CANAL+ has clinched a deal with OpenAI to help drive discovery within its app and sealed a multiyear agreement with Google Cloud to deploy its AI technology across its footprint in Europe and Africa.
Beginning in June, CANAL+ will enhance its app with OpenAI technology to help take on the search and discovery conundrum. Expanding beyond traditional keyword‑based queries, subscribers can receive suggestions based on their preferences and mood for a more tailored experience. OpenAI sealed a similar pact with JioHotstar in India recently.
Maxime Saada, CEO of CANAL+, commented, “We are delighted to collaborate with OpenAI, one of the world’s leading artificial intelligence companies, to enhance the entertainment experience of our 40 million subscribers. This collaboration is part of CANAL+’s long-standing tradition of innovation and its commitment to continuously reinventing entertainment. Today, our subscribers already access the very best international and local content on the CANAL+ App. With this technological collaboration, we are proud to take a major leap forward, redefining how audiences discover content.”
Ashley Kramer, VP of enterprise at OpenAI, added, “People increasingly expect technology to understand them the way they naturally express themselves. By bringing OpenAI into the CANAL+ App, subscribers can describe exactly what they feel like watching. It’s a great example of how advanced AI can make everyday entertainment experiences simpler, more intuitive, and more personal.”
In addition, the company has partnered with Google Cloud to deploy its generative AI technologies across European and African markets where the CANAL+ App is available. The deal enables the acceleration of content video indexing to drive more personalized content recommendations on the homepage of the CANAL+ App. Plus, Veo3, Google’s genAI video technology, will be provided to CANAL+’s production partners and creative teams.
Stéphane Baumier, CTO of CANAL+, noted, “We are pleased to leverage Google Cloud’s most advanced AI technologies to drive CANAL+’s technical innovation. Building on a long-standing collaboration with Google, this strategic partnership paves the way for limitless possibilities. Content video indexing for CANAL+ at scale gives the group a significant edge, notably by enabling us to deliver sharper discovery and truly enhanced personalized journeys on the CANAL+ App across all our markets. Creativity is the cornerstone of CANAL+’s content production. We are excited to push creative boundaries by providing creators with tools that enable AI-generated video scenes, impossible to produce using traditional methods.”
Matt Renner, president and chief revenue officer of Google Cloud, added, “The entertainment industry is at a pivotal inflection point where the intersection of creativity and compute power defines market leadership. Our deepened collaboration with CANAL+ is a testament to a shared culture of relentless innovation. By leveraging Google Cloud’s generative AI technologies, CANAL+ is not just adopting tools; they are architecting the future of media and fundamentally transforming the entertainment landscape on a global scale.”
