La télé Française

Today, a short history of French television. The Office de Radiodiffusion Télévision Française (ORTF - French Television Broadcast Office), which replaced the Radiodiffusion Télévision Française (RTF) in 1964, was the government-owned association that controlled all television broadcast, until 1974. At that time, it was disbanded into 7 different companies:

• Radio France
• Télévision Française 1 (TF1)

• Antenne 2 ('Channel 2')

• France 3 (FR3)

• 3 other companies with various responsabilities in the distribution and archiving of TV programs.

In 1976, TF1 becomes the first channel to broadcast in color. In 87, it is privatized and the Bouygues group becomes the main shareoholder.

In 1984, Canal Plus is created. This first subscription channel encrypts its broadcast, and its main differentiators were movies (showed 6 to 9 months after their theatrical release, before they were released to VHS), sports (soccer, boxing...) and... porn. Although it is losing the movie competition to more recent cable channels, it is still strong in the sports world, as it's recent €600M bid for the rights to the French Soccer League clearly shows.

La 5 was a short-lived public station started by French and Italian investors trying to replicate Silvio Berlusconi's success in Italy. It broadcasted form 86 to 92, before being replaced by Arte. The #5 spot is now taken by France 5 (original, no?)

Finally, M6 is still around, with programs targetting teenagers and young adults (music videos, US TV shows, the occasional erotic movie...)