C More Entertainment
Encyclopedia
C More Entertainment is a premium television company, operating under the banner CANAL+, that targets the Nordic Countries
and with one separate channel in Sweden
(C More Film).
Originally named CANAL+, it was launched in 1997 by French pay-TV operator CANAL+ on the DBS platform Canal Digital
, and subsequently on cable
. In 2003, two private equity
firms, Baker Capital and Nordic Capital
acquired 100% of CANAL+ Television from the international media conglomerate
Vivendi Universal. At the same time Nordic CANAL+ was re-named C More Entertainment, they retained however the rights of using the name “CANAL+”. On February 9, 2005 SBS Broadcasting Group
announced the acquisition of C More Entertainment. On June 16, 2008, Swedish TV4 Gruppen announced they had acquired C More Entertainment from German ProSiebenSat.1 Media AG
for €
320 million. In May 2010 Telenor
bought 35% of the shares in C More Entertainment from TV4 Gruppen for SEK 787 million.
The main competitors of C More Entertainment in the Nordic countries are TV1000
and Viasat Sport
, both of which belong to Modern Times Group
.
, DreamWorks SKG
, HBO
, MGM, Nonstop Entertainment, Paramount
, Sandrew Metronome
, StudioCanal
, SF, Svensk Filmindustri AB, Warner Bros. and Zentropa Entertainments
.
channels featuring Movies (Kiosk
) and the Swedish ice hockey
and Soccer League (Säsongskortet).
C More Entertainment has its origins in the Filmnet
channel that started in 1985. In the early 1990s, Filmnet became two channels: Filmnet Plus and Filmnet The Complete Movie Channel. They were later rebranded as Filmnet 1 and Filmnet 2.
Canal+ bought Filmnet in 1996 and the two channels were rebranded on September 1, 1997. Filmnet 1 became Canal+ with localized versions for the different Nordic countries and Filmnet 2 became the pan-Nordic Canal+ Gul ("Canal+ Yellow", following the colour naming pattern used by Canal+ in France and others countries).
A third channel Canal+ Blå (Blue) was started on September 3, 1999. Another channel, Canal+ Zap was launched on September 22, 2001.
A major overhaul was done on May 1, 2004. The three colour-coded mixed channels were abandoned for four themed channels showing. The Canal+ line-up would then consist of the main Canal+ channel, Canal+ Film 1 and Canal+ Film 2 showing new movies, the all-sports channel Canal+ Sport and C More Film, a channel showing older films. C More Film was the first channel to use the C More brand.
The line-up was extended on September 1, 2005 when Canal+ Film 3, C More Film 2 and the first HD channel for the Nordic region, C More HD, launched. Canal+ Film 1 was renamed Canal+ Film. Canal+ Sport was changed. Instead of being a pan-Nordic channel, country specific channels were launched. Canal+, that previously was country-specific, became pan-Nordic.
On November 1, 2006 the Canal+ package was changed once again. The C More Film channels were removed and merged with Canal+ Film 2, the main Canal+ channel was removed and replaced by bonus channel Canal+ Mix and a new sports channel called Canal+ Sport 2 launched. Some channels rebranded: Canal+ Film became Canal+ Film 1, Canal+ Sport became Canal+ Sport 1 and C More HD became Canal+ HD. Previously the customers had to subscribe to all the channels. With the relaunch, the customer was for the first time allowed to subscribe only to the sports or movie channels. The "Canal+ Film" package consisted of Canal+ Film 1, 2 and 3 and "Canal+ Sport" consisted of Canal+ Sport 1 and 2. The full package was called "Canal+ Total" and contained Canal+ Mix and Canal+ HD as a bonus.
A second HD channel, Canal+ Sport HD, launched in February 2007. The original HD channel was called Canal+ Film HD from that on.
Yet another overhaul happened on November 1, 2007. The movie and series channels were all renamed and repositioned into different categories. Canal+ Film 1 becomes Canal+ First which will premiere the films and Canal+ Film 2 is replaced by Canal+ Hits which will broadcast older films. Canal+ Film 3 and Canal+ Mix were renamed Canal+ Action and Canal+ Drama and were joined by Canal+ Comedy which broadcasts movies in different genres. Canal+ Sport 1 and 2 kept their names, but were be joined by Canal+ Sport Extra which time-shared with the pornographic channel Canal 69.
On October 1, 2009, Canal+ launched the SF-kanalen
, a channel which broadcasts Swedish movies from the libraries of Svensk Filmindustri. After TV4's purchase of the company, Canal+ and Svensk Filmindustri became part of the same corporation. SF-kanalen replaced Canal 69, which ceased operations the day before.
Canal+ is widely known for changing its channel package, and yet another change was made on April 1, 2010, when Canal+ Comedy was replaced by Canal+ Series. Its type is the same as Canal+ Hits, but it shows series from 8pm to midnight instead of movies, while from midnight to 8pm it shows various movies.
More changes happened on May 14, 2010, when Canal+ announced the launch of 3 new sports channels named Canal+ Sport 3, Canal+ Football and Canal+ Hockey. At the same time many new sports rights were announced.
In June 1, 2011, Canal+ announced the launch of 2 new films channels named Canal+ Family and Canal+ Emotion.Canal+ Emotion replaced Canal+ Drama.
Nordic countries
The Nordic countries make up a region in Northern Europe and the North Atlantic which consists of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden and their associated territories, the Faroe Islands, Greenland and Åland...
and with one separate channel in Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
(C More Film).
Originally named CANAL+, it was launched in 1997 by French pay-TV operator CANAL+ on the DBS platform Canal Digital
Canal Digital
Canal Digital is a Scandinavian television distributor and internet service provider that was founded in March 1997 as a joint venture between the French pay-TV company Canal+ and the Norwegian telecommunications operator Telenor...
, and subsequently on cable
Cable television
Cable television is a system of providing television programs to consumers via radio frequency signals transmitted to televisions through coaxial cables or digital light pulses through fixed optical fibers located on the subscriber's property, much like the over-the-air method used in traditional...
. In 2003, two private equity
Private equity
Private equity, in finance, is an asset class consisting of equity securities in operating companies that are not publicly traded on a stock exchange....
firms, Baker Capital and Nordic Capital
Nordic Capital
Nordic Capital is a private equity investment firm focusing on leveraged buyout transactions primarily in the Nordic region . Nordic invests across a broad array of industries and will invest in turnaround and growth capital transactions.Nordic is based in Stockholm, Sweden and was founded in 1989...
acquired 100% of CANAL+ Television from the international media conglomerate
Media conglomerate
A media conglomerate, media group or media institution is a company that owns large numbers of companies in various mass media such as television, radio, publishing, movies, and the Internet...
Vivendi Universal. At the same time Nordic CANAL+ was re-named C More Entertainment, they retained however the rights of using the name “CANAL+”. On February 9, 2005 SBS Broadcasting Group
SBS Broadcasting Group
SBS Broadcasting Group was a European broadcasting group, operating commercial television, premium pay channels, radio stations and related print businesses in Western and Central and Eastern Europe...
announced the acquisition of C More Entertainment. On June 16, 2008, Swedish TV4 Gruppen announced they had acquired C More Entertainment from German ProSiebenSat.1 Media AG
ProSiebenSat.1 Media
ProSiebenSat.1 Media AG is a European media conglomerate, operating commercial television, premium pay channels, radio stations and related print businesses. It was formed on October 2, 2000 by merger of German TV broadcasters ProSieben Media AG and Sat.1 SatellitenFernsehen GmbH...
for €
Euro
The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...
320 million. In May 2010 Telenor
Telenor
Telenor Group is the incumbent telecommunications company in Norway, with headquarters located at Fornebu, close to Oslo. Today, Telenor Group is mostly an international wireless carrier with operations in Scandinavia, Eastern Europe and Asia, working predominantly under the Telenor brand...
bought 35% of the shares in C More Entertainment from TV4 Gruppen for SEK 787 million.
The main competitors of C More Entertainment in the Nordic countries are TV1000
TV1000
TV1000 is a group of cable and satellite movie channels broadcasting to the Nordic countries and owned by Modern Times Group . It is also the name of the flagship channel.-History:...
and Viasat Sport
Viasat Sport
Viasat Sport is the common brand of several sports channels targeting the Nordic, Baltic and Eastern European countries owned by Modern Times Group.Viasat Sport is also the name of one tv-channel in Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and the Baltics...
, both of which belong to Modern Times Group
Modern Times Group
Modern Times Group is a Swedish media company. MTG was formed out of the media holdings of investment company Kinnevik, which in 1997 was distributed to the company stockholders. Among the assets were Viasat and Metro International...
.
Content
The premium pay-TV concept used by C More Entertainment is based on exclusive broadcasting rights on sports, movies and TV-series.Sports rights
- Football
- AllsvenskanAllsvenskanAllsvenskan is a Swedish professional league for association football clubs. At the top of the Swedish football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with Superettan...
- VeikkausliigaVeikkausliigaVeikkausliiga is the premier division of Finnish football, comprising the top 12 clubs of the country. Veikkausliiga is currently ranked as the 28th best league in Europe. Its main sponsor is the Finnish national betting agency Veikkaus, hence the league's name...
- TippeligaenTippeligaenTippeligaen is a Norwegian professional league for association football clubs. At the top of the Norwegian football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. The league is also unofficially known under its neutral name Eliteserien , although the name has never been official...
(2013–2016) - Barclays Premier LeagueFA Premier LeagueThe Premier League is an English professional league for association football clubs. At the top of the English football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with The Football League. The Premier...
(only in Finland) - Carling Cup
- Serie ASerie ASerie A , now called Serie A TIM due to sponsorship by Telecom Italia, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and has been operating for over eighty years since 1929. It had been organized by Lega Calcio until 2010, but a new...
- Milan TVMilan ChannelMilan Channel is a subscription-based channel, entirely dedicated to the Italian football team A.C. Milan. It is headquartered at Milanello, the training center of Milan...
- Liga BBVALa LigaThe Primera División of the Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional , commonly known as La Liga or, for sponsorship reasons, Liga BBVA since 2008, is the top professional association football division of the Spanish football league system...
- Copa del ReyCopa del ReyThe Copa del Rey is an annual football cup competition for Spanish football teams. Its full name is Campeonato de España – Copa de Su Majestad el Rey de Fútbol ....
- Major League SoccerMajor League SoccerMajor League Soccer is a professional soccer league based in the United States and sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation . The league is composed of 19 teams — 16 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada...
- Barça TV
- Real Madrid TVReal Madrid TVReal Madrid TV is an encrypted Digital television channel, operated by Real Madrid specialising in the Spanish football team. The channel is available in Spanish and English...
- EredivisieEredivisieThe Eredivisie is the highest football league in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956 two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is currently ranked the ninth best league in Europe by UEFA....
- Copa AmericaCopa AméricaThe Copa América —previously known as South American Championship—is an international football competition contested between the men's national teams of CONMEBOL, the sport's continental governing body...
- Norwegian National TeamNorway national football teamThe Norway national football team represents Norway in association football and is controlled by the Football Association of Norway, the governing body for football in Norway. Norway's home ground is Ullevaal Stadion in Oslo and their head coach is Egil Olsen...
(selected away matches) - UEFA Champions LeagueUEFA Champions LeagueThe UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...
(only in Finland) - UEFA Europa League (2012/2013-2014/2015)
- UEFA Euro 2012 (Denmark and Norway only)
- Allsvenskan
- Motorsports
- Swedish SpeedwayMotorcycle speedwayMotorcycle speedway, usually referred to as speedway, is a motorcycle sport involving four and sometimes up to six riders competing over four anti-clockwise laps of an oval circuit. Speedway motorcycles use only one gear and have no brakes and racing takes place on a flat oval track usually...
Championship - IndyCar SeriesIndyCar SeriesThe IZOD IndyCar Series is the premier level of American open wheel racing. The current championship, founded by Indianapolis Motor Speedway owner Tony George, began in 1996 as a competitor to CART known as the Indy Racing League . Citing CART's increasing reliance on expensive machinery and...
- Formula 3
- BTCC
- Swedish Speedway
- Tennis
- Wimbledon
- French Open
- ATPAssociation of Tennis ProfessionalsThe Association of Tennis Professionals or ATP was formed in 1972 by Donald Dell, Jack Kramer, and Cliff Drysdale to protect the interests of male professional tennis players. Since 1990, the association has organized the worldwide tennis tour for men and linked the title of the tour with the...
- WTAWomen's Tennis AssociationThe Women's Tennis Association , founded in 1973 by Billie Jean King, is the principal organizing body of Women's Professional Tennis. It governs the WTA Tour which is the worldwide professional tennis tour for women. Its counterpart organization in the men's professional game is the Association of...
- Ice Hockey
- ElitserienElitserienElitserien, is a professional ice hockey league composed of twelve teams in Sweden...
- Elitserien
- Basketball
- NBA
- Fighting Sports
- UFC
- Athletics
- IAAF Diamond LeagueIAAF Diamond LeagueThe Samsung Diamond League is an annual series of track and field meetings held from 2010 onwards, beginning with the 2010 IAAF Diamond League...
(only in Finland)
- IAAF Diamond League
Film and TV-series content providers
As of 2011, C More Entertainment has exclusive first-run deals for feature films and TV series with FoxFox Entertainment Group
The Fox Entertainment Group is an American entertainment industry company that owns film studios and terrestrial, cable, and direct broadcast satellite television properties...
, DreamWorks SKG
DreamWorks
DreamWorks Pictures, also known as DreamWorks, LLC, DreamWorks SKG, DreamWorks II Distribution Co., LLC, DreamWorks Studios or DW Studios, LLC, is an American film studio which develops, produces, and distributes films, video games and television programming...
, HBO
Home Box Office
HBO, short for Home Box Office, is an American premium cable television network, owned by Time Warner. , HBO's programming reaches 28.2 million subscribers in the United States, making it the second largest premium network in America . In addition to its U.S...
, MGM, Nonstop Entertainment, Paramount
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
, Sandrew Metronome
Sandrew Metronome
Sandrew Metronome is a Scandinavian film distributor. It is one of the biggest distributor companies in the Nordic countries. It is owned by the Anders Sandrew Foundation and the Norwegian Schibsted group....
, StudioCanal
StudioCanal
StudioCanal is a French-based production and distribution company that owns the third-largest film library in the world...
, SF, Svensk Filmindustri AB, Warner Bros. and Zentropa Entertainments
Zentropa
Europa is a film directed by Lars von Trier. Released in 1991, it is von Trier's third theatrical feature film and is the final film in the Europa trilogy....
.
Channels
C More Entertainment currently operates seven standard TV channels and one in High-Definition, as of October 2005. They also operate several Pay-per-viewPay-per-view
Pay-per-view provides a service by which a television audience can purchase events to view via private telecast. The broadcaster shows the event at the same time to everyone ordering it...
channels featuring Movies (Kiosk
Kiosk (TV)
Kiosk was a Scandinavian pay-per-view service available on Canal Digital's satellite platform and owned by Canal+. Kiosk showed feature films before they had their pay-TV premiere on Canal+. Kiosk ceased its operations on January 3, 2007....
) and the Swedish ice hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
and Soccer League (Säsongskortet).
C More Entertainment has its origins in the Filmnet
Filmnet
Nova Cinema is a premium television service available in Greece that broadcasts blockbuster movies and hit series. It is the only 24/7 Movie service in Greece and it launched in 1994. It is owned by Forthnet, who own and operate Nova a DTH satellite service and Nova Sports—a sports channel.Nova...
channel that started in 1985. In the early 1990s, Filmnet became two channels: Filmnet Plus and Filmnet The Complete Movie Channel. They were later rebranded as Filmnet 1 and Filmnet 2.
Canal+ bought Filmnet in 1996 and the two channels were rebranded on September 1, 1997. Filmnet 1 became Canal+ with localized versions for the different Nordic countries and Filmnet 2 became the pan-Nordic Canal+ Gul ("Canal+ Yellow", following the colour naming pattern used by Canal+ in France and others countries).
A third channel Canal+ Blå (Blue) was started on September 3, 1999. Another channel, Canal+ Zap was launched on September 22, 2001.
A major overhaul was done on May 1, 2004. The three colour-coded mixed channels were abandoned for four themed channels showing. The Canal+ line-up would then consist of the main Canal+ channel, Canal+ Film 1 and Canal+ Film 2 showing new movies, the all-sports channel Canal+ Sport and C More Film, a channel showing older films. C More Film was the first channel to use the C More brand.
The line-up was extended on September 1, 2005 when Canal+ Film 3, C More Film 2 and the first HD channel for the Nordic region, C More HD, launched. Canal+ Film 1 was renamed Canal+ Film. Canal+ Sport was changed. Instead of being a pan-Nordic channel, country specific channels were launched. Canal+, that previously was country-specific, became pan-Nordic.
On November 1, 2006 the Canal+ package was changed once again. The C More Film channels were removed and merged with Canal+ Film 2, the main Canal+ channel was removed and replaced by bonus channel Canal+ Mix and a new sports channel called Canal+ Sport 2 launched. Some channels rebranded: Canal+ Film became Canal+ Film 1, Canal+ Sport became Canal+ Sport 1 and C More HD became Canal+ HD. Previously the customers had to subscribe to all the channels. With the relaunch, the customer was for the first time allowed to subscribe only to the sports or movie channels. The "Canal+ Film" package consisted of Canal+ Film 1, 2 and 3 and "Canal+ Sport" consisted of Canal+ Sport 1 and 2. The full package was called "Canal+ Total" and contained Canal+ Mix and Canal+ HD as a bonus.
A second HD channel, Canal+ Sport HD, launched in February 2007. The original HD channel was called Canal+ Film HD from that on.
Yet another overhaul happened on November 1, 2007. The movie and series channels were all renamed and repositioned into different categories. Canal+ Film 1 becomes Canal+ First which will premiere the films and Canal+ Film 2 is replaced by Canal+ Hits which will broadcast older films. Canal+ Film 3 and Canal+ Mix were renamed Canal+ Action and Canal+ Drama and were joined by Canal+ Comedy which broadcasts movies in different genres. Canal+ Sport 1 and 2 kept their names, but were be joined by Canal+ Sport Extra which time-shared with the pornographic channel Canal 69.
On October 1, 2009, Canal+ launched the SF-kanalen
SF-kanalen
SF-kanalen is a Swedish television channel, which shows movies from the library of Svensk Filmindustri. It is broadcast to Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland as a part of the Canal+ package....
, a channel which broadcasts Swedish movies from the libraries of Svensk Filmindustri. After TV4's purchase of the company, Canal+ and Svensk Filmindustri became part of the same corporation. SF-kanalen replaced Canal 69, which ceased operations the day before.
Canal+ is widely known for changing its channel package, and yet another change was made on April 1, 2010, when Canal+ Comedy was replaced by Canal+ Series. Its type is the same as Canal+ Hits, but it shows series from 8pm to midnight instead of movies, while from midnight to 8pm it shows various movies.
More changes happened on May 14, 2010, when Canal+ announced the launch of 3 new sports channels named Canal+ Sport 3, Canal+ Football and Canal+ Hockey. At the same time many new sports rights were announced.
In June 1, 2011, Canal+ announced the launch of 2 new films channels named Canal+ Family and Canal+ Emotion.Canal+ Emotion replaced Canal+ Drama.