As “Numbers and Letters” prepares to bid farewell to the PAF after more than fifty years of existence, we take a look at the oldest television programs which continue to be broadcast on the air.
A page is turning for French television. The cult show Numbers and letters will disappear from the grids of France Télévisions at the start of the school year, after more than fifty years of existence, announced the director of the antennas Stéphane Sitbon-Gomez, this Sunday, May 5 in La Tribune Dimanche.
Created in 1965, the game is distributed under the name The longest word until 1970. It then became Numbers and letters, January 4, 1972. If it is to this day the oldest PAF game show, other older programs still continue to be broadcast on the air. Overview.
• The Day of the Lord (1949)
Launched in October 1949 by Dominican Father Raymond Pichard, The day of the Lord is to this day the oldest program still in operation, excluding television news, on French television.
Broadcast first on RTF Télévision, then on TF1 before switching to Antenne2/France 2 during the privatization of the first channel, this program has been broadcasting mass live every Sunday morning for more than 75 years, interspersed by two debate magazines around faith and social themes.
Now open to Eastern and Orthodox Christians, Protestantism, Judaism, Islam and Buddhism, the show The day of the Lord continues to attract around 600,000 viewers on average, according to its producer Thierry Hubert, interviewed in 2023 by AFP.
• Automoto (1975)
If until now the second step in the ranking of the oldest television programs still broadcast was occupied by Numbers and lettersit will be the cult show from the start of the school year Auto Moto who will hold it.
Among the first French TV shows dedicated to automobiles and motorcycles, Auto Moto was originally broadcast on TF1 on Saturday late afternoon when it was launched in January 1975, before switching to Sunday morning to compete with Turbo on M6.
• Thalassa (1975)
Created and presented by Georges Pernoud, who carried the show for 42 years until 2017, Thalassa was broadcast for the first time on September 27, 1975 on FR3.
A true monument of French television, this weekly magazine devoted to the sea and its environment, from an ecological, sporting, human and historical point of view, nevertheless experienced a drop in audience from 2019, which led to its rescheduling on Sunday afternoon.
Now presented by Diego Buñuel on a monthly basis, Thalassa has returned since January 2024 to its historic slot on Friday evening in prime time.
• Stage 2 (1975)
Another unmissable event, Stage 2a weekly magazine devoted to news from all sports, was created by Robert Chapatte and hosted by the latter from January 1975 on the second channel.
First presented under the name Sport on the A2the sports show has seen numerous hosts in almost 50 years on the air, including Lionel Chamoulaud, Gérard Holtz, Pierre Sled, Patrick Chêne, Christian Prudhomme, Laurent Luyat, Céline Géraud and Matthieu Lartot, at the helm since 2017.
• Téléfoot (1977)
Unmissable show for an entire generation, Téléfoot has been broadcast on TF1 since 1977. Historically supported by Michel Denisot, Roger Zabel, the duo Jean-Michel Larqué-Thierry Roland, and Thierry Gilardi, this magazine devoted to football remains one of the pillars of the first channel since its creation.
Originally launched at the request of the then President of the Football League, Jean Sadoul, Téléfoot is now presented by Grégoire Margotton, since 2016, and continues to bring together viewers despite the evolution of match broadcasters.
