The second oldest private channel in Europe (after Telesaar [fr], which was launched a year earlier), TMC was launched in 1954 on Monaco's national day, inaugurated by Rainier III, Prince of Monaco. During its first years, their headquarters was temporarily located on the premises of Radio Monte-Carlo, with a TV studio equipped with a telecine designed by Henri de France. From there, TMC broadcast its programming to the south of France from Menton, east of Marseille.
Two years later, TMC produced its first Eurovision broadcast, the wedding of Prince Rainier III and American actress Grace Kelly.[1]
In 1984, as a result of an agreement between Prince Rainier III and the French President François Mitterrand, TMC was able to be broadcast as far west as Montpellier, France, tripling its coverage (three million potential viewers).
In 1987, the channel was carried for a few hours on M6, a French television service — which made it available to a greater part of France — and the channel was eventually carried by CanalSat and became available in all of France and the Indian Ocean area. The channel also won a spot on the French language digital terrestrial television scheme, demonstrating its wide appeal.
The channel was owned jointly by the TF1 Group (40%), the AB Groupe (40%) and the Government of Monaco (20%).[2] In 2010, TF1 Group bought AB Group's shares, and in June 2016 became the sole shareholder of the channel after acquiring the Government of Monaco's shares.[3]
Until 1995, TMC was a member of the European Broadcasting Union as a part of Radio Monte-Carlo (RMC). Until 2022, the Monégasque membership was held by Groupement de Radiodiffuseurs Monégasques (GRMC), a joint organisation between Monte-Carlo Radiodiffusion (RMC) and Radio Monte Carlo (RMC).
Since October 2022, TMC, as well as the free DTT channels of the TF1 Group, have been accessible free to air via the Astra 1 satellite. This broadcast follows a temporary interruption in encrypted broadcasting for Canal+ and TNTSAT subscribers following a commercial dispute. However, despite the resumption of encrypted broadcasts within the Canal+ and TNTSAT packages, this free-to-air broadcasting continues. TMC is therefore received free of charge in almost all of Continental Europe and the North African countries.[4]
