French public television in danger

Jérôme Bourdon, a media historian, considers French president Nicolas Sarkozy's intention of withdrawing all advertising from public television. As far as he is concerned, this is "a blow for France Télévisions, but also, let us not be afraid of big words, for culture (French culture in this case, though the problem stretches well beyond France). Why not applaud Sarkozy? Simply because we have to think first and foremost in terms of public sector financing. A major television service able to provide good programmes is rich. The French audiovisual production is weak compared to Germany and Great Britain, which is mainly due to the low cost of TV licensing. The suppression of advertising can only make sense with a clear plan introduced at the same time, with a balancing, or better still, much better still, a notable increase in resources."

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