Canal Plus Chairman Expected to Resign

By Richard Verrier

Feb. 4, 2003 12 AM PT

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Continuing the management upheaval at Vivendi Universal’s pay-TV operation, Canal Plus Group Chairman Xavier Couture is expected to resign this week, sources close to the company said.

Vivendi Chief Executive Jean-Rene Fourtou was said to be disappointed with Canal Plus’ continued losses and had clashed with Couture, who was appointed last year after former Vivendi CEO Jean-Marie Messier fired Pierre Lescure.

Lescure’s ouster led to widespread protests in France and contributed to Messier’s downfall last summer.

Couture is expected to be replaced by Canal Plus’s second in command, Bertrand Meheut. Vivendi Universal spokeswoman Anita Larsen declined to comment.

-- Richard Verrier

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Entertainment & Arts

Richard Verrier

Richard Verrier is investigations editor for Arts and Entertainment at the Los Angeles Times. He has been with The Times since 2001 and has run our Company Town since 2016. After stints at the St. Petersburg Times and the Orlando Sentinel in Florida, Verrier joined the paper as a reporter, and for many years covered all aspects of the entertainment industry before turning to editing. He oversees the Company Town coverage while working to guide and edit investigative and enterprise reporting across the entertainment team, collaborating with writers and editors from all departments. He is a native of Montreal and a graduate from the University of Toronto and Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism.

Canal Plus Chairman Expected to Resign

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