CSA’s Key 2011 Dates
1 January.
Entry into force of the first section of the deliberation of 14 December 2010 relating to the protection of young audiences, ethics, and accessibility of programmes broadcast on on-demand audiovisual media services. The section deals with rules relating to fundamental ethical principles.
4 January.
End of the "FM+" general calls for tenders. In the context of the general call for tenders in Alsace, Lorraine, and the Troyes and Joinville areas, the Conseil selected tenderers (candidats) to operate 287 frequencies, 42 of which were new. In Rhône-Alpes, 201 tenders relating to 1,240 frequencies were found admissible.
The Conseil adopted two deliberations in relation to political pluralism during election periods. One was general in scope; the other dealt with the 20 and 27 June 2011 cantonales elections. Both prescribed, in particular, the principle of fairness in relation to speaking time, and a levelled and honest editorial treatment.
12 January.
The Conseil's 7th meeting with consumer associations was chaired by Michel Boyon, and attended by Christine Kelly, head of the "Advertising and Consumer Protection" working group.
21 January.
Three new Board Members joined the Conseil: Francine Mariani-Ducray, appointed by the President of the Republic to replace Michèle Reiser, Patrice Gélinet, appointed by the speaker of the Assemblée nationale to replace Sylvie Genevoix, and Nicolas About, appointed by the speaker of the Sénat to replace Marie-Laure Denis.
1 and 2 February.
 Television digital switch-over in three région in the north of France: Nord-Pas-de-Calais, Haute-Normandie, and Picardie.
2 February.
In order to specify its deliberation of 1 April 2007 regarding minors on television shows, the Conseil sent channels a reminder that a minor's participation to a show is automatically subject to authorisation by the persons having parental authority.
2 February.
The Conseil served a formal notice on channel MCM for broadcasting two programmes—Sexy Night Fever and Bible Black—with only a "-16" sign, even though they include pornographic scenes coming into category V ("not recommended for those under 18"), and should be restricted to informed adult audiences.
15 February.
Following a call for tenders published on 13 April 2010 in région Rhône-Alpes, the Conseil selected licensees to 623 FM frequencies, renewing all existing radios' licenses, and allocating 169 new frequencies.
2 March.
The Conseil publicly released its report to the Prime Minister in relation to associations' access to audiovisual media, drafted under the leadership of Michèle Reiser and Emmanuel Gabla. Following twenty-five hearings, and having received sixteen written contributions, ten proposals were drafted, based on three essential principles: fairness, clarity, and the promotion of civic undertakings.
7 March.
Television digital switch-over in région Île-de-France.
15 March.
The Conseil served a formal notice on RTL for unidentified advertising in favour of online sports betting websites.
22 March.
Appointment of Dominique Richard as Conseil's ombudsman for the movement of cinema and audiovisual works; he is charged with helping to solve disputes relating to access to them on television and on-demand audiovisual media services.
30 March.
The Conseil published a call for tenders, on the first DTT multiplex, for two local television channels in the islands of Wallis-and-Futuna.
 6 April.
Alain Méar, Rachid Arhab, and Nicolas About, publicly released the results of the sixth round of surveys by the Observatoire de l’équipement des foyers pour la réception de la télévision numérique (body monitoring households’ equipment to receive digital television): in the second half of 2010, over nine households out of ten had digital television equipment.
27 April.
The Conseil adopted a second deliberation relating to the broadcasting conditions of commercial communications in favour of gambling operators.
28 April.
The CSA organised an international symposium on connected televisions at the Quai Branly museum. Attended by over 500 persons, it was opened by Éric Besson, Minister in charge of the industry, energy, and the digital economy, and closed by Frédéric Mitterrand, Minister for culture and communication. Bringing together major players of the audiovisual industry, three roundtables led to a better understanding of the impact of the development of connected TVs on content regulation and financing of original material.
4 May.
Following hearings of industry held by "Music" working group, chaired by Francine Mariani-Ducray, and co-chaired by Christine Kelly, the Conseil organised a roundtable on songs in French on the radio.
5 May.
The Conseil issued channels Zouk TV (Martinique), and Éclair TV (Guadeloupe), simplex digital broadcasting licenses.
By reason of substandard DTT broadcasting conditions in the area of Quintin (Côtes-d’Armor), the Conseil served a formal notice on multiplex operator Nouvelles télévisions numériques, in charge of the R2 network, an on the multiplex' channels—Direct 8, BFM TV, I-Télé, Direct Star, Gulli, and France 4—to deliver broadcasting in the conditions set forth in their licenses.
10 May.
Digital switch-over in Auvergne.
4 May.
Following hearings of industry held by "Music" working group, chaired by Francine Mariani-Ducray, and co-chaired by Christine Kelly, the Conseil organised a roundtable on songs in French on the radio.
17 May.
Following the arrest of Dominique Strauss-Kahn in New York, the Conseil called on the channels to show greater restraint in their broadcasting of images of criminally charged persons.
18 May.
Christine Kelly, Chair of the "Advertising and Consumer Protection" working group, chaired the CSA's 8th meeting with consumer associations. Five associations were represented.
24 May.
Digital switch-over in Côte d’Azur (Alpes-Maritimes and Var), and in Corsica.
14 June.
The Conseil published its second report on the implementation of the television food charter.
7 June.
The Conseil approves the extension of the broadcasting on DTT of France Ô to the entire territory of mainland France.
24 June.
The replacement of the comités techniques radiophoniques, which act as regional branches of the CSA, by the comités territoriaux de l’audiovisuel, was made official under a décret. The décret took into account the new consultation and decision powers granted to the comités under the laws of 9 July 2004 and 9 March 2009.
28 June.
The Conseil served a formal notice on RMC for asking listeners of the Bourdin & Co show of 6 June 2011, to say whether they deemed Dominique Strauss-Kahn guilty or not, in contradiction with the necessary levelled treatment of an on-going court case.
6 July.
The Conseil served a formal notice on TF1 to comply with articles 20 and 22 of its legal agreement (convention) relating to the validity of information. On 23 June 2011, during the 1 p.m. news, the channel had broadcast a segment in which a person purporting to be a mother, had, in fact, no children and was the press secretary of the Conseil général of Alpes-Maritimes.
7 July.
The Conseil signed the Diversity charter in which companies and organisations have given undertakings to foster plurality and seek diversity in staff management.
12 July.
The Conseil adopted a deliberation extending the remit of the comités territoriaux de l’audiovisuel to include category B radio services when they come under the jurisdiction of a single comité. The deliberation entered into force on 1 October 2011.
31 August.
The Conseil served a formal notice on Sud Radio for discriminatory language aired, on 22 August, in the Cardoze/Mazet, liberté de parole (freedom of speech) show, in which listeners were asked to answer the following question: "Does Dominique Strauss-Khan have the support of Jews?."
12 September.
Michel Boyon introduced the findings of his report on the future of digital terrestrial television commissioned by the Prime Minister on 20 May 2011.
20 September.
Digital switch-over in the eastern part of région Rhône-Alpes, and in four overseas collectivités: French Polynesia, New-Caledonia, Saint-Pierre-and-Miquelon, and Wallis-and-Futuna.
The Conseil and all members of the Réseau francophone des régulateurs des médias (REFRAM) adopted a statement on gender equality in broadcasting media.
4 October.
On its website, the Conseil published the complete findings of the reality TV review conducted by Françoise Laborde and Francine Mariani-Ducray. Steps are proposed to address the issues raised by this kind of programmes.
10 October.
Michel Boyon and Christine Kelly, Chair of the Advertising and Consumer Protection working group, held a press conference to introduce the Conseil's deliberation adopted on 19 July restricting the sound level of programmes to improve television viewers' listening comfort.
18 October.
Having noted that in July, August, and September, speaking time devoted to the opposition in Parliament had barred other political parties from expressing their views in the proportions prescribed in the Conseil's rules, the Conseil served a formal notice on BFM TV, i>Télé, LCI, Europe 1, and France Inter, to respect the principle of a plurality of views expressed.
The Conseil published a call for tenders for the broadcasting on DTT multiplexes R7 and R8 of six high-definition channels using the DVB-T MPEG 4 standard. Once the tenders have been submitted, and hearings of the tenderers have been held, selection will be made in March 2012, and licenses will be awarded by end of May.
7 November.
Françoise Laborde and Christine Kelly, respectively, Chair and Deputy-Chair, of the "Youth and Protection of Minors" working group, introduced the CSA's new campaign relating to the youth-suitability rating system protecting young media audiences. The campaign's purpose is to raise the public's awareness to: screen ubiquity; and children being confronted with images on their own.
8 November.
Digital switch-over in région Midi-Pyrénées.
Following a consultation conducted by both the "Music" working group, chaired by Francine Mariani-Ducray, and the "Radio" working group, chaired by Patrice Gélinet, the music industry and radio representatives agree on new steps to foster greater exposure of songs in French, dealing with: the definition of "new production"; significant listening hours; and the duration of track's airing.
29 November.
Digital switch-over in région Languedoc-Roussillon, and in départements: Mayotte, Guadeloupe, Martinique, and Guyane.
30 November.
The Conseil adopted a recommendation relating to the presidential election setting forth the legal framework applicable to the campaign. It prescribes compliance with, successively, two principles: fairness, and, later, equality.
2 December.
The Board (Collège) and the Director-General were welcomed by the President of the Republic who congratulated the Conseil on the success of television broadcasting digital switch-over.
5 December.
Louis de Broissia, chairman of GIP France Télé numérique, and Nicolas About and Alain Méar, respectively, Deputy-Chair and Chair of the "Management and Usage of Digital Television's Broadcasting Medium" working group, held a press conference at the Conseil to introduce the digital switch-over assessment: a successful endeavour despite the technical and human challenges.
12 December.
Nicolas About, Chair of the « Accessibility » working group, and Christine Kelly, Deputy-Chair, attended the signature by the Government, television channels, and associations representing people with disabilities, of the charter relating to subtitling quality, drafted under the aegis of the CSA.
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