A few days before the arrival of Belem with the Olympic flame on board, the head of France Télévisions programs is delighted with the positive impact that the Games will have. An exclusive interview where he also reaffirms the singularity of public service antennas.
TNT: before the Olympics, France Télévisions unveils the first free channel in ultra high definition
LA TRIBUNE SUNDAY- What does the arrival of the flame on May 8 mean to you?
STÉPHANE SITBON-GOMEZ- This is where the serious things will begin! This is the start of an exceptional adventure which will last four months. On May 8, we will offer a special day on our airwaves, with numerous programs live from the Old Port such as Telematin and the news. The big concert event with Soprano and Alonzo will be broadcast in the evening in prime time on France 2. On the same day, we will launch our digital channel entirely dedicated to the Olympics, on which the public will be able to follow the journey of the flame live for two months throughout France. For France Télévisions, the Olympics will be a moment of communion with viewers and a huge celebration. As an official broadcaster, we will make the hearts of the French beat faster.
Forty-three million euros in additional revenue are expected thanks to the Olympics. Are you going to cover your costs?
The Games are a significant investment in terms of sporting rights, but also in editorial coverage. Advertising will help finance part of it but will not be enough to cover the whole thing. However, as a public service, we do not think like that. The Olympics will be profitable because they will allow us to reach 100% of French people on this period and will give an incredible boost to France Télévisions. Internally, there is currently a real effervescence, a bubbling. The sports management, which has great know-how, is in the starting blocks, but so are all the other sectors of the house. We feel a lot of pride and impatience in the teams. It’s a tipping point.
For the first time, the two major channels will broadcast the Olympic Games competitions simultaneously
What will be on your airwaves this summer?
For the first time, the two major channels will broadcast the competitions simultaneously, and the Olympic channel will be offered free of charge and exclusively on the France.tv platform. At any time of the day, you will be able to experience the Games and not miss a beat. Rarely has a host broadcaster been so mobilized. France 2 will carry major events such as athletics and swimming, and France 3 will focus on team sports. Urban sports such as BMX or breakdancing will be broadcast on the digital channel. It will continue during the Paralympics with the broadcast of all the tests. Throughout the duration of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, France 2 will broadcast every day – from Monday to Sunday – in the second part of the evening a late show American style, presented by Léa Salamé with Laurent Luyat.
Last week, nine associations of scientific journalists published an article in Libération denouncing the suppression of the Health Magazine and Vert de rage, speaking of “ a policy of erasing science » at France Télévisions. What do you answer?
The figures say the opposite: France 5 is the only channel to have a weekly slot devoted to the environment every Monday evening and a science slot every Thursday. No other media is so mobilized. But science is found on all our channels: France 3 with Jamy’s World and France 2 will soon launch Science secrets, a dive into scientific discoveries. Martin Boudot wanted to stop presenting Green with ragebut, on the subject of the environment, we will also launch many new products: Climate Sentinelswith Chloé Nabédian, or Resists, with Perrine Crosmary. But I always listen to the concerns that are expressed. I clearly saw that the deletion of Health magazine had caused a stir. I understand the attachment to this show history of France 5 and we therefore finally decided to extend it.
With which presenter at the helm?
We are working with the Newen teams to develop a new format for the magazine; Jimmy Mohamed will be alone in charge there every day. But Marina Carrère d’Encausse retains the presentation ofHealth survey in the first part of the evening and we work with her on social documentaries, like the film on the end of life that she made a few months ago and which had a great impact. Newen is a subsidiary of TF1 and our third program provider. We have been criticized for saving money on their programs. This is not our intention. We will continue to call on them for their good projects as with all producers.
The programming of “ Numbers and letters » the weekend was not successful and the show will end
France Télévisions must make 200 million euros in savings over a full year by 2028, half of which on programs. How will you proceed?
We will make some adjustments. President Delphine Ernotte asked me not to touch the major emblematic meetings. We will not make savings on fiction, documentaries, animation and culture. The essential missions of the public service will be preserved.
Concretely, you will still have to delete programs next season…
This is normal life for all TV channels. We are constantly testing things. Certain programs launched at the start of the school year on France 2 will not return, such as Bertrand is not sleepy Or In an organized group because they have not fully found their audience. Likewise, the weekend programming of Numbers and letters was not crowned with success. After fifty years of existence, it is an emblematic meeting. It’s a difficult decision, but we have made the choice to stop this program. A goodbye show will bring together Patrice Laffont and Laurent Romejko, and will thank all the teams. The adaptation of 1,000 euros game, which works very well, will now be broadcast on weekends [lire ci-dessous]. On the other hand, many recent programs are being renewed, like C media [France 5] and of Indeed [France 2]. We will also continue our strategy aimed at young audiences by investing in the Twitch platform from the start of the school year.
Last July, the monthly audience of France 2 almost exceeded that of TF1. Is the objective to make it the leading channel in France?
No. I am delighted with our excellent audiences because it proves that public television knows how to innovate and bring people together. 80% of French people watch France Télévisions broadcasts every week. But we are not in direct competition with the private sector. Our proposals are complementary.
However, the Association of Private Channels accused you last year of offering programs that were too close to theirs and of “ develop a program […] commercial […]notably on France 2 “…
It’s time to turn this page. France Télévisions is not at war with the private sector. We are not following a commercial approach, but we are addressing citizens, with the desire to offer them programs that suit them. It is our only compass. We will never produce the same television as the private channels. France 2, which is our flagship, has a unique positioning. Tomorrow, Monday, for example, we will broadcast Molières, Thursday an evening dedicated to European diplomacy and Saturday the Eurovision song contest. All this in the first part of the evening. No commercial channel would do that.
TF1 morning show, Good morninglaunched in January, struggles to take off and remains far behind Telematin. Relieved ?
I rejoice in the power of Telematin, and in no case the disappointments of competitors. You mention Good morning, but before that there was the arrival of these news channels on this market. Despite everything, we remained an unmissable event for the French. This show is almost forty years old and has been able to renew itself thanks to a great, very dynamic, friendly and creative team!
What the holding company could change
On May 23 and 24, MPs will examine the public broadcasting reform project. With the menu of debates the creation of a holding company overseeing all public audiovisual services (France Télévisions, Radio France, INA and France Médias Monde). A pleasing prospect, according to Stéphane Sitbon-Gomez. “ This will allow us to join forces. Today, everyone works a little too much in their own corner. We must build a “French public broadcasting team”! By playing as a team and passing the ball more, we can strengthen ourselves, in order to be even more at the service of the French. » Especially since, according to him, a holding company would not hinder the maintenance of the specificities of each of the companies.
Identified brands
“ We are not going to do filmed radio, and radio is not intended to be an echo chamber for TV programs. It’s about identifying brands we can work on together. » This is already the case for certain France Inter programs such as Sensitive matters Or The 1,000 Euro Game, available respectively on France 2 and France 3.
“ At the start of the school year, we will give even more space to Game of 1,000 euros by now broadcasting it twice a week, on Saturday and Sunday, instead of Numbers and letters. France 3 and France Bleu are also working on a joint editorial project. I am convinced that we can all enrich each other. This is also what happened in European countries which have chosen to bring together their public audiovisual services, like England. “.
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