MEPs in favour of total removal of advertising after 20pm on France TV

Rémi Jacob, with AFP / Photo credit: Lionel BONAVENTURE / AFP 10:52 am, June 07, 2023

Total abolition of advertising after 20pm, creation of a holding company that oversees France TV and Radio France and fewer budgetary constraints: MEPs recommend insisting on the differentiation of public broadcasting in a parliamentary report. For the authors of this report consulted Tuesday by AFP, Jean-Jacques Gaultier (LR) and Quentin Bataillon (Renaissance), respectively president and rapporteur of the fact-finding mission on the future of public broadcasting at the National Assembly, it is a question of "reaffirming the singularity of public service".

Proposals that are in line with the 2009 law wanted by Nicolas Sarkozy

Among their recommendations, which will be presented on Wednesday: the removal of advertising on France television channels -- including program sponsorships -- and on its digital platforms, such as France.tv, between 20 p.m. and 6 a.m.

"It would be both a question of reinforcing the logic of public service escaping commercial logic, but also of not unbalancing an advertising market" whose advertisers are migrating "gradually towards digital media", justify the MEPs. They also call for "a gradual reduction of advertising, in all its forms, on television and radio antennas of the public service".

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Nevertheless, to compensate for the loss of advertising revenue for public broadcasting, MEPs suggest allocating "to the nearest euro, a fraction of the revenue from the digital services tax", which concerns the largest companies in the sector.

These proposals are in line with the 2009 law, wanted by Nicolas Sarkozy, abolishing advertising on France Televisions between 20 p.m. and 6 a.m. Asked by AFP, France Télévisions said it would only react after the publication of the report on Wednesday.

"We must revolutionize public broadcasting"

This is a sensitive subject for the public group which, for a few weeks, has been battling through the media with the Association of Private Channels (ACP), which brings together TF1, M6, Canal + and Altice (BFM, RMC). The ACP recently questioned Elisabeth Borne, accusing France Télévisions of unfair competition. "In a particularly competitive television advertising market", the ACP asks "that the rules be reaffirmed and cannot be circumvented, especially with regard to advertising on digital applications or the prohibition of advertising after 20h on public channels", exposed the association in a statement.

"We must revolutionize public broadcasting," said Jean-Jacques Gaultier, who also intends to "strengthen its specificities, consolidate its independence and perpetuate its financing." In this respect, MEPs want to maintain the allocation of a fraction of VAT which has replaced the contribution to public broadcasting, more commonly known as the "TV fee".

They also suggest the end of "the budgetary constraint exercise conducted since 2018, in order to give public broadcasting the means to carry out the necessary investments in the new challenges" of the sector. Finally, the idea of creating a public broadcasting holding company, bringing together France Télévisions, Radio France, France Médias Monde and the National Audiovisual Institute (INA), also emerged, three years after its abandonment by the executive, then overwhelmed by the management of the health crisis.

MEPs call for the formation of a "strategic holding company" that can "play the role of leader and facilitator between public broadcasting entities". But during their hearings, his bosses showed their reluctance. "I'm not sure it's the priority of the moment," Delphine Ernotte, CEO of France Télévisions, replied in April.