Presently, France’s television industry has developed tremendously. It can be divided into two large camps that include seven over-the-air broadcasters and cable and satellite channels. According to recent figures, more than ten million French households have subscribed to various forms of pay television.
It took around ten years, from 1985 to 1995 for the new television industry to emerge. Both public sector and private sector operators play a major role. The number of broadcast and access technologies has increased tremendously.
The television and radio industry are under the supervision of a body called the Higher Council for the Audiovisual Sector (CSA). The function of this body is to grant broadcasting licenses to private sector operators. CSA takes all steps to ensure compliance with the requirements for license holders. The body is also assigned the responsibility of appointing the Chairman of the public sector radio and television companies.
Some popular television stations of France on the Internet are TF1, france 2, France 3, France 5, Arte, Canal+, M6 and RFO. On channels like M6 and France 3, the audience can find locally focused newscasts.
TF1 and M6 are private-sector over-the-air channels. France 2 and France 3 are few mass-market channels. Canal+ is a specialty channel that offers entertainment. France Five focuses on educational content. Arte is a French-German channel. It broadcasts cultural programmes. In big cities like Lyon, Clermont-Ferrand, Bordeaux and Toulouse, few local over-the-air channels are also there.
The two competing operators of France are Canal Satellite and TPS. Most of the channels are supplied by them. All you have to do to access the over-the-air broadcasting channels is to pay the license fee. For accessing cable television, Canal+ and satellite television, you require a paid subscription.
The maximum audience share is enjoyed by TF1. This is around 32.7 per cent. Arte enjoys a viewership of 3.5 per cent. Channels like France 2 and France 3 also enjoy considerable viewership.
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