Latest in Vivendi

Arnaud Lagardère, head of Vivendi-owned French publishing and travel retail giant Lagardère Group, has been forced to resign as CEO of the company following his indictment related to accusations of embezzlement. “This indictment essentially concerns facts relating to personal companies wholly owned…

UPDATE 8 AM PT: Studiocanal has now unveiled Sara Reese Geffroy as SVP of its nascent Studiocanal Stories label and TV series development. She will run the French major’s new literary adaptations division, which was unveiled earlier today, while also supervising the development of Studiocanal TV…

Canal+ owner Vivendi is still exploring a stock split, as it today posted first quarter revenues up significantly. France-based Vivendi posted Q1 revenues of €4.28B ($4.6B), up 5.4% on 2023’s numbers when using constant currencies and and the businesses the firm owns today. No earnings were revealed…

A hike in subscribers for French pay-TV giant Canal+ Group as well as a successful year at the box office in France for Studiocanal helped drive positive 2023 results for parent company Vivendi, which were released Thursday evening after the close of the local stock exchange. The media and…

Vivendi's Canal+ Group has made an offer to take full control of African entertainment company The MultiChoice Group, in which it already holds a 31.7% stake. "The Canal+ Group confirms that it has submitted to the board of directors of MultiChoice a letter containing a non-binding indicative offer…

Paris-based global media and entertainment conglomerate has announced it is studying a project to split its activities into several entities. The group said that since the distribution and listing of Universal Music Group in 2021, it had endured a "high conglomerate discount", resulting in a…

UPDATED with Vivendi response. French lawmakers are proposing new legislation aimed at protecting media independence amid growing concerns over big business interference and politicization in the sector in France. The cross-party initiative has been prompted by an ongoing strike at Sunday newspaper…

One of the biggest personalities in world media and politics is no more. Whatever you thought of him, Silvio Berlusconi had a seismic impact on the European political sphere and the continent’s broadcasting landscape, in a way that many believe was completely intertwined. Related…

‘Philomena’ Writer Martin Sixsmith Sets Next Project Philomena writer Martin Sixsmith and We Are Lady Parts’ Raisah Ahmed are forging a TV adaptation of Sixsmith’s novel Ayesha’s Gift. The six-part detective thriller is set in the wake of the untimely death of British businesswoman Ayesha Rahman’s…

Vivendi on Wednesday posted a full-year loss of $1.07B (1.01B Euros) for 2022, linked to the deconsolidation of its Telecom Italia stake, but painted a positive picture in terms of its overall health and revenue. The loss compared with a record profit of $25.9B (24.6B euros) in 2021, which was driven…

Canal+, a division of French conglomerate Vivendi, is in the mix as potential suitors circle Lionsgate's pay TV and streamer Starz, according to a person familiar with the situation. Earlier this week, Deadline reported that Roku and Apollo Global management are bidding jointly for a minority stake in Starz and that…

Universal Music Group shares jumped 39% in their first trading day on the Euronext Amsterdam exchange. The company, which controls artists like Taylor Swift and Drake as well as a vast publishing catalog including the Beatles and Bob Dylan, ended the day with a valuation of nearly $53 billion. The spinoff of 60% of…