Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Award-winning filmmakers Alice Diop (“Saint Omer”), Audrey Diwan (“Happening”), Julia Ducournau (“Titane”), Michel Hazanavicius (“The Artist”), Jacques Audiard (“Dheepan”), and actors Juliette Binoche, Marion Cotillard, Isabelle Huppert, Lea Seydoux are among nearly 1,000 prominent French film figures who have signed an open letter to support Iranian women and civil rights activists in their revolt over the death of 22 year-old Mahsa Amini, as well as denounce the “murderous violence” of the Iranian regime. Amini, a Kurdish woman, died in custody on Sept. 16, three days after being arrested in Tehran because she allegedly breached the Islamic republic’s strict dress code for women. Her death has sparked protests across Iran, including in Tehran, Isfahan and Yazd, and in cities around the world, including in Paris, Istanbul and Los Angeles. Amnesty International said Iranian authorities have been “intentionally using lethal force against the protesters,” causing more than more 52 deaths (as of Sept. 30). The organization has urged international action “beyond statements of condemnation” to prevent more people from being killed.
Merger Of French Broadcasters TF1 and M6 Abandoned
16.09.2022 - 19:59 / deadline.com
The merger of French broadcasters TF1 and M6 has been abandoned.
In the past few minutes, the channel’s owners have said the pair have called off the plan after appearing in front of the French Competition Authority earlier this month.
“Following the debates with the Authority and despite the additional remedies proposed, it appears that only structural remedies involving at the very least the divestment of the TF1 TV channel or of the M6 TV channel would be sufficient to approve the proposed merger,” they said. “The parties have therefore concluded that the proposed merger no longer has any strategic rationale.”
The statement came from TF1 owner Bouygues and M6 owner RTL Group, who had been aiming to create a commercial broadcasting giant.
They went on to criticize the competition authority for “failing to take into account the speed and extend of the changes sweeping through the French broadcasting sector,” with RTL recently saying the merger was necessary to keep competing with the likes of Netflix, Amazon and Disney+.
“We continue to firmly believe that a merger of the TF1 and M6 groups would have provided an appropriate response to the challenges resulting from the increased competition from the international platforms,” they added.
Many will be pleased with the outcome, however, including broadcasting and production rivals who had feared for cannibalization with the merged group taking such a share of the overall French TV advertising market.
The competition authority first examined the merger in March and said in July it had found “significant competition problems” mainly relating to advertising. That led to the hearing earlier this month, which has, as it turns out, been the death knell for the merger.
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