The leaders of public television presented this week the system planned for coverage of the Paris Olympics. With a major specificity: almost continuous broadcasting on the France 2 and France 3 channels during the seventeen days of competition.
The moment has been awaited for months on the part of France Télévisions, as the audiences should take public television to another dimension. So, she’s a Delphine Ernotte “marathoner, wrestler and boxer who can hit back” – says the Ringmaster of the press conference, his number 2, Stéphane Sitbon-Gomez – who appeared on Tuesday June 11 at the Musée de l’Homme in Paris to unveil the system planned for the Paris Olympic Games. A “exceptional, unique contract for the Olympic Games in Paris, which has never happened in the history of French television”, underlined Delphine Ernotte. The location was not chosen by chance: it is on the roof of the museum located on Place du Trocadéro that the main stage for these Games is being built, with a breathtaking panorama of the Eiffel Tower. “We looked everywhere, and we guarantee it’s the best view,” according to Sitbon-Gomez. This is where the France 2 cameras will return each time they turn away from the competition, to Telematinthe 1 p.m. and 8 p.m. television news, and the sequences between the events.
Guillaume Canet riding
Because the major fact of the planned system is indeed its continuity: from the end of Telematin until 11:30 p.m., every day, it will be 100% Olympic Games on France 2. The second channel, which is counting on these months of July and August to break the hegemony of TF1 and win the gold medal of monthly hearings, will be devoted to “great moments” of the competition, according to France Télés sports director Laurent-Eric Le Lay. Either all the events with chances of French medals, or the flagship competitions, the men’s 100 meters final, etc. The only disruptions planned in the schedule: the broadcast of religious programs on Sunday morning, and the television news, which will lead to a switch to France 5. For its part, the France 3 channel will also be entirely devoted to the Games (except for the JT there too), with a focus on team sports and long-term events (cycling, tennis, marathon, etc.). Finally, a third channel, digital, will continuously broadcast urban sports or surfing competitions on the France.tv platform. With several innovations inspired by Twitch, such as a chat space to allow Internet users to interact with commentators. And some new figures at the presentation like the streamers Zack Nani and Rivenzi or the YouTuber Manon Lanza. In total, 50 hours of live broadcast will be offered per day. As a reminder, the rest of the broadcast rights are held by Eurosport.
The main incarnations of France Télévisions for these Games have been known for weeks. Léa Salamé will be accompanied by Laurent Luyat for a sort of Olympic and daily variation of her What a time! between 11:15 p.m. and 1 a.m. Michel Drucker, initially planned, had to give up on orders from his doctors and will ultimately have the status of “godfather” of the show. Léa Salamé promises “artists, medalists, happenings” every evening in What Games! (this is the title), as well as a “band” which will notably include the comedian Paul de Saint-Sernin. Several dozen renowned consultants will accompany the traditional commentators from the France Télés sports department during the competition: Laure Manaudou on swimming, Brahim Asloum on boxing, Tony Parker on basketball, or Marie-José Pérec, continuously. More surprising, the information revealed by Leisure TV Friday: the presence of Guillaume Canet in the riding comments, on the model of Jean Rochefort for the 2004 and 2008 Olympics, the surrealist aphorisms – “A good rider is someone who knows how to remain a man while becoming a horse” – less.
“Mark history”
The opening and closing ceremonies of the Olympic Games will be presented by an improbable trio composed of Laurent Delahousse, Daphné Bürki and Alexandre Boyon. Present at the Musée de l’Homme on Tuesday, the directors of this event, executive director Thierry Reboul and artistic director Thomas Jolly, promise to “renew the genre of the ceremony, with the rather crazy ambition of making history”. Finally, for the Paralympics, journalist Mathieu Lartot will replace Laurent Delahousse at the presentation of the opening and closing ceremonies. The broadcasting rights for this para competition are held in full by France Télévisions, which will broadcast the events 24 hours a day on television, alternating between France 2 and France 3. Different streams available on the France.tv platform will complete this unique exhibition. Final objective, according to Stéphane Sitbon-Gomez: that 100% of French people have tuned in at least once to the France Télés channels or platform before the start of the school year. Ambitious, but not necessarily unrealistic.
