The Council of State ruled “inadmissible” channel C8’s appeal against the upcoming loss of its TV frequency, because it was filed before the completion of the procedure by Arcom, the audiovisual regulator, announced on Friday, November 22.
This reasoning also applies to the NRJ12 and Le Média channels, which also challenge the preselection established by Arcom for the allocation of frequencies. The three will be able to present a new appeal when the regulator announces its final list in December. The Council of State judges the applications of C8, NRJ12 and Le Média “inadmissible because premature”he said in a press release.
For the reallocation of 15 television frequencies in 2025, Arcom made public a preselection at the end of July. The independent regulatory authority had ruled out renewal of the frequencies of NRJ12 and C8, whose lease expires at the end of February, and had not retained the radical left web television Le Média.
Wait for the final list
According to the Council of State, this “shortlist” it’s not worth it “Neither attribution for the candidates presented there nor definitive rejection for the others”and therefore cannot be attacked. To go to court, it is necessary, according to him, to wait for the final list that Arcom must publish after signing agreements with the new frequency holders.
“Only Arcom’s final decisions, which must be made in December, will definitively establish the candidates selected for DTT. [télévision numérique terrestre]“and may be challenged before the Council of State, even urgently.”argued the highest administrative court.
Channel where the controversial presenter Cyril Hanouna appears, C8 has launched a petition asking that its frequency be maintained. As of Friday afternoon it had 830,000 signatures.
In the Arcom preselection, two newcomers preferred C8 and NRJ12: OFTV (West France group) and RéelsTV (CMI France, owned by Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky).