articles récents
CHAMPAGNE DEUTZ: un champagne digne des plus grands - Au Royaume-Uni, le champagne Deutz est considéré comme un des...
Où fêter le 14 juillet à Londres - Pour le 14 juillet, bien des bars et restaurants londoniens ont...
Comment choisir un dentiste à Londres - Comment choisir son dentiste à Londres quand le choix est si vaste?
Les Brioches de Noël Pasquier enfin en vente à Londres - Les fêtes de fin d’année offrent un large choix de produits...
MAGAZINE
- Culture
- Decoration
- Droit
- Education
- Emploi
- Enfants
- Gourmet
- Immobilier
- Life and Style
- Mode
- Politique/Economie
- Sante
- Sport
- Vacances
Device converter
Weather
Annonces
- Maison A Louer - a deux pas du Lycee LIL
- Tax Return MN | Prudent Accountants
- Appartement 4 pieces a louer
- Agent de football à la recherche de joueurs talentueux
Déposez une annonce sur ce site
Ajoutés récemment
articles > Politique/Economie events
L'audiovisuel français sur les traces de la BBC?
he French Council of Ministers passed the draft law on the reform of the audiovisual sector on 22nd October. This controversial law was inspired by the BBC’s model. Logical, since the “Beeb” is seen as the best model in the field of public television. However, there is still a long way to go for French television to reach a perfect similarity with the famous British Broadcasting Corporation…A controversial announcement
“I will ban advertising from the public audiovisual sector”, said
Nicolas Sarkozy in a press conference on 8th January. Surprise!!!
Nobody saw that coming… Neither Christine Albanel, the Minister of
Culture and communication, nor Patrick de Carolis, the president of
France Television. The French President decided that on his own,
without consulting anyone. And this announcement came as a bombshell.
The project was immediately criticised by the unions and the public
audiovisual sector, which were afraid of an impoverishment of the
public channels, followed by an unavoidable privatisation of its public
service. In fact, advertising on public television and radio represents
30% of their receipts. The unions announced a loss of 800 million euros
(£646 million) in the budget of the public groups.
And there was another bone of contention. Of course, this money would
not just vanish. Just after Sarkozy’s announcement, private
broadcasters were expected to grab most of the estimated 800 million
euros in ad revenues draining away from public channels. The banning of
advertisement was considered a “gift for private broadcasters” by its
detractors, who did not forget to mention the friendship between
Nicolas Sarkozy and Martin Bouygues, owner of the private channel TF1,
and Vincent Bolloré, director of Direct 8, another commercial channel.
These critics came mostly from the left. This is quite amusing when one
remembers that the idea of an advertising ban in the public audiovisual
sector came from the socialist party in the 80s, in the aim to free the
public audiovisual sector from commercial pressure. But the project was
never brought to fruition, since the former government thought it was
impossible to finance a complete advertising ban.
Ten months later, a reform is born
However, impossible is a word that does not exist for Nicolas
Sarkozy. When he decides something, it has to be possible. So, he
created a special commission, directed by Jean-François Copé, the
president of the UMP (Union for a Popular Movement) group in the French
National Assembly, in charge of finding an alternative way to finance
the public audiovisual sector. And ten months later, a baby was born.
The draft law was passed by the Council of Ministers on the 22nd
October, and will be reviewed by Parliament by the end of November.
The reform will ban advertising on all public channels after 8pm,
starting 5th January, before a total ban is in place at the end of
2011. And the good news is that the estimated loss in ad revenue has
come down sharply. The Copé Commission has pegged the ad revenue
shortfall for public channels at 450 million euros (£343 million). This
loss will be compensated by a 3% tax on the advertising revenues of
private broadcasters, and a 0,9% tax on telecom companies, as well as a
slight rise in the television licence fee, from 116 euros (£94.2) to
118 (£95.3). Private channels will also get compensated for the tax,
since the new law will allow an additional commercial break each
evening on private
networks. And the private channels will be allowed to broadcast 12 minutes of advertising per hour, instead of 9 now.
Yet, if the issue of the compensation of the loss for the public
channels seems to be settled, there remains a very controversial point
in the reform: the nomination of the president of France Television.
He’s currently appointed by the Conseil Supérieur de l’Audiovisuel
(CSA), an institution supposed to be independent of the state. After
the reform, the President of the Republic will appoint him; and the CSA
and the National Assembly will have to give their consent. The
President will also be able to dismiss the president of France
Television, if the CSA gives its consent. According to François
Bayrou, president of the centrist party Modem, this reform “is an
attempt to the separation of powers”. The answer of Christine Albanel:
“it’s just the consequence of the reform. […] It’s a way for the State
to take its responsibilities and to give the French audiovisual sector
a chance for excellence!”
Will the little French pupil be able to equal its British mentor?
Excellence… That’s the goal. In fact, the French president wanted
his public audiovisual service to follow the BBC’s model. Nicolas
Sarkozy and the Copé Commission portrayed the British Broadcasting
Corporation as the model of public television without advertising.
However, there are a lot of differences between the two services, that
won’t simply change with this reform.
First, the famous “Beeb”, as the British nickname it, is better
financed than the French public audiovisual service. The television
licence in the UK costs £139.50 a year, while it costs 116 euros
(£94.3) in France. And almost 100% of the British public pays it,
against 60% of all French viewers. In addition, the BBC produces most
of the programmes it broadcasts. And the Corporation is known for the
quality of its documentaries and the creativity of its TV shows, as
“Absolutely Fabulous”, “Little Britain”, or “The Office”. As a result,
the BBC manages to sell its programmes abroad, and this is a
significant source of income. In contrast, in France, the system of
internal production has almost been completely dismantled. Today, only
one French public channel, France 3, produces its own programmes.
So, the French public audiovisual sector has still a lot to do to fulfill its objective and to follow the lead of the BBC. Is it possible that it is being just a little too ambitious?
COMMENTAIRES:
29/11/2012 - k.caglouscis a dit :
This is what we need - an insight to make everyone think
LAISSER UN COMMENTAIRE