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C More Entertainment

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"C More" redirects here. For the American research organisation, see Center for Microbial Oceanography: Research and Education. For the American firearm manufacturer, see C-More Systems.
C More Entertainment AB
IndustryBroadcasting
Founded1 September 1997; 28 years ago (1997-09-01)
Defunct14 August 2023 (2023-08-14)
HeadquartersStjärntorget 1, 169 94 Solna,
Stockholm
,
Sweden
Areas served
Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Norway
OwnerTelia Company (2019-2023)
ParentTV4 Media (2016-2023)
Website
Footnotes / references
Telia Company 556430-0142

C More Entertainment AB was a pay television company that previously operated under the brand name Canal+. The company targeted the Nordic countries and operated separate channels in each market, including C More Film in Sweden.[1]

The main competitors of C More Entertainment were Viasat Film and Viasat Sport, both of which became part of the Nordic Entertainment Group (NENT) in 2018.

After 30 October 2012, the C More channels in Finland were bundled with MTV Oy's premium channels.[2] The combined package was initially branded as MTV3 Total (later MTV Total) before reverting to the C More name in 2017.

Ownership history

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The South African company MultiChoice launched the Nordic version of FilmNet in 1985, followed by SuperSport in 1995. The channels were renamed Canal+ in 1997 after MultiChoice sold most of its European operations to the French company Groupe Canal+.

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, the company changed its legal name to C More Entertainment but retained the right to use the "Canal+" trademark.

On 9 February 2005, the SBS Broadcasting Group announced its acquisition of C More Entertainment. The Belgian SBS channels VT4 and VIJFtv launched their VOD service under the C-More brand in October 2006.[3]

On 16 June 2008, the Swedish TV4 Gruppen announced it had acquired C More Entertainment from the German ProSiebenSat.1 Media (which had acquired SBS) for €320 million. In May 2010, Telenor purchased 35% of C More Entertainment's shares from TV4 Gruppen for SEK 787 million but sold them back in 2014.[citation needed]

Programming

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C More Entertainment operated more than 20 SD channels and 11 HD channels in the Nordic region as of September 2012.

1990s

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C More Entertainment originated from the Nordic pay television channel Filmnet, which was launched in 1985. In the early 1990s, Filmnet was divided into two channels: Filmnet Plus and The Complete Movie Channel: Filmnet. These were later renamed Filmnet 1 and Filmnet 2.

In 1996, Canal+ acquired Filmnet, and the two channels were renamed on 1 September 1997. Filmnet 1 became "Canal+" with localized versions for different Nordic countries, while Filmnet 2 became the pan-Nordic "Canal+ Gul/Canal+ Kulta" (translated as "Canal+ Yellow/Canal+ Gold"), following the colour-based naming system used by Canal+ in France and other regions.

A third channel, "Canal+ Blå/Canal+ Sininen" (Blue), was launched on 3 September 1999.

2000s

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"Canal+ Zap/Rød/Punainen" (Red) was launched on 22 September 2001, allowing cable and satellite viewers to select alternate matches during FA Premier League and National Hockey League fixtures.

The channels were redesigned on 1 May 2004. The three colour-coded channels were replaced by four themed channels: the main Canal+ channel, Canal+ Film 1 and Canal+ Film 2 (showing new films), the all-sports Canal+ Sport, and C More Film, a channel featuring older films. C More Film was the first channel to use the "C More" name.

On 1 September 2005, the line-up was expanded with the launch of Canal+ Film 3, C More Film 2, and C More HD—the first HD channel in the Nordic region. Canal+ Film 1 was renamed "Canal+ Film", and Canal+ Sport was divided into country-specific channels. Canal+, which had been localized, became a pan-Nordic channel. Around the same time, IPTV operators, in partnership with Canal Digital, launched an interactive VOD service called "Canal+ Play", allowing viewers to watch past seasons and films via their set-top boxes. This service was later integrated into Canal Digital Go, available both on set-top boxes and online, similar to the British service Sky Go.

On 1 November 2006, the C More Film and C More Film 2 channels were merged with Canal+ Film 2, and the main Canal+ channel was replaced by Canal+ Mix, a bonus channel broadcasting series, entertainment, music, sports, children's programming, documentaries, and films. C More also introduced a new sports channel, Canal+ Sport 2. At the same time, several channels were renamed: Canal+ Film became "Canal+ Film 1", Canal+ Sport became "Canal+ Sport 1", and C More HD became "Canal+ HD". Customers were now able to subscribe separately to film or sports packages instead of all channels collectively. The "Canal+ Film" package included Canal+ Film 1, 2, and 3, while "Canal+ Sport" included Canal+ Sport 1 and 2. The full package, "Canal+ Total", included Canal+ Mix and Canal+ HD as bonus channels.

On 1 February 2007, Canal+ HD was divided into two separate HD channels: Canal+ Film HD (for films) and Canal+ Sport HD (for sports events). In September 2007, a pay-per-view sports service called C Sports was launched in Sweden, Denmark, and Norway. Although not available in Finnish, it could be accessed in Finland. Initially, it offered single matches on a PPV basis but later expanded to subscription-based viewing of entire leagues. In 2009, it was further developed to include on-demand archives and live streaming of Canal+ Sport channels. The service remains available in all Nordic countries except Finland, where similar content is provided through MTV3's VOD platform Katsomo.

The channels underwent another redesign on 1 November 2007. The film and series channels were renamed and restructured: Canal+ Film 1 became "Canal+ First" (focused on new films and series), Canal+ Film 2 became "Canal+ Hits" (focused on classic films), Canal+ Film 3 became "Canal+ Action", and Canal+ Mix became "Canal+ Drama". These were joined by "Canal+ Comedy", which broadcast films from multiple genres. Canal+ Sport 1 and 2 retained their names, while "Canal+ Sport Extra" was added, time-sharing with Canal 69, which specialized in adult films.

In July 2009, C More Entertainment launched Canal 9, a new sports and male-oriented channel. Canal 9 was free for Canal+ Sport and Canal+ Total subscribers across cable, satellite, and IPTV platforms. The channel shared some sports rights with Canal+ and also held its own, commissioned by TV4 Gruppen. It was modelled after Finland's MTV3 Max, with discussions later arising about renaming MTV3 Max to Canal 9 Suomi. Canal 9 also launched in Norway in November 2011.

On 1 October 2009, Canal+ launched SF-kanalen, a channel broadcasting Swedish films and miniseries from Svensk Filmindustri's library. After TV4's acquisition of C More, both Canal+ and Svensk Filmindustri became part of the same corporate group. SF-kanalen replaced Canal 69, which closed the previous day.

2010s

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On 1 April 2010, Canal+ Comedy was replaced by Canal+ Series, which broadcast television series from 8 p.m. to midnight and films during the daytime.

On 14 May 2010, C More Entertainment launched three sports channels: Canal+ Sport 3, Canal+ Football, and Canal+ Hockey. Canal+ Sport 3 was exclusive to Norway. Later that year, Canal+ announced a second Finnish-language sports channel, Canal+ Aitio (translated as "Canal+ Skybox"), which began broadcasting in December 2010. The new channel aired additional Premier League and UEFA Champions League matches, allowing two simultaneous broadcasts. Another Finnish channel, "Canal+ Urheilu", was also introduced, with HD versions available across all platforms.

On 1 June 2011, Canal+ launched two additional film and series channels: Canal+ Family (featuring family and children's programming) and Canal+ Emotion (formerly Canal+ Drama).

In May 2012, C More Entertainment announced a rebrand to "C More." Most channels retained their names but replaced the Canal+ prefix with C More. Sports channels were also renamed: Canal+ Sport 1 became C More Sport, Canal+ Sport 2 became C More Tennis, Canal+ Sport Extra became C More Extreme, and Canal+ Extra channels were rebranded as C More Live. The Danish Canal 8 Sport and Canal 9 were unaffected. C More also introduced documentaries to its programming.

On 30 October 2012, C More's Finnish channels merged with MTV3 Kanavapaketti to form MTV3 Total. C More Urheilu (Sport), C More Aitio, and C More Premier HD were renamed MTV3 MAX Sport 1, MTV3 MAX Sport 2, and MTV3 MAX Premier HD, respectively. The package was rebranded MTV Total in 2013, then reverted to C More in 2017. Following the 2017 rebrand, MTV Oy's MTV Juniori and MTV Max became C More Juniori and C More Max, respectively.

In October 2012, C More launched the Filmnet online streaming service in Sweden to compete with Netflix and HBO Nordic. Filmnet expanded to Norway and Finland in early 2013, while in Denmark, C More collaborated with YouSee on a similar service called YouBio. Filmnet was merged into the main C More website on 30 June 2015.

2020s

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On 28 February 2022, C More's streaming service was discontinued in Norway in favour of TV 2 Play.[4] The C More brand was discontinued in Sweden on 14 August 2023, merging into TV4 Play.[5] The service in Finland closed on 10 October 2023, merging into MTV Katsomo.[6] On 31 December 2023, the C More app in Denmark was shut down, and its content was transferred to TV 2 Play.[7]

Television channels

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Movies and Entertainment Group

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Discontinued:

Sports Group

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Discontinued:

  • C More Extreme – formerly Canal+ Sport Extra.
  • C More Fotboll – Sweden only; formerly Canal+ Football.
  • C More Golf – Denmark only.
  • C More Hockey – Norway and Sweden only; formerly Canal+ Hockey.
  • C More Live – Norway and Sweden only; formerly Canal+ Sport 3.
  • C More Live 2 – Norway and Sweden only; formerly Canal+ Extra 1.
  • C More Live 3 – Norway and Sweden only; formerly Canal+ Extra 2.
  • C More Live 4 – Norway and Sweden only; formerly Canal+ Extra 3.
  • C More Live 5 – Norway and Sweden only; replaced C More Tennis.
  • C More Max – Finland only; formerly MTV3 MAX and MTV Max.
  • C More Premier HD – Finland only; formerly Canal+ Premier HD; later renamed MTV MAX Premier HD.
  • C More Sport – Sweden only; formerly Canal+ Sport and Canal+ Sport 1; replaced Canal+ Zap.
  • C More Sport 1 – Finland only; formerly Canal+ Sport 1, Canal+ Urheilu, MTV3 MAX Sport 1, and MTV Sport 1.
  • C More Sport 2 – Finland only; formerly Canal+ Sport 2, Canal+ Aitio, MTV3 MAX Sport 2, and MTV Sport 2.
  • C More Tennis – replaced Canal+ Sport 2.
  • Canal 8 Sport – Denmark only; sold to Discovery Communications; replaced Canal+ Sport 1.
  • Canal 9 – Denmark only; sold to Discovery Communications.
  • Canal+ Extra 4
  • Canal+ Sport 2 – replaced by C More Tennis.
  • Canal+ Sport HD
  • Sportkanalen – Sweden only.

On-demand services

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Discontinued:

  • C More Play – Denmark and Norway.
  • C Sports – Denmark and Norway.
  • Filmnet – Sweden only.

Rights

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The premium pay-TV model used by C More Entertainment is based on acquiring exclusive broadcasting rights. These rights encompass sports, films, and television series.

Sports rights

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Film and television rights

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As of 2011, C More Entertainment held exclusive first-run agreements for feature films and television series with Fox Entertainment Group, DreamWorks, HBO, MGM, Nonstop Entertainment, Paramount Pictures, Sandrew Metronome, Svensk Filmindustri, Warner Bros. Pictures, and Zentropa.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "C More Entertainment AB: Private Company Information". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 1 July 2018.
  2. ^ MTV – Media uudistaa maksu-tv-tarjontaansa MTV.fi. Retrieved 1 October 2018. Archived 17 November 2015 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ "'C-More' de on-demand service van VT4 & VIJFtv". TV-Visie. Retrieved 15 January 2017.
  4. ^ "Structural Deal Between TV2 And C More In Norway". Nordisk Film & TV Fond. Retrieved 31 July 2024.
  5. ^ "Swedish broadcaster TV4 to merge its streamers C More and TV4 Play". C21media. Retrieved 31 July 2024.
  6. ^ Kärkkäinen, Henrik (6 September 2023). "C More ja MTV Katsomo yhdistyvät – näin käy tilaajien". Ilta-Sanomat (in Finnish). Retrieved 31 July 2024.
  7. ^ "C More Denmark to close at year-end". Broadband TV News. 22 November 2023.
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