French film-oriented internet portal AlloCine, in which Canal Plus holds a 25% stake, will launch a movie-themed channel, AlloCine Television, as of September 2000.

The channel will not screen films, but in line with AlloCine's website - www.allocine.com - will carry film-centred news including real-time box office, interviews and talk-shows. It will also screen promo reels of films a week before and after their French opening, offering a prime promotional tool to French distributors as film commercials are banned from television in France.

The 24-hour channel, which will be carried on Canal Plus' digital platform CanalSatellite and the main cable systems, will be financed through advertising and is expected to break even within four years.

AlloCine, which is headed by Jean-David Blanc, registered $5.8m (FFr40m) in sales in 1999, and is likely to float this year in order to finance its development outside of France.