The boss of France Télévisions, Delphine Ernotte, believes that the limit has almost been reached in terms of budget reduction. It does not refute the idea of a concentration of public audiovisual media.
Already pushed to make efforts for more than 10 years, France Télévisions must also prepare for the year 2023 without the budget line corresponding to the TV license fee. The abolition of the contribution to public broadcasting, a measure promised by Emmanuel Macron, contributes to creating a hole of 45 million euros, which France Televisions does not manage to plug. Asked by our colleagues from Figarothe group’s Chairman and CEO, Delphine Ernotte, considers that a merger of the multiple players in the public audiovisual sector makes sense, in order to preserve the reach and freedom of speech of its media.
The idea of a merger of public actors is gaining ground
France Télévisions is a bit at a crossroads. By dint of budget cuts, non-renewed retirements and savings made on certain programs or channels, the group today costs the State 560 million euros less than in 2009.
” I sincerely think that with constant mission and scope, we have reached the limit. Lower costs cannot be the horizon threshold for France Télévisions “Launches the president of the group, as a call to say “stop” to the efforts demanded year after year, and a clever way of saying that the room for maneuver is reduced to a trickle.
Eventually, the situation of public broadcasting will become unbreathable. It may be time, to preserve it, to think about life-saving solutions. The idea of a merger of France Télévisions, Radio France, INA and France Médias Monde is gaining ground in the mind of Delphine Ernotte, but not only. ” I am in favor of creating a large ensemble “, she says to the Figaro.
A “much stronger” public audiovisual system in the event of a merger
A few months ago, we learned of a report written by Les Républicains Senators Roger Karoutchi and Jean-Raymond Hugonet, which explores this unique business alternative in more detail. They had even imagined a name for it, France Media, as well as a date of creation of this new entity: 2025.
Delphine Ernotte feels that she is not the right person to comment on such a concentration or on the precise form it could take, but she nevertheless sees several advantages in it, such as better budget management, then globalized, and an even greater aura strong with the public, simply because of a grouping. ” Tomorrow, public broadcasting will be much stronger if it is grouped together in the same app “, adds the leader, whose mandate at the head of the group runs until 2025.
Finally, concerning the Salto platform, which could disappear, Delphine Ernotte does not indicate that she wants to absolutely leave the capital of the platform, valued at 135 million euros and owned equally by France Télévisions, TF1 and M6. But the last two cities wanting to sell their participation, that of France Télévisions raises questions. ” If tomorrow, the service finds a buyer, I will have no problem leaving our content there. “, she says on this subject, maintaining the vagueness for the moment. Canal+ remains to this day the best candidate for its potential takeover.
Sources: Le FigaroClubic
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