The French Connection

April 2008

The nation that hosts the MIPTV and MIPCOM television conventions also happens to be a pioneer in broadcasting. TV transmissions began in France as early as 1931, although the medium didn’t reach a mass market until the 1950s.

As in most European countries, television in France was for decades a government-controlled public service. This changed in the 1980s in France and in several other countries as a wave of privatization swept across much of the industry.

Events occurred in quick succession. In 1986, a new bill eased regulations in the audiovisual sector. In 1987, the largest French broadcaster, TF1, was privatized. In 1989, another bill created the Conseil Supérieur de l’Audiovisuel (CSA), or High Council for Audiovisual Affairs, an independent administrative authority that grants broadcasting licenses to private-sector operators.

CSA also ensures that license holders comply with all the requirements of their licenses, and oversees adherence to laws and regulations dealing with pluralism in the news and the protection of children. The council also appoints the heads of the public-sector radio and television companies.

The privatization wave of the 1980s led to a proliferation of private terrestrial channels as well as cable and satellite networks. These services provide television not only to France itself but also to parts of the larger French-speaking universe, which stretches across much of Africa as well as parts of Asia and the Americas. About 75 million people speak French as their primary tongue; about 200 million additional people use it as a second language.

The industry that emerged in France in the late ’80s and in the ’90s offers a multiplicity of channels—public and private, analogue and digital, terrestrial, cable and satellite—on a par with any other country in Western Europe. Diverse offerings, ranging from general programming to the narrowest of niches, cater to the tastes of practically all groups of viewers.

French television providers can be divided into several groups. One group comprises the seven terrestrial broadcasters, both public and private (TF1, France 2, France 3, Canal+, France 5, M6 and Arte). Another is formed mainly by cable and satellite services that supply packages of channels. Such suppliers include operators like CanalSat and TPS (Télévision Par Satellite), which merged last year, as well as a slew of cable companies.

A third group—digital over-the-air broadcasters—is now joining the fray and making significant headway. And there’s a fourth group consisting of regional broadcasters in large cities like Lyons and Bordeaux. They provide locally focused programming and news.

ADVERTISING MARKET

Digital television grew robustly in France in 2007, helping to boost overall TV viewing. Average time spent in front of the TV set reached almost three and a half hours per day—a record for the country. Not surprisingly, studies showed that individuals with access to cable, satellite and digital platforms watched more television than those with only analogue terrestrial reception.

Paradoxically, advertising revenues in 2007 grew at a much slower rate—perhaps reflecting competition for ad money from emerging media, especially the Internet. Despite the growth in viewership, in the 2007, ad revenues rose by only 0.6 percent at TF1. However, ad revenues grew by 24 percent at TF1’s digital channels and by 4 percent at M6.

Rounded out, total advertising expenditures in France grew from €7.4 million ($9.4 million) in 1996 to €10.1 million ($12.9 million) in 2006. Of that total, the amount devoted to television advertising rose from €2.2 million ($2.8 million) in 1996 to €3.4 million ($4.4 million) in 2006.

In 2006, the latest year for which complete figures are available, television advertising expenditures amounted to 33.6 percent of all advertising expenditures in France—significantly ahead of the two next-largest media, magazines (20.8 percent) and newspapers (15.6 percent).

ZenithOptimedia expects the French advertising market to record a growth of 2.4 percent in 2007, down sharply from 4.6 percent in 2006. However, as of December 2007, it was also forecasting ad-spend growth to pick up again to nearer 4 percent each year until 2010.

With regard to television advertising, the research company notes that when the channels TF1 and M6 announced their 2007 first-half results, they were not as strong as expected, and retailers responded by reducing investment in TV. ZenithOptimedia expects that trend to continue and has reduced its growth forecasts for TV ad expenditures in France from 3.5 percent to 3.3 percent for 2007, and foresees that growth in TV spending will slow further to 2.5 percent in 2008.

By 2010, overall advertising expenditures in France are forecast to rise to €11.6 million ($14.5 million), and TV advertising is projected to grow to €3.8 million ($4.8 million). (The figures include a 15-percent agency commission but exclude production costs and taxes. Figures for television include cable and satellite.)

GLOBAL NETWORKING

France’s latest attempt to stretch its culture and language came with the launch of France 24, a worldwide news network inspired by BBC World and CNN International and funded by the government to the tune of about €80 million a year. France 24 began transmitting in December 2006, with a mandate to offer a French perspective on current affairs. It currently broadcasts in English and Arabic as well as French. However, changes are looming for the relatively new service.

In February 2008, French President Nicolas Sarkozy appointed France 24’s CEO, Alain de Pouzilhac, to oversee the formation of a new entity known as France Monde, an umbrella over all of the French government’s international TV and radio outlets, including Radio France International, TV5 Monde and France 24.

A statement issued by the office of the president said that France Monde “will be in charge of modernizing French and French-speaking international public broadcasting.” The long-time TV journalist and anchor Christine Ockrent is to serve as France Monde’s general director.

LOOKING AHEAD

France Télévisions, the organization that controls the public channels in France, is funded by a combination of advertising revenue and license fees. Sarkozy sent shock waves through the system in January 2008 when he called for advertising on public television to be eliminated—turning back the clock, in a sense. The justification, he said, is that television governed solely by commerce cannot meet its mission of bringing culture to the people. The measure would take effect in January 2009.

To replace public television’s lost advertising revenue—estimated at €834 million ($1.04 billion) in 2006—Sarkozy proposed possible taxes on the ad revenue of private channels, on Internet revenues and on consumer-electronics sales. Needless to say, the idea stirred up intense debate in a country well known for its political discourse.

Sources: ZenithOptimedia (with special thanks), CIA World Factbook, the French Foreign Ministry, Médiamétrie, the United Nations.