Call for applications for six national high-definition television services

The Regulatory Authority for Audiovisual and Digital Communication (Arcom) is opening a call for applications for the operation of national free-to-air television services broadcast full-time and in high definition. Decision No. 2026-483 of October 7, 2026, published in the Official Journal of the French Republic on October 8, 2026 (JORF No. 0235) under NOR RCAC2626668S, makes available 1,135 thousandths of radioelectric resources within the R4 and R7 multiplexes of digital terrestrial television. A total of six services are to be allocated, with resources available as of December 12, 2027.

The framework is established by Law No. 86-1067 of September 30, 1986, relating to the freedom of communication, of which Articles 28, 29, 30, 30-1, 30-2, and 32 are referenced in the decision. The call follows the public consultation conducted from April 24 to June 15, 2026, and the impact study made public on September 9, 2026. The multiplexes concerned were authorized by Decision No. 2026-85 of February 18, 2026 for R4 and by Decision No. 2022-759 of December 7, 2022 for R7.

1,135 thousandths to be divided between two multiplexes

The resource put out for tender is broken down according to Deliberation No. 2015-33 of November 18, 2015, as amended:

• 160 thousandths on the R4 multiplex, allowing for the broadcast of one high-definition service;
• 975 thousandths on the R7 multiplex, allowing for the broadcast of five high-definition services.

This represents a total of six national free-to-air services. This resource is allocable only subject to the Government exercising the right of priority reservation provided for in Part II of Article 26 of the Law of September 30, 1986.

A tight submission schedule

The procedure imposes two mandatory deadlines, failure of which will result in inadmissibility:

• by December 1, 2026, at 12:00 PM (Paris time) at the latest, the candidate must notify their intention to submit a file by email to aactnt@arcom.fr, specifying the name and legal form of the legal entity as well as the name of the service;
• by December 15, 2026, at 12:00 PM (Paris time) at the latest, they must transmit their complete application file, which may still be modified, supplemented, or replaced until this date.

Arcom will then hear the candidates declared admissible in a public hearing, then proceed to a selection following a comparative examination. The authorizations, which are non-transferable, are granted until August 31, 2035; refusals are reasoned and notified within one month after the publication of the authorization.

Pluralism, real high definition, and territorial coverage

The Authority assesses the public interest of each project with regard to safeguarding the pluralism of socio-cultural currents of expression, the diversification of operators, and the need to avoid abuses of dominant positions. Priority is given to services already received in the same geographical area via terrestrial wireless transmission in digital mode, and account is taken of commitments regarding the production and broadcasting of European audiovisual and cinematographic works and those of original French expression.

Candidates must also comply with technical specifications:

• broadcasting in the DVB-T standard with component encoding according to the MPEG-4 standard, in accordance with the decree of December 24, 2001, as amended;
• video component of at least 1,080 lines;
• compliance with deliberation No. 2011-29 of July 19, 2011, of the Conseil supérieur de l’audiovisuel regarding the sound intensity of programs and advertising messages;
• coverage of all areas listed in the multiplex authorization decision, with multiplexes R4 and R7 serving 1,623 areas and each allowing coverage of at least 95% of the population in mainland France.

Programs must be broadcast in true high definition, with “upscaling” conversions being excluded, subject to limited exceptions for heritage works, rebroadcasts, and archives.

A direct stake for audiovisual groups and viewers

With six free-to-air national high-definition channels to be filled, the call opens a window for reconfiguration for the candidate audiovisual groups, who must submit their applications before mid-December 2026 and commit to production and broadcasting volumes. For viewers, the deadline of December 12, 2027, determines the quality upgrade of services received via terrestrial wireless transmission, in a landscape where the minimum coverage of 95% of the population in mainland France remains the benchmark.

Source: Journal officiel de la République française, JORF No. 0235 of October 8, 2026, decision No. 2026-483 of October 7, 2026, NOR RCAC2626668S.