In early June, the French audiovisual landscape will have one less channel. RMC Sport News, which belongs to the Altice group, will close. To the chagrin of the unions who deplored that the news leaked to the press even before the employees were informed of it.
It is via a message intended for the subscribers of Canal + and put on line at the end of last week that the employees of the chain indirectly learned of its next stop: " we inform you that the channel RMC Sport News will no longer be available within Canal + offers from June 2, 2020 ”. Shortly thereafter, the daily L'Equipe confirmed that it would definitely stop on that date.
The health crisis struck a fatal blow to the chain. The cessation of major sports competitions due to coronavirus has indeed largely paralyzed its activities. Proof of the difficulties encountered, as early as March, Altice had announced that it would resort to partial unemployment for 300 employees of its subsidiary Altice Médias, which groups BFM, RMC, RMC Sport and 01Net. The branch most affected is RMC Sport, an entity which designates the television channels and the news agency supplying the various antennas. " All the production of sporting events was put on total partial unemployment ", had explained at the time Arthur Dreyfuss, the managing director of Altice Médias France au Monde. RMC Sport was not the only sports media to idle. To adapt to the crisis, beIN Sports had also decided to resort to short-time working.
Forty employees threatened
In a press release, union representatives (CFDT, CFTC, CGT, SNJ and UNSA) demanded "the immediate opening of negotiations in the face of the imminent threat to the employment of at least forty RMC Sport employees" .
RMC Sport News, formerly known as BFM Sport, was launched during Euro 2016. Dedicated to sports information, it was part of the flagship RMC Sport, which broadcasts the Champions League, among other things. Its closure closely follows the shutdown of another Altice group chain, My Cuisine, last month.
