Télévision Par Satellite (; TPS) was a French company that offered subscription television packages via satellite.
It was created in 1996 by
Eutelsat and
Arte
Arte (, , ; ' ('), sometimes stylised in lowercase or uppercase in its logo) is a European Union, European public service Television channel, channel dedicated to culture. It is made up of three separate companies: the Strasbourg-based Europea ...
, soon joined by the
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 ...
, the
M6 Group,
France Télévisions,
RTL Group,
France Telecom and
Suez Environnement. France Télévisions left the company in 2002.
Channels
TPS offered various channels, including some not owned by TPS:
*
TPS Star, the general entertainment flagship channel
*
TPS Foot, a football channel
*
Multivision, a 7-channel premium PPV service
*And several movie channels: TPS Cineclub, TPS CinéComedy, TPS Cinéculte, TPS Cinextrême, TPS Cinéfamily, TPS Cinéstar, TPS Cinétoile and TPS Homecinéma.
On 31 August 2006 TPS merged with its competitor
CanalSat, owned by the
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 ...
.
The two distributors merged their packages on 21 March 2007. Essentially, TPS merged into CanalSat which was then branded as Nouveau CanalSat. All the TPS branded movie channels were merged into the Canal+-owned CinéCinéma package, TPS Star and TPS Foot being the only channels still using the TPS brand. Some new channels were launched on both platforms.
In 2011, the merger with TPS was cancelled by the Competition Authority. Canal+ appealed, and the Authority determined that its authorisation would be conditional on a number of injunctions, including "re-establish
ngsufficient competition in the pay television market".
External links
official SES websiteSES fleet information and map
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Television Par Satellite
Direct broadcast satellite services
Television in France
1996 establishments in France
2007 disestablishments in France
2007 mergers and acquisitions
nl:TPS