Last but not least: Evening advertising on French state television has come to an end
Almost all forms of TV advertising will soon no longer interrupt evening programming on France's public television network. The French National Assembly passed a corresponding provision on Friday evening. This provision bans almost all forms of TV commercials between 8 p.m. and 6 a.m.
The end of TV advertising on French state television is as good as sealed. The four major state-funded broadcasters will no longer be allowed to show commercials from 2011. This was decided by parliament on Friday. During the transitional period, commercial breaks will only be permitted before 8pm, as Handelsblatt.ch writes. The Senate will still be discussing the reform from January 7. However, a spokesperson for the governing UMP party announced that the government can already bypass parliament on January 5 to put the bill into effect by special decree. According to the plans, French state television will also no longer be allowed to broadcast advertising during the day, according to a statement from the SDA. The loss of advertising revenue is to be compensated by the state. The French government wants to free public broadcasting from the quota system and thus raise the standard.
Critics accuse President Nicolas Sarkozy that the reform will primarily benefit private broadcasters, as they can hope for additional advertising revenue. The opposition and employees of state television, on the other hand, fear that the state will not fully compensate for the loss of advertising revenue. This would not necessarily help to promote quality. Sarkozy justified the advertising ban on the grounds of promoting the quality of public broadcasters, as they would no longer have to pay attention to viewer ratings. However, he did not mention his close friendship with Martin Bouygues, the head of the largest private broadcaster TF1.
Critics accuse President Nicolas Sarkozy that the reform will primarily benefit private broadcasters, as they can hope for additional advertising revenue. The opposition and employees of state television, on the other hand, fear that the state will not fully compensate for the loss of advertising revenue. This would not necessarily help to promote quality. Sarkozy justified the advertising ban on the grounds of promoting the quality of public broadcasters, as they would no longer have to pay attention to viewer ratings. However, he did not mention his close friendship with Martin Bouygues, the head of the largest private broadcaster TF1.
