despite competition from the new strings. Which gives better resistance of all historical strings. All teams of M6 have helped. In terms of audience, M6 including grew on the 18-hour time - 23 hours, strategic advertising plan, since it represents 80 of the expenses of advertisers. However, in the second quarter, the decline in sales of the chain should be stronger than the 11 decline recorded in the first three months of the year. Indeed, the situation continues to be bad. The comparison to 2008 does not support since I recalled that, in June last year, we broadcasts a part of the meetings of the Euro 2008 football.

The departure of Axel Duroux for TF1 Branch going poorly in M6 and RTL. Why

Everyone can go where he wants. Simply, it is a member of a Board of supervision or a Board of Directors, should comply with the rules. One of these is to immediately report a conflict of interest, potential. Such was not the case. This obviously cause serious harm. As I pointed out that the Supervisory Board is the most important body of a society whose members have privileged information and define its strategy, moving his execution and approve it. A M6, as elsewhere.

Are you going to launch a procedure against him

With regard to a case concerning the Supervisory Board, it is he who makes the decision. Yet again, it is not the umpteenth episode of the so-called squabbles between M6 and TF1, but a problem for the operation of a social body: rules, at the time where everyone insists on "corporate governance", are made to be respected and applied.

Do you know who will succeed him as head of RTL

No, even if we participate in the reflection of our common shareholder, RTL Group, to find a successor. We thus pay service to cousins as we did with the appointment of Robin Leproux, come to M6, which in 2001 was restated effectively station crises. I would like to say that the question of a rapprochement between RTL and M6 is not the order of the day, it is question that I take the chairmanship of the Supervisory Board of RTL, as I have read here and there.

TF1 has an agreement with AB to buy TMC and NT1. You do not hide your hostility to this operation. What problem according to you

The acquisition by TF1 of TMC and NT1 is, in our view, two major problems that we are going to argue to the Conseil supérieur de l'audiovisuel (CSA) and the competition authority. First, in terms of pluralism, this operation do us not conform. Indeed, the CSA had conditioned the TF1 entrance in the capital of TMC to the maintenance of two shareholders in the capital. However, in this project, this condition would be more met. Second, the dominant position of TF1 TV advertising market would become problematic. Today, the market share rises to about 50, that it would be by adding those of TMC and NT1. Our competitors are channels of television, such as TF1, and not Google or Yahoo!.

However, are the French audiovisual landscape (PAF) concentrations not inevitable M6 also does not hide his interest in possible acquisitions

But we are far from being in a dominant position with less than a quarter of the television advertising market. Nonce Paolini, the President of TF1, said that it y too many strings. This is probably true, but the grouping on TF1 will solve nothing on the number of strings. It would increase the problem of the imbalance of PAF on the contrary.

Bertrand Meheut, the President and CEO of Canal , said recently in "The world" that a rapprochement with a free chain, such as M6, would be interesting. What do you think

We are quite willing to develop synergies with Canal if they are in the interest of the two companies. We will start to do so partly on the advertising plan.

In this context, you want a challenge of the tax to fund public broadcasting. Have you asked the Government

There is an absurdity, as rightly noted TF1 President to pay an additional fee despite a decrease in turnover. This is the reason why we asked, with my counterparts from TF1 and Canal , the public authorities to alleviate its impact in such a context. We have no answer to this day on these applications.

How will the other activities of the Group

They are doing well. The W9 channel, on digital terrestrial television (DTT), is a journey without fault. It is the first string of less than 50 years and we have already almost caught TMC on the entire population. It should increase its results this year after a profit of EUR 6 million in 2008. And on the Internet we record of excellent results, thanks, among other things, our M6 Replay of catch-up TV service, for which there also we have innovated. With between 300,000 and 350,000 video views each day, the site is already in the balance. I will not forget the Girondins de Bordeaux, who beyond the title of France champion will earn money for the fifth consecutive year, which is not common.

On the Internet, do you have new projects

Yes. We will notably launch in the days to come an ambitious complementary service to M6 Replay. The purchase of sites Cyréalis, Clubic.fr, escape and achetezfacile.fr, with effective teams, is very positive.

In this period of crisis, how the cost of the grid of the chain M6 will evolve this year

The cost of grid of M6 fall 12 this year. It removes the Euro 2008 football effect, it will be stable or down slightly. All margins of manoeuvre financial that give us our successful diversification such as, for example, M6 Mobile, brings customers 1.550.000 to date will be used to continue the investment programme of the group, including on M6 and W9, Paris Première, Teva. For example, the cost of W9 grid increases 30 this year.

September 7, M6 launches its first "JT" presented at 19: 45. The chain has the means to compete with TF1 in this field, while the information is expensive

This "JT" is the last brick that was missing from M6 to make it a great general-interest channel. It will be programmed from 19 h 45 and presented by Claire Barsacq and Nathalie Renoux. I am convinced that this will be a success. We will take our time to install it. We we set no objective of hearing. What will be, it is the satisfaction of the Viewer. Approximately 120 people work on the information in M6. This "JT" is financed by the savings related to the judgment of local stalls. The group is in running order and within the deep crisis in the market, our ambition is to continue to do better than the competition.