L'audiovisuel français sur les traces de la BBC?

A controversial announcement

Nicolas Sarkozy on the press conference on 8th January

“I will ban advertising from the public audiovisual sector”, said Nicolas Sarkozy in a press conference on 8th January. Surprise!!! Nobody saw that coming… Neither Christine Albanel, the Minister of Culture and communication, nor Patrick de Carolis, the president of France Television. The French President decided that on his own, without consulting anyone. And this announcement came as a bombshell.

The project was immediately criticised by the unions and the public audiovisual sector, which were afraid of an impoverishment of the public channels, followed by an unavoidable privatisation of its public service. In fact, advertising on public television and radio represents 30% of their receipts. The unions announced a loss of 800 million euros (£646 million) in the budget of the public groups.

Christine Albanel, Minister of Culture and Communication

And there was another bone of contention. Of course, this money would not just vanish. Just after Sarkozy’s announcement, private broadcasters were expected to grab most of the estimated 800 million euros in ad revenues draining away from public channels. The banning of advertisement was considered a “gift for private broadcasters” by its detractors, who did not forget to mention the friendship between Nicolas Sarkozy and Martin Bouygues, owner of the private channel TF1, and Vincent Bolloré, director of Direct 8, another commercial channel.

These critics came mostly from the left. This is quite amusing when one remembers that the idea of an advertising ban in the public audiovisual sector came from the socialist party in the 80s, in the aim to free the public audiovisual sector from commercial pressure. But the project was never brought to fruition, since the former government thought it was impossible to finance a complete advertising ban.

Ten months later, a reform is born

Jean-François Copé, president of the UMP group in the French National Assembly

However, impossible is a word that does not exist for Nicolas Sarkozy. When he decides something, it has to be possible. So, he created a special commission, directed by Jean-François Copé, the president of the UMP (Union for a Popular Movement) group in the French National Assembly, in charge of finding an alternative way to finance the public audiovisual sector. And ten months later, a baby was born. The draft law was passed by the Council of Ministers on the 22nd October, and will be reviewed by Parliament by the end of November.

The reform will ban advertising on all public channels after 8pm, starting 5th January, before a total ban is in place at the end of 2011. And the good news is that the estimated loss in ad revenue has come down sharply. The Copé Commission has pegged the ad revenue shortfall for public channels at 450 million euros (£343 million). This loss will be compensated by a 3% tax on the advertising revenues of private broadcasters, and a 0,9% tax on telecom companies, as well as a slight rise in the television licence fee, from 116 euros (£94.2) to 118 (£95.3). Private channels will also get compensated for the tax, since the new law will allow an additional commercial break each evening on private

Headquarter of France Television

networks. And the private channels will be allowed to broadcast 12 minutes of advertising per hour, instead of 9 now.

Yet, if the issue of the compensation of the loss for the public channels seems to be settled, there remains a very controversial point in the reform: the nomination of the president of France Television. He’s currently appointed by the Conseil Supérieur de l’Audiovisuel (CSA), an institution supposed to be independent of the state. After the reform, the President of the Republic will appoint him; and the CSA and the National Assembly will have to give their consent. The President will also be able to dismiss the president of France Television, if the CSA gives its consent.  According to François Bayrou, president of the centrist party Modem, this reform “is an attempt to the separation of powers”. The answer of Christine Albanel: “it’s just the consequence of the reform. […] It’s a way for the State to take its responsibilities and to give the French audiovisual sector a chance for excellence!”

Will the little French pupil be able to equal its British mentor?

BBC

Excellence… That’s the goal. In fact, the French president wanted his public audiovisual service to follow the BBC’s model. Nicolas Sarkozy and the Copé Commission portrayed the British Broadcasting Corporation as the model of public television without advertising. However, there are a lot of differences between the two services, that won’t simply change with this reform.

First, the famous “Beeb”, as the British nickname it, is better financed than the French public audiovisual service. The television licence in the UK costs £139.50 a year, while it costs 116 euros (£94.3) in France. And almost 100% of the British public pays it, against 60% of all French viewers. In addition, the BBC produces most of the programmes it broadcasts. And the Corporation is known for the quality of its documentaries and the creativity of its TV shows, as “Absolutely Fabulous”, “Little Britain”, or “The Office”. As a result, the BBC manages to sell its programmes abroad, and this is a significant source of income. In contrast, in France, the system of internal production has almost been  completely dismantled. Today, only one French public channel, France 3, produces its own programmes.

Picture from the movie "The trial of Tony Blair"