Paris (AFP)

The Superior council of audio-visual, as it was expected, put in residence on Wednesday the information channel BFMTV for having diffused Saturday the final of the Champions League, the regulator estimating that this retransmission violated its obligations with regard to programming.

BFMTV had decided to broadcast this final between the English clubs of Tottenham and Liverpool, live and in clear, despite a warning of the CSA.

This formal notice constitutes a warning before a possible sanction, such as a fine, in case of recidivism.

The police officer of radio and television, seized by competitors, had warned BFMTV that broadcasting a match live would be contrary to its chain convention (the text that codifies the commitments of a broadcaster vis-à-vis the CSA) .

Indeed, as explained by the CSA in a decision put on line this Wednesday, the BFMTV convention provides that its programming "is dedicated to the information, in particular to the economic and financial information", and "can be completed, on Saturday and Sunday, by reruns of sports anthology events ".

However, contrary to BFMTV's contention that the finale was a major news event, and that its broadcast was well within the scope of its programming, the CSA concluded that "the live broadcast of the entire match, which can not be described as an information program or rebroadcasting of a sport anthology event, constitutes a breach "of the commitments set out in its convention.

Therefore, the CSA has put BFMTV on notice "to conform, in the future", to the stipulations contained in its convention.

BFMTV chief executive, Hervé Béroud, assured in an interview with AFP, before the broadcast of the match, that the channel considered it to be in its right and to respect its convention, pleading a "divergence of appreciation "with the CSA," without intention to argue ".

The final of the Champions League (which Altice group, which owns BFMTV, has the rights) is part of the so-called major sports events, which must necessarily be broadcast on a free-to-air channel. It brought together an average of 2.5 million viewers on BFMTV, along with its paid broadcast on RMC Sport.

? 2019 AFP