It was one of the biggest dramas in the French audiovisual world. After having been in rivalry for decades, the TF1 and M6 channels announced a merger project in 2021. Finally, Bouygues, RTL Group, TF1 and the M6 group announced in September 2022 that this project had been abandoned. A decision resulting from the hearing of the parties by the College of the Competition Authority which ruled against it, fearing in particular that the union between these two giants of the French audiovisual landscape could have given rise to a juggernaut, surpassing France Télévisions with more than 30% audience share and representing three-quarters of the television advertising market.
This Tuesday, February 13, 2024, the emblematic boss of M6, Nicolas de Tavernost announced in the columns of Le Figaro, his intention to leave his position as chairman of the group’s management board, earlier than expected. A well-deserved retirement for the 73-year-old man who started by becoming deputy director of Métropole Télévision (M6) in 1987, after leading the project to create the channel. Some Internet users then wondered whether Antoine, his 40-year-old son, was going to take over his father’s position.
Nicolas de Tavernost leaves M6: zoom on the life of his son Antoine
The answer is no, since he does not work at M6 at all but is General Director France of the company Auditoire, an agency specializing in events. Before that, the man had created his first start-up at just 23 years old, a company called You Foot, a site described as the “MySpace” of football. In April 2012, Antoine de Tavernost was seen alongside Pippa Middleton, the sister of Princess Kate Middleton, enough to lead the English press to question the nature of their relationship. We note, however, that the businessman is today happy and married to Clémence Dru, co-founder of Côme Éditions, a women’s ready-to-wear brand. Together, they are the happy parents of two little boys named Noa and Joseph.
ES