French media group Lagardere released a statement on Monday confirming its talks with Vivendi SA over the former's ownership stake in a pay-television operator. Lagardere said its talks with Vivendi were still ongoing to come to an agreement regarding the latter's stake in Canal+. The announcement came in the middle of speculation over Lagardere intending to exit from Canal +. The French media group reportedly agreed to exit from its stake in Canal+ last week. Lagardere currently has a 20% ownership stake in the operator of the French premium pay-television channel.
Canal+ was launched in 1984 as a broadcaster of various encrypted programming. Owned by Vivendi, the television channel had already produced auteurs, or films which had been influenced strongly by its directors' creative vision. Some of these films were David Lynch's The Straight Story, Inland Empire, and Mulholland Drive, among others.
Canal+ only reached as high as 3% share in the cable television market this year. In July, its market share dipped to 1.5%. This was the lowest market share percentage Canal+ had recorded ever since its launch in 1984.
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