Al Jazeera France to break even in 2016

According to a prospective study conducted by investment bank Natixis, the two premium sport channels Al Jazeera is planning to launch next summer in France will enable the channel to break even by 2016. Natixis remains very cautious about a possible Qatar success. Yet the bank estimates the two channels will get 1.5 million subscribers by 2016, and accumulate losses of €580 million over the period, before breaking even. However, Natixis's forecasts are based on a subscription fee of €20-25 each month. According to recent press reports, the subscription price should be less than €13 each month. In addition to forecasting Al Jazeeras' rise, the bank also saw a reshuffle cards on the cards for the French pay-TV market and analysing consequences for Canal+, analysts credit the French pay-TV channel with a very limited churn rate. They believe that in response to the competition, Canal+ will new programming and will be able to find new profiles of subscribers.