France’s Canal+ has taken full ownership of SPI International, which is behind European channel brands including including FilmBox, Film1, Kino Polska and streamer Dizi.
The French giant acquired a 70% stake in SPI in 2021 and has bought the remaining 30% from Hilda Uziyel according to regulatory filings.
SPI runs more than 40 free-to-air and pay-TV channels across European markets including Poland, Czech Republic, Romania, Serbia, the Netherlands and Russia.
Loni Farhi, who founded SPI almost three decades ago, stepped down in April alongside CEO Berk Uziyel.
Canal+ International director of business integration, Erwan Luherne, and Jeroen Bergman, chief of content & business development at Canal+ owned M7 Group, took over their remits.
The SPI deal strengthens Canal+’s market presence across Europe.
Last month, Canal+ took a 12% stake in Nordic streamer Viaplay becoming its largest single shareholder.
Canal+ has been steadily building its international footprint and now has 25.5 million subscribers worldwide, including 9.5 million in France and 7.6 million in Africa.
In France Canal+ is in the process of acquiring rival streamer OCS, in which it has a 33% stake. Through its ownership of M7 Group, Canal+ has a significant presence in the Benelux countries and central and eastern Europe. In June, Canal+ took a significant minority stake in pan Asian streaming service Viu.
You are not signed in
Only registered users can comment on this article.
.jpg)
Tim Davie on “national asset” BBC World Service: “We should be doubling the funding”
The BBC World Service is a “UK national asset”, “important to its national defence and reputation”, for which the government "should be doubling the funding”, according to the organisation’s outgoing Director General, Tim Davie.
Canal+ launches AI-powered content search with OpenAI
To enable users to find content through natural language queries, the Canal+ app will roll out a search function powered by OpenAI technology in June 2026.
Documentary Film Council appoints Mandy Chang as CEO
The UK’s Documentary Film Council has named Mandy Chang as its first Chief Executive.
Head of Eurovision broadcaster ORF resigns
The Director General of Austrian national broadcaster ORF has resigned over allegations of sexual harassment, two months before the network is due to host the Eurovision Song Contest.
Sound body AMPS calls out impact of noisy LED film lighting
The Association of Motion Picture Sound (AMPS) has called on manufacturers and productions to consider the impact of noisy high-output LED film lighting on capturing performance on set.
