Whilst waiting for abling to create an encrypted TV channel, the TVCS project had first planned to produce and broadcast their own programmes during time slots when three French television channels began broadcasting a test card in the night and in the morning.

Those first broadcasts were scheduled every day from 2 to 6pm and they were consisted of music videos, animated short films and various movie trailers.

[4] It got off to a slow start, and some politicians, including prime minister Laurent Fabius, railed against the idea of having a commercial TV channel.

Government regulations required that the channel give several hours of free programming each day, which was used by Canal+ to promote the subscription service.

Sport, interview shows, documentaries, and soft pornography joined films as the main staples of programming at this time.

[7] De Greef was later described as a pioneer and visionary, who set the tone and created the "Canal Plus spirit", which embodied anti-conformism along with edgy satire that became very popular.

The company expanded into some European markets, notably Belgium, Spain, and Germany, and started setting up subsidiaries as it developed into Groupe Canal+.

[11] In 2001, co-founder Alain De Greef was fired from his position as director-general and replaced by Michel Denisot, when the organisation was restructured under the leadership of Jean-Marie Messier, chief executive of Vivendi.

[7] Criticism of Vivendi's poor share performance since the takeover grew, and in April 2002, De Greef's co-founder and CEO Pierre Lescure, clashed with Messier and was fired.

In August 2008, Canal+ started broadcasting the encrypted parts of its main channel in high-definition in the terrestrial network.

[12] In April 2014, Ligue 1, France's top association football league, sold broadcast rights for 2016–2020 to Canal+ for 726 million euros.

[13] In July 2024, reports emerged that Vivendi was exploring a potential London Stock Exchange listing for Canal+.

[citation needed] Canal+ is a supporter of the Hybrid Broadcast Broadband TV (HbbTV) initiative, which promotes and establishes an open European standard for hybrid set-top boxes for the reception of broadcast TV and broadband multimedia applications with a single user interface.

The MediaGuard system's use in Britain (by the now defunct OnDigital/ITV Digital) led to hackers in the employ of Rupert Murdoch's rival encryption company NDS breaking into the MediaGuard system, resulting in new cards being issued to Canal+ subscribers in 2002 and Canal+ starting legal action against Murdoch.