Parisian Tales
Column: As if Sarkozy’s interference in France’s TV landscape weren’t enough, he also wants to consolidate international programming. Switzerland faces the loss of its global TV platform.
Column
As if Sarkozy's interference in France's TV landscape weren't enough, he also wants to consolidate international programming. Switzerland faces the loss of its global TV platform.
Even as he was holding his press conference—in which he reaffirmed the sincerity of his love for Carla Bruni and announced a «policy of civilization»—the stock prices of the struggling private broadcasters soared: TF1, Europe’s largest commercial TV broadcaster, and M6, the French Bertelsmann subsidiary, rose by about ten percent. The reason for the unexpected euphoria: the prospect that Nicolas Sarkozy might take advertising away from public broadcasters. The case of TF1 is particularly stark and dramatic. The network, owned by Sarkozy’s friend Martin Bouygues, had a market share of 40 percent until recently. Since the introduction of digital terrestrial television—which catapulted the number of channels from 6 to 20 even in households without cable or satellite—TF1 has been in decline. No one is challenging its top spot. But the 30 percent market share it currently holds is simply a pipe dream in the long run. The rough estimate is easy to make: public broadcasters are siphoning off nearly a billion in advertising revenue. However—that’s a calculation that doesn’t take the advertising industry into account, as it by no means assumes that it will invest these budgets exclusively with TF1 and its competitors.
A major upheaval is on the horizon in the media landscape. Even the bidding process for soccer broadcasting rights for the coming years—the deadline for bids is at the end of January—is already getting out of hand. Can France 2 even still bid? What are the rights worth now?
Is Sarkozy trying to do his friends—the owners of media conglomerates—a favor? Does he want to undermine public broadcasters and make them even more dependent on the state?
Until now, the left has dreamed of abolishing advertising. To achieve this, the right must now pursue a completely illiberal policy and seek out taxes that can compensate for the losses relatively painlessly. Telephone companies could be subject to additional taxes. Or the advertising revenues of private broadcasters. Or a fee of six euros could be charged for every new television set. Sarkozy’s abrupt proposal has sent shockwaves through the industry and sparked a broad debate. That’s the good thing about him. The market, however, has already given its answer: TF1 and M6 have long since lost their stock gains. After all, the weakening of public television would likely amount to the privatization of one of its channels—and that is precisely what Sarkozy’s friends, the media moguls, want least of all.
There is, however, no dispute over the merits of another reform that Sarkozy announced at the same press conference: the international programs are to be consolidated. These include Radio France International, France 24 (the new news channel «French CNN»), and the Francophone global broadcaster TV5. Better cooperation with AFP and among the individual newsrooms would be more than reasonable. In any case, TV5«s partner countries—especially France, Canada, and Switzerland—are fighting this tooth and nail. They refuse to place TV5 under a »France Monde” holding company—and they are fully within their rights to do so. Switzerland owns just under eight percent of TV5 and pays a few million each year. In return, the news program from French-Swiss television can be viewed all over the world. TV5 is our strongest voice on the planet, even if people in German-speaking Switzerland are reluctant to admit it. In an article in *Le Monde* and *Le Temps*, Micheline Calmy-Rey vehemently opposed Paris’s demands. According to insiders, Sarkozy took great, great offense at this. Yet at his press conference, he went back on his word. There, he very clearly called into question all the assurances made at a conference in Switzerland. His media expert from the Élysée Palace had also come. It’s all about visibility. TV5 has an excellent global distribution network, which France 24 is eyeing.
The conflict is escalating these days. The partner countries—and Switzerland—are threatening to withdraw entirely from TV5. In doing so, they would be giving up a unique platform. But without them, hardly anyone wants to hear the «Voice of France.» It’s Napoleon against the rest of the Francophonie. Yet only the Francophonie, in its polyphonic entirety, can serve as a counterweight to the Anglo-Saxon world. Now even the respected Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner is entering the fray. «We won’t do anything without you,» he writes in *Le Monde*. At the same time, however, he’s making bold statements that aren’t going over well in Brussels, Geneva, and Quebec: France, he writes in the headline, wants to take the initiative again in «telling the world’s story.».
Jürg Altwegg is a correspondent for the Frankfurter Allgemeine in Geneva.
As if Sarkozy's interference in France's TV landscape weren't enough, he also wants to consolidate international programming. Switzerland faces the loss of its global TV platform.
Even as he was holding his press conference—in which he reaffirmed the sincerity of his love for Carla Bruni and announced a «policy of civilization»—the stock prices of the struggling private broadcasters soared: TF1, Europe’s largest commercial TV broadcaster, and M6, the French Bertelsmann subsidiary, rose by about ten percent. The reason for the unexpected euphoria: the prospect that Nicolas Sarkozy might take advertising away from public broadcasters. The case of TF1 is particularly stark and dramatic. The network, owned by Sarkozy’s friend Martin Bouygues, had a market share of 40 percent until recently. Since the introduction of digital terrestrial television—which catapulted the number of channels from 6 to 20 even in households without cable or satellite—TF1 has been in decline. No one is challenging its top spot. But the 30 percent market share it currently holds is simply a pipe dream in the long run. The rough estimate is easy to make: public broadcasters are siphoning off nearly a billion in advertising revenue. However—that’s a calculation that doesn’t take the advertising industry into account, as it by no means assumes that it will invest these budgets exclusively with TF1 and its competitors.
A major upheaval is on the horizon in the media landscape. Even the bidding process for soccer broadcasting rights for the coming years—the deadline for bids is at the end of January—is already getting out of hand. Can France 2 even still bid? What are the rights worth now?
Is Sarkozy trying to do his friends—the owners of media conglomerates—a favor? Does he want to undermine public broadcasters and make them even more dependent on the state?
Until now, the left has dreamed of abolishing advertising. To achieve this, the right must now pursue a completely illiberal policy and seek out taxes that can compensate for the losses relatively painlessly. Telephone companies could be subject to additional taxes. Or the advertising revenues of private broadcasters. Or a fee of six euros could be charged for every new television set. Sarkozy’s abrupt proposal has sent shockwaves through the industry and sparked a broad debate. That’s the good thing about him. The market, however, has already given its answer: TF1 and M6 have long since lost their stock gains. After all, the weakening of public television would likely amount to the privatization of one of its channels—and that is precisely what Sarkozy’s friends, the media moguls, want least of all.
There is, however, no dispute over the merits of another reform that Sarkozy announced at the same press conference: the international programs are to be consolidated. These include Radio France International, France 24 (the new news channel «French CNN»), and the Francophone global broadcaster TV5. Better cooperation with AFP and among the individual newsrooms would be more than reasonable. In any case, TV5«s partner countries—especially France, Canada, and Switzerland—are fighting this tooth and nail. They refuse to place TV5 under a »France Monde” holding company—and they are fully within their rights to do so. Switzerland owns just under eight percent of TV5 and pays a few million each year. In return, the news program from French-Swiss television can be viewed all over the world. TV5 is our strongest voice on the planet, even if people in German-speaking Switzerland are reluctant to admit it. In an article in *Le Monde* and *Le Temps*, Micheline Calmy-Rey vehemently opposed Paris’s demands. According to insiders, Sarkozy took great, great offense at this. Yet at his press conference, he went back on his word. There, he very clearly called into question all the assurances made at a conference in Switzerland. His media expert from the Élysée Palace had also come. It’s all about visibility. TV5 has an excellent global distribution network, which France 24 is eyeing.
The conflict is escalating these days. The partner countries—and Switzerland—are threatening to withdraw entirely from TV5. In doing so, they would be giving up a unique platform. But without them, hardly anyone wants to hear the «Voice of France.» It’s Napoleon against the rest of the Francophonie. Yet only the Francophonie, in its polyphonic entirety, can serve as a counterweight to the Anglo-Saxon world. Now even the respected Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner is entering the fray. «We won’t do anything without you,» he writes in *Le Monde*. At the same time, however, he’s making bold statements that aren’t going over well in Brussels, Geneva, and Quebec: France, he writes in the headline, wants to take the initiative again in «telling the world’s story.».
Jürg Altwegg is a correspondent for the Frankfurter Allgemeine in Geneva.
