Paris (AFP)

The CSA began on Tuesday the last round of hearings for the presidency of France Televisions with the planned passages of the candidates given as favorites: the former boss of RTL Christopher Baldelli and the current leader Delphine Ernotte.

Christopher Baldelli summed up his project, which focused on program quality, with a question. "If today in France our fellow citizens had to pay for access to public broadcasting, one can wonder how many would be ready to do so?"

To convince the French, and the advisers of the CSA, Mr. Baldelli wants to develop "innovation and creativity" in the fiction offer of public TV, in particular by reducing the share of detective series and American programs.

The chains must "take risks", especially in the evening. "We have the right to fail, because we do not have completely this diktat of the commercial audience", launched Mr. Baldelli, who has already directed France 2.

He regrets the scarcity of outstanding and exportable programs, such as "Ten percent", and thinks that tight management could accelerate their development. If he wants to attract young people, he also thinks of traditional viewers of public TV, with "an ambitious and modern offer of historical fictions and adaptation of our literary heritage".

On the information side, the candidate wishes to launch a "joint local digital offer" to France 3 and France Bleu, in collaboration with "local communities and the regional daily press". To develop the franceinfo channel, he also imagines a real common morning between TV and radio.

Christopher Baldelli has also committed to sticking to the financial trajectory set by the State, aiming for a balance for 2022 despite the Covid-19 crisis. “I have always led the companies that I have directed towards positive results,” he stressed.

Besides Delphine Ernotte, two other candidates will defend their project on Tuesday: Pierre-Etienne Pommier, digital adviser of La République en Marche at the National Assembly (LREM) which offers a duet with Catherine Smadja, former BBC, and Serge Cimino, delegate SNJ at France Télévisions which had already presented itself in 2015.

- "the worst job in the world" -

On Monday, the Wise Men evaluated Sandrine Roustan, ex-director of programs for France 4 who works for the second largest Chinese media group Shanghai Media, Michel Goldstein, journalist at France TV, Serge Schick, ex-director of strategy at Radio France , and the head of RTBF (French-speaking Belgian public radio) Jean-Paul Philippot.

"We must stop resuscitating programs from beyond the grave and reduce the number of foreign programs on our antennas," said Ms. Roustan, wishing to "unleash internal creativity", also through the production of podcasts.

Michel Goldstein has placed his project under the sign of e-sport, to attract young people to public TV, and sport in general, which has become according to him "the weak link" of France Televisions.

Serge Schick wished "to give a new impetus to creation" and proposes "the reinforcement of the investigation" and "the necessary stop of the infotainment programs".

Jean-Paul Philippot underlined the "digital advance" of the group that he directs and that he intends to use France TV to use by launching a new platform for young people by 2022.

The CSA will give no later than Friday July 24 the name of the future president of public TV, appointed for a five-year term.

The term will begin on August 22. The lucky winner will be chosen by a majority vote of six members of the CSA, the seventh, Hervé Godechot, who cannot legally participate in the process in his capacity as a former member of France Télévisions.

Often presented as "the worst job in the world", the presidency of France Télévisions is the most important post in the French audiovisual sector.

The winner will have to manage a group of around 9,600 employees (for a budget of 3 billion euros) and oversee the programming of five channels which have together recorded an audience share of 28.6% this season.

A number of cases await him: the closure of France Ô and France 4, scheduled for August, but which could obtain a suspension, and the management of the post-health crisis, which should result in an operating loss of 22 million euros, in a context of budgetary restrictions.

© 2020 AFP