France Channel is an online digital video subscription service, founded by Julien Verley (former executive of

Canal+ Group Canal+ S.A., formerly Groupe Canal+, is a French Media conglomerate, media and telecommunications Conglomerate (company), conglomerate based in Paris. It runs its own Canal+ (streaming service), eponymous Over-the-top media service, over-the-to ...

and

France Télévisions France Télévisions (; stylized since 2018 as ) is the French national public television broadcaster. It is a state-owned company formed from the integration of the public television channels France 2 (formerly Antenne 2) and France 3 (form ...

), operating in the United States but headquartered in France.

History

Background

Rise of streaming and success of BritBox

Due to the rising popularity of Subscription Video on Demand services (SVODs), commonly known as streaming services, such as

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

and

Amazon Prime Video Amazon Prime Video, known simply as Prime Video, is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming television service owned by Amazon. The service primarily distributes films and television series produced or co-produced by ...

, around the world, especially among younger demographics, traditional TV has had to adapt in a changing market to appeal to younger generations in fear of being left in the dust by the SVOD services. In response to this, various European public service broadcasters (PSBs), have had to put many old rivalries aside in favor of collaborations in an attempt to compete against SVODs with their streaming services being launched often in their on countries. Most notable services are Joyn (joint-venture between

ProSiebenSat.1 Media ProSiebenSat.1 Media SE (officially abbreviated as P7S1, formerly ProSiebenSat.1 Media AG) is a German mass media and digital company based in Unterföhring near Munich. It operates in three segments: Entertainment, Dating and Commerce & Venture ...

and

Discovery, Inc. Discovery, Inc. was an American multinational mass media factual television conglomerate based in New York City. Established in 1982, the company operated a group of factual and lifestyle television brands, such as the namesake Discovery Chan ...

with ProSiebenSat.1 Media taking full ownership later on) launched for the domestic market in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, Salto (launched through the collaboration of

TF1 Group TF1 Group () is a French media holding company. Its best-known property is the broadcast network TF1. The group was formed after TF1 was privatized in April 1987 in which the channel was launched back on January 6 1975 twelve years prior. It is ...

M6 Group Métropole Télévision SA, commonly known as Groupe M6 (), is a French media holding company. It was formed around the commercial television channel M6, launched in March 1987 by the CLT ( RTL Télévision) and La Lyonnaise des Eaux. In addi ...

, and

before being closed in 2023) launched for the domestic market in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, and

BritBox BritBox is a British Over-the-top media service, over-the-top Video on demand#Subscription models, video on demand Streaming television, streaming service founded by BBC Studios and ITV plc, ITV which operates in eight countries across Australi ...

(originally a joint venture between

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

and

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: Television TV stations/networks/channels ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network and company, including: **ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network in the United Kingd ...

until ITV took complete control of the UK service in 2022 and the operations of the international service being completely transferred to

BBC Studios BBC Studios Limited is a British content company. It is a commercial subsidiary of the BBC that was formed in April 2018 through the merger of the BBC's commercial production arm and the BBC's commercial international distribution arm, BBC Wor ...

, under BBC, in 2024) launched for both the domestic market in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

and in various international markets starting with the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, but later expanding to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

, and the

Nordic countries The Nordic countries (also known as the Nordics or ''Norden''; ) are a geographical and cultural region in Northern Europe, as well as the Arctic Ocean, Arctic and Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic oceans. It includes the sovereign states of Denm ...

. In 2020, it was announced that BritBox alone reached over 1 million subscribers in North America (US and Canada only).

Launch of France Channel

Initial launch

After the success of BritBox internationally, especially in the United States, Julien Verley (former executive of

and

) founded France Channels, SAS with the intent of launching a "French version of BritBox" aimed at international markets, but with French media content being on the platform with English and French subtitles and with some content also being dubbed in English. This is an effort to promote French culture and media abroad, similar to how BritBox does the same with British media and culture. The company also struck a deal with NetGem to provide the technology for its distribution platform. Originally slated for Spring 2021, but later pushed back to August 2021, the service launched in the

with content partnerships with Canal+ Group (now

Canal+ S.A. Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface flow u ...

France Médias Monde France Médias Monde () is a French state-owned holding company which supervises and co-ordinates the activities of the major public media organizations International broadcasting, broadcasting or publishing internationally from France. The comp ...

, and

Arte France Arte (, , ; ' ('), sometimes stylised in lowercase or uppercase in its logo) is a European public service channel dedicated to culture. It is made up of three separate companies: the Strasbourg-based European Economic Interest Grouping ( EE ...

. Under the partnership with France Médias Monde, subscribers are able to watch livestreams of both the English and the French versions of

France 24 France 24 ( in French) is a French state-owned publicly funded international news television network based in Paris. Its channels, broadcast in French, English, Arabic and Spanish, are aimed at the overseas market. Based in the Paris suburb ...

Availability

In June 2023, the France Channel launched as a Subscription channel on

. France Channel is also available as a Subscription channel on

The Roku Channel The Roku Channel is an over-the-top video streaming service available in the U.S., Canada, Mexico and the UK. The service was launched in 2017, and is owned and operated by Roku, Inc. It is the most popular free ad-supported streaming televisio ...

Content and programming

Various French TV shows, movies, documentaries, and live TV networks appear on France Channel.

Live TV networks

(English and French versions only)

Movies and documentaries

* '' A Year in My Life'' ( ''Le Temps des Porte-Plumes'') * ''The Case'' ( ''Villa Caprice'') * '' Cheating Love'' ( ''On va s'aimer'') * ''Dr Knock'' (''Knock'') * ''

Palais Royal! ''Palais Royal!'' is a 2005 French comedy film, co-written, directed by and starring Valérie Lemercier. Cast * Valérie Lemercier as Princess Armelle * Lambert Wilson as Prince Arnaud * Catherine Deneuve as Eugénia * Michel Aumont as René- ...

'' * '' A Real Job'' (''Un Métier Sérieux'') * '' They Came Back'' (''Les Revenants'') * ''The Together Project'' (''The Aquatic Effect''/''L'Effet Aquatique'') * ''War of the Buttons'' (''La Guerre des boutons'')

TV shows and docu-series

* ''The Accursed Kings'' (1972 miniseries) ( ''Les Rois Maudits'') * ''Accused'' (French Version) (''Accusé'') * ''Arrogant'' ( ''Connasse'') * ''Barbapapa'' ( ''Barbapapa'') * ''Bertrand'' ( ''Il revient quand Bertrand ?'') * '' Blame it on Rousseau'' ( ''La Faute à Rousseau'') * '' Chronicles Of The Sun'' ( ''Un si Grand Soleil'') * '' Dates That Made History'' ( ''Quand l'histoire fait dates'') * '' Joséphine, Guardian Angel'' (''Joséphine, Ange Gardien'') * ''The Kings of France'' (''Les Rois de France'') * '' Little Brown Bear'' ( ''Petit Ours Brun'') * ''

The Little Prince ''The Little Prince'' (, ) is a novella written and illustrated by French writer and aviator Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. It was first published in English and French in the United States by Reynal & Hitchcock in April 1943 and was published po ...

'' (''Le Petit Prince'') * ''

Mirette Investigates ''Mirette Investigates'' ( French: ''Les enquêtes de Mirette'') ( Catalan: ''Les investigacións de la Mirette'') is an animated series based on a series of picture books by the author Fanny Joly and published by Éditions Sarbacane. Laurent Audo ...

'' (''Les Enquêtes de Mirette'') * '' Secrets of History'' ( ''Secrets d'Histoire'') * ''

Tomorrow Is Ours ''Tomorrow is Ours'' ( French: ''Demain nous appartient'') is a French television soap opera created by Frédéric Chansel, Laure de Colbert, Nicolas Durand-Zouky, Éline Le Fur, Fabienne Lesieur and Jean-Marc Taba. It was first broadcast on TF1 ...

'' (''Demain Nous Appartient'') * ''Where It All Begins'' ( ''Ici Tout Commence'') * '' The Whizz Report'' (''C'est pas sorcier'') * '' Zorro: The Chronicles'' ('' ''Les Chroniques de Zorro'') * ''

64 Zoo Lane ''64 Zoo Lane'' (French: ''64, rue du Zoo'') is a children's animated series created by Belgian-born English author An Vrombaut. The series is co-produced by French animation studio Millimages and British-based Zoo Lane Productions in associat ...

'' (''64, rue du Zoo'')

References

External links

* {{VOD services Subscription video on demand services 2021 establishments in the United States Internet properties established in 2021 Digital television in the United States 2021 establishments in France