France

[FR] Canal Plus Ordered to Keep to Quotas for Broadcasting Audiovisual Works

IRIS 2005-10:1/24

Philie Marcangelo-Leos

Légipresse

On 20 September, the Conseil supérieur de l'audiovisuel (French audiovisual regulatory authority - CSA) served formal notice on the television channel Canal Plus to keep to the obligations incumbent on it under the legislative and regulatory texts. According to these, the editor of television services must, in the total time devoted annually to the broadcasting of audiovisual works, earmark at least 60% for the broadcasting of European works and 40% for the broadcasting of works originally in the French language. The CSA had noted in the balance sheet of performance of the channel's obligations for the financial year 2004 a deficit in respect of Canal Plus' obligations to broadcast audiovisual works originally in the French language (34.4% instead of 40%) and European works (56% instead of 60%) over their programming as a whole.

On 10 October 2005 the CSA also launched another consultation on the definition of an audiovisual work, at the instigation of Michèle Reiser, a consultant responsible for chairing the working party on audiovisual production. Decree No. 90-66 of 17 January 1990, as amended, lays down the general principles for the broadcasting of audiovisual works by service editors and constitutes the reference for all the channels, whatever the media used (see IRIS 2005-2: 14). One of the purposes of this text is to determine a stricter definition of the concept of an audiovisual work than the one used in the “Television Without Frontiers” Directive. It is for the CSA to ensure that this definition is respected and to give its opinion on the qualification of the programmes proposed by the broadcasters as audiovisual works. This definition raises a number of questions; in January 2002 the CSA launched a think tank on the relevance of the definition of an audiovisual work, particularly with regard to new programme concepts.