Market-leading French weekly Paris Match is to replicate its glossy brand on television with the $10 million-plus launch of Match TV via Vivendi Universal’s CanalSatellite digital platform.
Owned by Paris-headquartered media and defense conglomerate Lagardere, Paris Match aims to recreate its winning mix of celeb/royalty trivia, alongside news coverage and photo essays.
Match TV is due to launch next year with a daily output of nineteen hours, of which some three and a half hours will be indigenous programming. According to insiders, Lagardere is also planning a similar move for its top women’s weekly Elle.
Meanwhile, Paris ad shops – among them Havas-owned Enjoy, independent Bon Angle, and Omnicom duo BDDP & Fils and Louis XIV DDB – are reportedly jostling for the Match TV launch business.
Lagardere’s worldwide tentacles embrace the US and the UK. In the former, its Hachette Filipacchi Magazines unit is one of the nation’s largest operators; while in Britain it holds 50% of Hachette Emap with Emap Group.
News source: AdAge Global
