Television in France

Television in France was introduced in 1931, making the country one of the first countries in the world to broadcast television programmes.

Terrestrial

Télévision Numérique Terrestre is the national digital terrestrial service for France. It formally arrived on 31 March 2005 after a short testing period. Like Freeview in the United Kingdom it will support many new channels as well as the current terrestrial television stations. Pay TV channels were launched in September 2004 using the MPEG4 format, unlike most of Europe which currently uses MPEG2. Pay per view terrestrial channels use H.264 / MPEG-4 AVC. Analogue switch off is expected to be finished by 30 November 2011.^[1] TNT is the first service to implement Dolby Digital Plus as one possible audio codec.^[2] France is also the first European country and the third in the world to propose the HDTV on its DTT after USA and Japan.

Other technologies

Most ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line) providers in France now offer digital television packages through triple play boxes. However, some subscribers have too much attenuation distortion on their lines to benefit from the service, and France does not yet have 100% DSL coverage.

French cable providers Noos SA and UPC France SA and Numericable merged to become the largest cable operator in France. They provide digital television (using multiple brands) through their set top boxes.

Digital satellite television has existed in France since 1997. HDTV transmissions began in April 2006, when CanalSat launched its first HD channel (Canal+ HD). TPS and CanalSat have merged in 2007, leaving Nouveau Canalsat and Bis Télévisions as the two main competitors for the satellite television market in the country.

Major French TV channels

French main TV channels are:

• TF1 which average market share of 24% makes the most-watched French TV network;
• M6, the most profitable national French TV channel^[3][4]and the second or third most-watched television network in France^[5] featuring flagship shows such as Zone Interdite and Capital;
• France 2, the second or third most-watched French TV channel^[6] and France 3, the two main channels of France's public network France Television;
• Canal +, a very popular French premium pay television channel featuring some of the most popular French TV programs such as Le Grand Journal or Les Guignols de l'info.

See also

• List of television stations in France
• List of French language television channels
• List of French television series

References

1. ^ Schéma national d’arrêt de la diffusion analogique pour le basculement vers le numérique (contribution du CSA)(In French).
2. ^ "French terrestrial TNT Service with HD-channels and first implementation of Dolby Digital Plus". http://www.hdtvtotal.com/module-pagesetter-viewpub-tid-1-pid-1248.html.  on HDTVTotal.com
3. ^ [1] Financial results of M6 2010
4. ^ [2] Financial rentability 2010
5. ^ M6 has always been ranked after TF1 and before (by some measure) or after (by others) France 2
6. ^ France 2 has always been ranked after TF1 and before (by some measure) or after (by others) M6 (TV channel)

External links

• The TNT website (in French)
• TVNT website