Numericable (NOOS)
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Numericable was a major French cable operator and telecommunications services company. The company provides
cable broadband In telecommunications, cable Internet access, shortened to cable Internet, is a form of broadband internet access which uses the same infrastructure as cable television. Like digital subscriber line (DSL) and fiber to the premises, cable Internet ...
services 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 ...
,
Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...
and
Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...
, offering
digital Digital usually refers to something using discrete digits, often binary digits. Businesses *Digital bank, a form of financial institution *Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) or Digital, a computer company *Digital Research (DR or DRI), a software ...
and
analog Analog or analogue may refer to: Computing and electronics * Analog signal, in which information is encoded in a continuous variable ** Analog device, an apparatus that operates on analog signals *** Analog electronics, circuits which use analog ...
television,
Internet The Internet (or internet) is the Global network, global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a internetworking, network of networks ...
, and mobile phone services. It is a leading
cable television Cable television is a system of delivering television programming to consumers via radio frequency (RF) signals transmitted through coaxial cables, or in more recent systems, light pulses through fibre-optic cables. This contrasts with bro ...
provider and high-speed
internet access Internet access is a facility or service that provides connectivity for a computer, a computer network, or other network device to the Internet, and for individuals or organizations to access or use applications such as email and the World Wide ...
provider in
metropolitan France Metropolitan France ( or ), also known as European France (), is the area of France which is geographically in Europe and chiefly comprises #Hexagon, the mainland, popularly known as "the Hexagon" ( or ), and Corsica. This collective name for the ...
. Originally created in 2006 from the merger between Noos and NC Numericable networks, Numericable was listed on the
NYSE Euronext NYSE Euronext, Inc. was a Transatlantic relations, transatlantic Multinational corporation, multinational financial services corporation that operated multiple Stock exchange, securities exchanges, including the New York Stock Exchange, Euronext ...
in 2013. In 2014, Numericable made an offer to buy
Vivendi Vivendi SE (stylized in all lowercase) is a French investment company headquartered in Paris. It currently wholly-owns Gameloft as well as a number of investments in several companies, primarily involved in content, entertainment, media, and t ...
's
SFR SFR S.A. (or Altice France S.A. for the group) (; ) is a French telecommunications company. It is both the second-oldest mobile network operator and the second largest telecommunications company in France, after Orange. The group, Altice Fr ...
telecommunications affiliate, France's second largest provider, and merged with SFR to form
Numericable-SFR SFR S.A. (or Altice France S.A. for the group) (; ) is a French telecommunications company. It is both the second-oldest mobile network operator and the second largest telecommunications company in France, after Orange. The group, Altice Fr ...
. In April 2016, the merged company adopted the SFR name across all its businesses.


History


Early years

From the end of
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
until May 1981, when the
French Socialist Party The Socialist Party ( , PS) is a Centre-left politics, centre-left to Left-wing politics, left-wing List of political parties in France, political party in France. It holds Social democracy, social democratic and Pro-Europeanism, pro-European v ...
came swept to power with the election of
François Mitterrand François Maurice Adrien Marie Mitterrand (26 October 19168 January 1996) was a French politician and statesman who served as President of France from 1981 to 1995, the longest holder of that position in the history of France. As a former First ...
, the state held a monopoly on the production and distribution of audiovisual programmes on French territory. On July 29, 1982, Law 82-652 abolished the state monopoly and created both a Council and High Authority on Audiovisual Communication to oversee the liberalisation of the French audiovisual sector. In 1982, the National Cable Plan was approved, with the ambitious goal of connecting one million households within five years and using the most advanced techniques of the time, including fiber-optic technology. In order to finance the project, a public-private partnership was put in place that allowed private operators to utilise the networks set up by
France Telecom Orange S.A. (; formerly , stylised as france telecom) is a French multinational telecommunications corporation founded in 1988 and headquartered in Issy-les-Moulineaux, near Paris. ''Orange'' has been the corporation's main brand for mobile, ...
to commercial ends. Regulations provided for highly favourable concessions that were awarded to private operators (up to 99 years). Water and Sewage Treatment service providers often diversified into the cable market and used their close ties with local municipalities to win concessions. On June 6, 1985, the group Lyonnaise des eaux created the company Paris Câble, which would later become Lyonnaise Câble, Noos, and Numericable. Officially launched on November 25, 1986, the launch of the National Cable Plan marked the start of the commercial use of cable networks in Paris. In 1996, 16 regional operators merged into a national player, Lyonnaise Communications. In May 2000, Noos became the brand name of Lyonnaise Communications in a move that was accompanied by the harmonization of Lyonnaise’s cable networks. Following its national expansion strategy, Noos took over the cable television assets of French group NTL in November 2001. At this point, three cable operators were still in business: France Telecom, NC Numericable and Noos.


Numericable foundation

NC Numericable and Noos merged in 2006. One year later, the brand Noos disappeared and was replaced by the name Numericable. A new logo and marketing campaign was subsequently launched in August 2007. For the first time, all of French cable networks were technically owned by one company. In 2005, Numéricâble launched its activities in the Antilles. In 2008, Le Câble Numericable bought WSG and MTVC, the major cable operators in Guadeloupe and Martinique. In 2007, Numericable announced that it had signed a deal with
Bouygues Telecom Bouygues Telecom S.A. () is a French mobile phone, Internet service provider and IPTV company, part of the Bouygues group. It is the third oldest mobile network operator in France, after Orange and SFR, and before Free Mobile, and provides 2 ...
to use its mobile network, thereby opening the way to offering mobile services to its customers. The company subsequently launched the service in 2008. Numericable was launched as a
mobile virtual network operator A mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) is a wireless communications services provider that does not own the wireless network infrastructure over which it provides services to its customers. An MVNO enters into a business agreement with a mobil ...
on May 16, 2011, advertising an ‘unlimited’ offer and highlighting its competitiveness. To accompany its business development, Numericable launched a ‘triple play’ internet offer, costing four euros per month, on September 13, 2011. In order to compete with new offers launched by rival company Free, Numericable launched an ‘unlimited’ mobile phone plan costing €19.99 per month on January 23, 2012, contributing to the company’s general move to lower prices. To compete with competitors’ Internet terminals, Numericable announced the launch of ‘Box by Numericable’, a product that is both modem and receiver. According to the operator, the box allows access to 300 thematic channels, to the Internet and to make an unlimited number of calls to landlines and mobile numbers in France, as well as to several international locations. For the eligible clients, the Box allows a high-speed internet connection (up to 200 megabytes/second) as long as it is linked to a local network. The Box also gives its clients access to videos on-demand (VOD) and multiple social network applications, such as
Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...
. In October 2011, Numericable launched a €10 million nationwide
advertising campaign An advertising campaign or marketing campaign is a series of advertisement messages that share a single idea and theme which make up an integrated marketing communication (IMC). An IMC is a platform in which a group of people can group their ide ...
with the advertising firm Fred & Farid that featured three fictional creatures that represent the three principal services of the company: television, internet and wireless communications. These mascots were named the ''Numiz'' (''Cabiz'' in Portugal).


SFR acquisition and public offering

While the name of the group was Numericable, the management remained legally administered by two separate companies: Numericable SAS and NC Numericable (formerly known as Noos). Ypso Holding S.à r.l. was a
holding company A holding company is a company whose primary business is holding a controlling interest in the Security (finance), securities of other companies. A holding company usually does not produce goods or services itself. Its purpose is to own Share ...
controlling Numericable companies, owned by the American
Carlyle Group The Carlyle Group Inc. is an American multinational company with operations in private equity, alternative asset management and financial services. As of 2023, the company had $426 billion of assets under management. Carlyle specializes in ...
(35%), the British
private-equity firm A private equity firm or private equity company (often described as a financial sponsor) is an investment management company that provides financial backing and makes investments in the private equity of a Startup company, startup or of an existin ...
Cinven Cinven Limited is a global private equity firm founded in 1977, with offices in nine international locations in Guernsey, London, New York, Paris, Frankfurt, Milan, Luxembourg, Madrid, and Hong Kong that acquires Europe and United States–bas ...
(35%) and Altice, a Luxembourg-based cable operator (30%). On 2 August 2013, Numericable Group SA was formed as the parent company of Numericable group companies. On September 19, 2013, Numericable Group announced the launch of a legal and financial process aimed at the company’s
initial public offering An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investm ...
on the
Paris stock exchange Euronext Paris, formerly known as the Paris Bourse (), is a regulated securities trading venue in France. It is Europe's second largest stock exchange by market capitalization, behind the London Stock Exchange, as of December 2023. As of 2022, th ...
, regulated by NYSE Euronext. The declared objective was to obtain new financial resources to invest in French fiber-optic development. The shares were offered on 7 November 2013. In November 2014, France’s competition watchdog approved a deal for Numericable to acquire
Virgin Mobile France Virgin Mobile France was a cellular telephone operator in France. It launched in 2006 as a joint venture between Virgin Group and Carphone Warehouse. The company operated as a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO), whereby it did not own or opera ...
for €325 million.
SFR SFR S.A. (or Altice France S.A. for the group) (; ) is a French telecommunications company. It is both the second-oldest mobile network operator and the second largest telecommunications company in France, after Orange. The group, Altice Fr ...
launched its fiber packages in November 2014, using the Numericable network and TV bouquets. In France, the cable networks had an exemption from exclusivity of TV channels. Following the launch of the SFR by Numericable offers,
Canalsat Canal+ is a French subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and subscription TV provider. The TV provider was established as CanalSatellite in 1992 and later rebranding to CanalSat and the streaming service was launched a ...
has withdrawn the Numericable exemption, which has made it lose certain channels such as
Eurosport Eurosport is a group of pay television networks in Europe and parts of Asia, owned and operated by Warner Bros. Discovery through its WBD Sports unit, it operates two main channels—Eurosport 1 and Eurosport 2—across most of its territorie ...
, Disney XD,
Disney Junior Disney Jr. (formerly Disney Junior) is an American pay television network owned by the Disney Branded Television sub-division of the Disney Entertainment business segment of the Walt Disney Company. Aimed mainly at children two to seven year ...
, Disney Cinema, Comédie+, Planète+,
Télétoon+ Télétoon (stylized in all caps) is a Canadian French language specialty channel owned by Corus Entertainment that broadcasts animated series aimed at kids, teens, and adults. Its name is a portmanteau of " télévision" and "cartoon". Télé ...
and
Piwi+ Piwi+ (formerly Piwi) is a French pay television channel for children aged 3 to 6, owned by the Canal+. History Piwi was launched on December 3, 2003, as the preschool channel from Télévision Par Satellite. In 2007, TPS merged with its compe ...
. Altice launched its SVOD service, Zive, on 17 November 2015. It was renamed SFR Play in late 2016. Altice acquired the rights of many sports competitions (
Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...
,
Liga NOS The Primeira Liga (), also known as Liga Portugal Betclic for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Portugal and the highest level of the Portuguese football league system. Organised and supervised by the Liga ...
, Champions League) to form its SFR Sport bouquet. Altice signed an exclusive agreement with Discovery and
NBCUniversal NBCUniversal Media, LLC (abbreviated as NBCU and Trade name, doing business as NBCUniversal or Comcast NBCUniversal since 2013) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational mass media and Show business, entertainment conglomerate (comp ...
in December 2016. The premium movies and series TV channel Altice Studio was launched on 22 August 2017. Numericable was rebranded as SFR in Belgium and Luxembourg on 15 February 2016, with its launch of Zive. In December 2016, Altice announced to sell SFR Belux to
Telenet Telenet was an American commercial packet-switched network which went into service in 1975. It was the first FCC-licensed public data network in the United States. Various commercial and government interests paid monthly fees for dedicated lin ...
for €400 million. The Numericable and SFR channels numbering were merged on 22 August 2017, and in 2019, the Numericable exclusive channels (
MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...
,
Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (nicknamed Nick) is an American pay television channel and the flagship property of the Nickelodeon Group, a sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on April 1, 1979, as the first ca ...
, Série Club,
Cartoon Network Cartoon Network (CN) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the Cartoon Network, Inc., a sub-division of the Warner Bros. Discovery Networks division of Warner Bros. Discovery. It launched on ...
...) were added to SFR ADSL offer. The brand Numericable disappeared.


Operation


Services

The company provided the following services: *Internet or TV access; *Internet and telephone access; *Internet, telephone and TV access; *All the above services including a mobile phone contract. Numericable controls the vast majority of the cable network in France, representing some 9.5 million potential households or about 32% of French households. The company has 3.5 million television subscribers, 1,037,000 for internet and 753,000 for telephone services. As of June 2012, the cable operator counts over a half million high-speed fiber-optic customers and 4.6 million households connected to the network. Later that year in November 2012, a company press release announced that the number had grown to almost 600,000. According to figures published by Arcep, Numericable holds 70% of the high-speed fiber-optic market.


International network

Numericable also had operations in
Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...
,
Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...
, French Caribbean (Martinique, Guadeloupe and French Guiana) and
Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...
. In 2016, Numericable was replaced by
SFR SFR S.A. (or Altice France S.A. for the group) (; ) is a French telecommunications company. It is both the second-oldest mobile network operator and the second largest telecommunications company in France, after Orange. The group, Altice Fr ...
in Belgium, Luxembourg and Overseas France. In Portugal, Altice sold Cabovisão, due to Meo acquisition, to Apax France and it was rebranded as
Nowo NOWO (pronounced "novo", meaning 'new') is a Portuguese telecommunications company. It is one of the four triple play operators in Portugal along with MEO, NOS and Vodafone. NOWO belongs to the Romanian company Digi Communications. NOWO has ...
on 19 September 2016.


Ownership

After its listing on the Paris NYSE Euronext stock exchange, Numericable main shareholders are the Luxembourg investment fund Altice (30%), which is listed under the ticker ATC on the Amsterdam NYSE Euronext stock exchange since January 2014 and is controlled and led by the French-Israeli investor and telecommunications executive
Patrick Drahi Patrick Drahi (; ; ; born 20 August 1963) is a Moroccan–Israeli billionaire magnate and investor with interests in media and telecoms. He is the founder and controlling shareholder of the European-based telecom group Altice. He lives in Swit ...
, the American private-equity group
Carlyle Group The Carlyle Group Inc. is an American multinational company with operations in private equity, alternative asset management and financial services. As of 2023, the company had $426 billion of assets under management. Carlyle specializes in ...
(26.3%), and the British
private-equity firm A private equity firm or private equity company (often described as a financial sponsor) is an investment management company that provides financial backing and makes investments in the private equity of a Startup company, startup or of an existin ...
Cinven Cinven Limited is a global private equity firm founded in 1977, with offices in nine international locations in Guernsey, London, New York, Paris, Frankfurt, Milan, Luxembourg, Madrid, and Hong Kong that acquires Europe and United States–bas ...
(18.2%).


References


External links

*
Official website France

Official website Belgium

Official website Luxemburg
{{Carlyle Group Cable television companies Telecommunications companies of France Telecommunications companies of Belgium Telecommunications companies of Luxembourg High-definition television Altice (company) French companies established in 2007