France's media regulator Arcom has opened a call for applications for national digital terrestrial television (DTT) services in HD, with submissions due by December 1 and complete applications required by December 15.

The move comes ahead of the expiry of the current licences for six national services in December 2027: 6ter, L'Équipe, RMC Découverte, RMC Life, RMC Story and TF1 Séries Films.

Why is Arcom acting now?

By launching the process more than a year before the existing licences lapse, Arcom gives itself room to vet candidates and complete the award procedure without a gap in the six services' broadcast authorisations. The regulator has set a two-step timetable: prospective applicants must first signal their intention by December 1, then file a complete application by December 15.

The six affected channels are all national services carried on DTT in HD. Their licences date from an earlier award round, and their authorisations now run out in December 2027.

What changes with the new licences?

The key structural change lies in the licence term. Arcom will align the expiry date of the new authorisations with that of the national licences issued in 2025, which run to 2035.

Arcom explained that this alignment is deliberate: it should make it easier to develop the range of services offered on DTT at a later stage, because all national licences would then reach their end date together, rather than on a staggered basis.

That matters for the future of French terrestrial broadcasting. A single, synchronised expiry horizon gives Arcom a cleaner mechanism to reorganise the DTT line-up — whether by adding services, consolidating capacity or reshaping the platform — when the next renewal window arrives in the mid-2030s.

Who is affected?

The six incumbent services are:

• 6ter, operated alongside the TF1 group's portfolio
• TF1 Séries Films
• L'Équipe, the sports-focused channel
• RMC Découverte
• RMC Story
• RMC Life

Each holds a national DTT licence that expires in December 2027. Incumbents wanting to stay on the platform will need to reapply under the new call, competing with any new entrants Arcom may attract.

The call covers national services broadcast in HD on DTT, consistent with France's completed transition to high-definition terrestrial broadcasting.

What happens next?

Arcom will assess the applications after the December deadlines and award licences ahead of the December 2027 expiry, with the new authorisations running to the 2035 horizon aligned with the national licences issued in 2025.