The Work of the CSA in the year 2001
During 2001, the CSA dealt with a number of major events. It was called upon to fulfil its mission of monitoring political pluralism during two election campaigns, namely the cantonal and municipal elections and the elections for the French Polynesian Assembly. In addition, as early at the end of October, in preparation for the presidential election in Spring 2002, it published a recommendation which would come into effect on 1 January 2002.
Another important event was the sudden appearance on French channels of "reality TV" and notably the programme Loft Story on M6. This led the CSA to publish a recommendation aimed at all channels concerning respect for human dignity and the right of personal portrayal of the participants of this kind of programmes.
Digital terrestrial television was also a principal concern, with the launch of an invitation to bid for licences for national television services on 24 July.
Furthermore, the Conseil conducted the process of renewal of both M6 and TF1’s licences without resubmission of applications, renegotiating a large number of clauses in their conventions.
And finally, in November, the CSA expressed its approval of the reappointment of three chairmen of national broadcasting companies who had reached the end of their mandates.
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Elections
and the monitoring |
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Guaranteeing that the pluralism of ideas and opinions that exist is properly reflected in broadcasting is an essential part of the democratic process and as such, represents one of the vital missions entrusted to the CSA by law. In this capacity, the CSA constantly monitors that both public and private broadcasting media respect pluralism, checking that the access given to the different political forces is balanced. This mission is especially serious during election campaigns, and each election represents an important event for the CSA in its role as a regulator. There were three such events in 2001: – the cantonal
and municipal elections of
11 and 18 March; The CSA published two recommendations, one of which was for the cantonal and municipal elections of 11 and 18 March, and the other for the election of the French Polynesian Assembly. In addition, it organised the first official broadcast campaign for the Polynesian election. Finally, with respect to the presidential election of Spring 2002, the CSA adopted a recommendation to all broadcasters as early as 23 October which would come into effect on 1 January 2002. |
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The arrival of "reality TV" in France |
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"Reality TV", which reached French screens in 2001, does not in fact attempt to reflect reality, as its name might lead one to believe, but rather consists of programme-makers creating specific situations in which the everyday lives of individuals that they have selected are put on show. This "reality TV" most often takes the form of a game-show, though its influence can be felt in other kinds of programmes. Reality TV games are based around three principle ideas: – lock
people who don’t know each other in an enclosed space, Although the very first example of the new reality TV in France was Aventures sur le Net, which started on 8 January on TF6, the biggest event of its kind was the launch of Loft Story by M6 on 26 April. This game, which was a mixture of two existing "reality TV" formats, featured 11 young single people in an enclosed space filmed 24 hours per day for 10 weeks, where the contestants were eliminated both by each other and by votes from the public. Very quickly, other games of this kind were also broadcast, notably on TF1, with Les Aventuriers de Koh-Lanta in July and Star Academy in September.
– A daily
broadcast Monday through Friday in two formats, one of 45 minutes
at 7pm and the other of 7
minutes at 8.30pm; The programme was also broadcast 24 hours per day with a slight delay on a special TPS (satellite) channel, access to which was available for a subscription of around 70 French francs. A special section was created on the M6 internet site, as was a special Loft Story site on which it was possible to watch the programme non-stop. Other sites, independent of M6, used pictures from the Loft, some of which showed the contestants in intimate situations. Of all the countries where programmes like this are broadcast, France is the first country where the regulatory authority had the rules of the game changed. Aware of the problems that arise from such programmes in terms of respect for human dignity and the right of personal portrayal of the contestants, the CSA adopted a recommendation on 14 May 2001 directed at all broadcasting services broadcasting or intending to broadcast such programmes. The recommendation stated that "no matter what the aim of these programmes and in spite of the contestants’ consent, it is imperative that, in terms of respect for human dignity, contestants should be given time and space where they are not submitted to public scrutiny". The CSA, therefore, asked that "these programmes include daily pauses of a significant and reasonable length when no audio or visual recording or broadcasting should take place" and that the participants should be "clearly informed" about them. In addition, the CSA asked M6 to take a certain number of measures with respect to Loft Story: – To stop
promoting the satellite and internet versions of Loft Story on its
programmes; The CSA demanded and studied the contracts drawn up between the production company and each of the game’s contestants and it asked that certain changes be made concerning individual freedoms. Finally, the CSA took advantage of the renegotiation of TF1’s and M6’s conventions to go over and clarify the content of this recommendation. It also introduced new guidelines relating to the monitoring of obligations which now specify that the CSA should be provided with any contracts entered into either directly or indirectly between non-professionals and the licence-holding company. All these guidelines will eventually be added to the conventions of the other private broadcasting services and to the specifications of public sector channels. |
The
scheduling of Loft Story on M6 was as follows: |
Launch
of the licence bid |
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A critical step was made towards the introduction of terrestrial digital television on 24 July 2001 when bidding began for licences for national terrestrial digital television services. During the first half of the year, the CSA drafted the text of the licence bid, referring in particular to the provisions of the Law of 1 August 2000, as incorporated into the Law of 30 September 1986 as modified relating to freedom of communication. This document was finally adopted after broad consultation with those directly concerned who were invited to express their thoughts on the matter.
The distribution of radio resources between public sector services and private channels was also made clear. Taking into account the priority right given by law to the public sector, which was established at eight channels, and the capacity reserved for local and regional television, which comes to three channels per site, twenty-two nationally broadcast private television services will be given licences by the end of the bidding process. The text of the licence bidding process is both a means of clarifying the rules pertaining to the distribution of broadcasting resources and also of presenting, in a clear and transparent manner, the terms and conditions under which digital terrestrial television will be introduced in France. It was with this same concern for clarity vis-à-vis the applicants that the CSA decided that applicants would have forty-five days to submit their dossiers as from the publication of the décrets defining the different obligations of digital television services. After consultation with the CSA which rendered an opinion with respect thereof, the decrees concerning notably the production and broadcasting obligations of service producers were published on 29 December 2001 and that concerning the broadcasting of unscrambled terrestrial digital channels by cable service distributors was published on 1 February 2002. For this reason the CSA fixed the cut-off time for submitting bids at 5pm on 22 March 2002. |
The
publication of this invitation to bid for licences is, without doubt,
an important step towards the establishment of terrestrial digital
television. It clearly specifies what resources have been set aside
for this new means of television broadcasting, announcing that six
multiplexes are planned per site, from which thirty-three television
services will be able to broadcast. Furthermore, the text introduces
the plan of frequencies for the first twenty-nine transmitting sites
which should cover close to 50% of the French population, as well
as the list of the eighty-one sites of the subsequent phases of
the plan. |
M6’s and TF1’s new conventions |
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Following decisions reached on 27 February and 4 April 2001, the CSA announced its decision to allow the renewal process of the authorisations of Métropole Télévision (M6) and Télévision française 1 (TF1) to take place without the resubmission of licence applications being necessary in accordance with the provisions of section 28-1 of the Law of 30 September 1986 as modified. Such decisions were published in the Journal officiel of 28 February and 14 April 2001. The aforementioned section stipulates that a new convention should be drawn up six months before the previous one expires. The cut-off date for M6 was 31 August 2001, and that of TF1 was 15 October 2001. After meeting the executive of M6 on 14 March and that of TF1 on 3 May in a public hearing, the CSA began a series of negotiations with each of the channels. The work-group responsible for the M6 renegotiation was led by Ms. Fatou, while that of TF1 was presided over by Ms. de Guillenchmidt. Over this period, the CSA was able to take into consideration the opinions and observations of a great many third parties concerned by the outcome of this negotiation, either in meetings or through written contributions. These included public authorities, professional bodies of the broadcasting and film industry and from the world of sport, and representative bodies from viewers’ organisations. With regard to M6, these meetings represented an opportunity for representatives of the music industry to express their expectations. Following this work, conventions were signed on 24 July with M6 and on 8 October with TF1, establishing new frameworks for the two channels’ activity. These conventions, which were appended to the decision to renew the authorisation to use M6’s and TF1’s frequencies, came into effect on 1 January 2002 and will be the framework for their activity until 2007. However, should the companies wish to take advantage of the priority right granted to them in section 30-1 of the aforementioned Law of 30 September 1986 for the complete and simultaneous adoption of the service in digital mode, the expiry of the conventions could be extended by a further five years. One of the most important changes between the old and new instruments is the updating of sections concerning general and ethical obligations, as well as monitoring. These sections were updated to bring the M6’s and TF1’s obligations into line with those contained in the convention entered into with Canal+ on 29 May 2000, both because the CSA was concerned that there should be equal treatment between broadcasters and in order to integrate measures from the law of 1st August 2000. As a result, changes were made to the sections of the convention concerning public life (sections 8 and 9), the protection of children and teenagers (sections 15, 18 and 19), the integrity of information and programmes (sections 20 to 24), and providing the CSA with economic and financial information (sections 49 to 53). With regard to the protection of children and teenagers a great many of the changes were made as a result of the obligation to comply with the law of 1 August 2000. In terms of the framework for new practices in television, four main additions should be highlighted. They are as follows: – The broadcasting
of reality-TV games (sections 10, 11, 14, and 55); The CSA also decided to introduce a provision with the aim of preserving the independence of channels’ editorial staff, particularly in relation to economic interests (section 6). Finally, the CSA wanted to increase the amount of financial information it receives, notably through the transmission of shareholders’ statements twice a year (section 54). |
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Appointment
of the chairmen |
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After the appointment of the Chairman of holding company France Télévision in August 2000, the chairmen of three national broadcasting companies were appointed in 2001. The CSA reappointed the three acting chairmen at Radio France, Reseau France outre-mer and Radio France internationale at the end of their three-year term. On 20 November 2001, the CSA reappointed Jean-Marie Cavada to the position of Chairman of national broadcasting company Radio France for five years, after he obtained eight votes at the first ballot. On the same day, the CSA reappointed André-Michel Besse to the position of Chairman of national broadcasting company Réseau France outre-mer for five years, after he obtained five votes at the first ballot. And lastly, on 28 November 2001, the CSA reappointed Jean-Paul Cluzel to the position of Chairman of national broadcasting company Radio France internationale, after he obtained eight votes at the first ballot. |