Beginning of the end for advertising on France Télévisions

Description:

Reform of TV advertising in France will move a step closer today as a bill is presented to the council of ministers in advance of submission to parliament in mid-November.  The new legislation will abolish advertising on all France Télévisions channels by November 2011.

The first step will be a partial ban from 5 January 2009, where advertising breaks will be removed between 8pm and 6am.  From 30 November 2011, advertising will be removed altogether.  The move is designed to free the broadcaster from the demands for ratings, increasing the quality and diversity of programmes shown. 

Rival TV stations competing for advertising revenue, such as TF1, have been accused in the past of producing ‘trash TV' by chasing ratings, and this move aims to give the public network the freedom to take risks and include more culture, French fiction and repeats.

France Télévisions channels 2, 3, 4, 5 and ô are currently funded by a combination of licence-payers money and advertising revenue, and the public broadcaster will in future rely on a number of measures being introduced to balance the books. 

The license fee which is paid as part of taxe d'habitation is currently set at 116€, and this will rise in line with inflation to between 118€ and 119€ next year.  The government will introduce a tax on the income of the private TV channels who will benefit from increased advertising sales to help fund the move (3%), and telephone companies will also be hit with a 0.9% tax on their profits, a cost which they will not be allowed to pass on to customers.

The move means that evening programming will be able to start much earlier, and it could mean a lengthening of the existing 8pm news slot.  Any changes to program timings will undoubtedly be mirrored by the private channels.  The duration and frequency of ad breaks will increase on private channels, with the current 6 mins per hour likely to extend to 9 mins or even 12 mins (TF1).

The new law could have a bumpy ride where unions are concerned, and confrontation is likely with the government and mangement on the subject of job losses and staff regulations.