CMA Media abandons sale of BFM local TV network, keeps seven channels

CMA Media, the broadcasting subsidiary of the shipping group CMA-CGM, has scrapped plans to divest its nine BFM local television stations after an unsuccessful search for a solid purchaser. The company will continue to operate seven regional channels - BFM Lyon, BFM Marseille Provence, BFM Grand Lille, BFM Grand Littoral, BFM Toulon Var, BFM Nice Côte d’Azur and BFM Alsace - and intends to focus them on covering local economic transformations, leveraging its assets BFM Business and La Tribune.

Conversely, BFM Dici serving the Alpes du Sud and Haute Provence region and the BFM Normandie outlet will be shut down. The decision comes after earlier statements by Claire Léost, CMA Media’s chief executive, that neither CMA Media nor former BFMTV shareholder Altice could devise a viable business model for the local stations despite prior investments. The network employs roughly one hundred people, and the sale had been launched at the end of June.