France

[FR] Amendment of the Law concerning the Audio-visual

IRIS 1997-3:1/21

Bertrand Delcros

Radio France

To say that competition between television channels is lively would be an understatement. Audience-hunting sometimes makes them go too far, broadcasting programmes which shock a large section of the public. The French Media Authority ( Conseil supérieur de l'Audiovisuel - CSA) has already taken the initiative of requiring that violent programmes be marked ( see IRIS 1997-1: 14). The Bill to amend the Act of 30 September 1986, already adopted on its first reading by the Senate (it was due to be adopted definitively by the Parliament in March 1997) strengthens the CSA's powers of recommendation. It may already exercise such powers in respect of election campaigns (particularly presidential and legislative elections); the bill extends this type of action. The CSA would be able to make recommendations to radio and television channels whenever the fundamental values of society and the family or programme ethics were infringed.

The Act of 30 September 1986 did not take account of the evolution in broadcasting methods (one could say media): satellite, which complements terrestrial and cable broadcasting, and digital broadcasting, which is tending to replace analogue broadcasting. The bill covers satellite television and radio by stipulating that no single operator (for example, Canalsatellite , TPS or ABsat ) may take over more than half of the French market for television in French by satellite and that in the range it broadcasts it must earmark 20% for commercial companies not under its financial control, whether directly or indirectly. The bill takes account of the arrival of digital transmission, and authorises the installation of microwave distribution networks (MMDS) in areas where there are not already cable networks. Since 1974, when the ORTF (French public radio and television broadcasting service) was split into seven bodies, the public sector has been in constant flux, with channels being set up ( La 5ème in 1994) and closed down ( TF1 went over to the private sector in 1987), etc. The bill continues in the same vein. Under it, France 2 and France 3 would become subsidiaries of a holding company whose entire capital would be held by the State, La 5ème would be merged with the French part of ARTE ( S.E.P.T .), and Radio France would converge with Radio France Internationale , with the latter becoming the subsidiary of the former.