2014: Society; Economics; and Culture

AUDIOVISUAL MEDIA and society:
rights of the PUBLIC; Individual RIGHT

Political Pluralism and Community Organisations: The Challenge of Media Access

Experience Drawn from Elections in 2014: Consult to Reform

Audiovisual Media and Diversity: Firmly Set High on the Agenda

Women's Rights: Reflection in the Media

Education and the Media: A Project for the Youth

Independence and Performance: New Dynamics between Public Broadcasting and Regulation

Economic regulation:
STAKEHOLDERS' security and viability

The DTT Platform: Scarce Available Airwaves

Radio: Concentration Regulation; Densification; Digitization

The Impact of Licenses Issued by the CSA

Programme economics: The CSA's Year in Sports

cultural diversity:
FOR an ambitious long-TERM REFORM

Changing Schemes to Support New Content

On-Demand Audiovisual Media Services: Fostering a Holistic Reform

What Kind of Cultural Programming for Public Television?

Society, economics, and culture: taken jointly, these three words encapsulate the Conseil supérieur de l'audiovisuel's focus to guarantee communication freedom. Developments in the audiovisual industry, as well as the requirements of media independence and plurality, dictate unceasing assessment on our part, to ensure our focus is the right one. As they are innovative, audiovisual media are naturally in constant flux; to properly discharge our duties, we must unrelentingly fine-tune our actions according to such a shifting environment.

Also calling for constant fine-tuning on our part, are the recently introduced amendments to our charges and means of action. The law of 15 November 2013, relating to the independence of public broadcasting, enhanced the Conseil'sorganisation and approaches as regulator, its jurisdiction over public and private operators, and its information and transparency duty towards Parliament. 2014 was thus the first year during which the CSA operated in this new legal context, under which the economic dimension of our regulation has been significantly extended.

Carrying out impact studies for the future of the off-air platform, setting forth terms for the broadcasting of short clips of sporting contests, modernizing radio anti-trust rules and broadcasting technology, are all topics illustrating the regulator's economic role; this role was also the central issue of a seminar, entitled L’audiovisuel : enjeu économique,held at the CSA on 2 October, opened by the Minister for Culture and Communication, and closed by the President of the Republic.

The economic issues broached in 2014 were in sync with the CSA's charges vis-à-vis society; the two are in fact closely related and interdependent. The number of societal issues touched by broadcasting regulation this year was very large. While the Conseil energetically worked to protect the public's interests, promote diversity, and defend equal rights, the law of 4 August, in favour of true gender equality, acknowledged and gave further strength to the the Conseil's trailblazing initiative in favour of women's rights in audiovisual media. The Conseil's charges with respect to public broadcasting—reintroduced and enhanced under law—also had a particular echo this year.

Finally, as French audiovisual content experiences renewed favour on the part of the public, new content funding and cultural diversity promotion—which are both issues having an economic and a societal dimension to them—were areas of intense action on the part of the Conseil. In addition, the arrival on the French market of an audiovisual service, whose business, technological, and regulatory model is often deemed "disruptive", underscored the importance of having efficient new content promotion schemes in place to support the spread of French and European works, and of intensifying cooperation at the European level.

AUDIOVISUAL MEDIA and society:
rights of the PUBLIC; Individual RIGHT

During the year, broadcasting regulation dealt with many diverse issues having directly to do with society. The scope of broadcasting regulation has been further broadened, and now encompasses all issues of equality and social cohesion. The CSA's role in support of public broadcasting has also been strengthened.

Political Pluralism and Community Organisations:
The Challenge of Media Access

Upon renewal of the Conseil in January 2015, the issues of pluralism and community organisations were merged under the remit of a single working group, as having fair media access is a requirement shared by both political parties and civil society.

Experience Drawn from Elections in 2014:
Consult to Reform

The CSA is charged with ensuring political parties' fair treatment by audiovisual media in terms of speaking time, in particular, and more specificically, during electoral periods. In 2014, our Pluralism working group monitored relevant events, under the chairmanship of Francine Mariani-Ducray.

Between March and May of 2014, three important elections took place: municipal elections; elections to the congrès and assemblées de province of Nouvelle-Calédonie; and, elections to the European Parliament. On 8 September, the Conseil published comments on the treatment of these elections by radio and television services, based on recommendations previously addressed to editors.

With respect to municipal elections, despite having had to step in during the campaign, to point out striking unbalances, the Conseil concluded to overall compliance with the recommendation, which had been adopted on 20 November 2013, specifically for these elections; it was first the time that local television channels participated in this exercise.

In Nouvelle-Calédonie, the elections also complied with the general guidelines issued by the Conseil in 2009 and 2011, and specified under an additional recommendation on 26 February 2014.

European elections also did not elicit comment on the part of the Conseil with respect to fair treatment. However, the Conseil noted with disappointment the scarce coverage by radio and television of these crucial elections. The European elections were also the occasion for the French Conseil d’État to validate the CSA's approach in monitoring audiovisual media during the official campaign. In an ordonnance,dated 21 May, the administrative court ruled that weekly surveys of speaking time granted to lists of candidates, political parties and groups, and their support, during the critical six weeks prior to the election, enabled the CSA to effectively identify and point out unbalances, if any, and call for remedial measures on the part of editors.

Nowithstanding this positive assessment of the elections, reflection on possible amendments to current rules and regulations remains relevant and necessary, especially as on-line communication vastly increases sources of information. Is the current period of preclusion (période de réserve) governing disclosure of election results, still relevant today, and more specifically in France's overseas départements and collectivités?  Should public broadcasting's official campaign organisation obligations be amended?  To inform its reflection on these issues, the Conseil initiated consultation, and published discussion outlines in an issue paper relating to all electoral campaigns—with the exception of the presidential election, which had been the subject of a separate report in 2012.

Community Organisations' and Foundations' Access to Audiovisual Media:
A New Requirement to Ensure Plurality

Since the end of the last decade, community organisations and foundations have expressed their desire to benefit from better airtime access conditions, for advocacy purposes. In the context of the Community Organisations-Audiovisual Media committee, created by the CSA in 2012, initial progress had already been made, such as, e.g., the creation of a 'Community Organisation Focal Point', in each of the large media organisations.

In 2013, we installed a Community Organisations Taskforce, with Sylvie Pierre-Brossolette as Chair, to enhance and intensify action in this direction. More specifically, the aim is to foster greater transparency in the relationship between representatives of civil society and audiovisual media. Opportunities for exchange were organised by the CSA, and gave rise, in June 2014, to an audiovisual media's indicative handbook of common criteria for on-air promotion of community organisations and foundations (Guide indicatif des critères communs aux médias audiovisuels pour promouvoir des associations ou des fondations à l’antenne). The handbook applies to all programmes, with the exception of news shows. It provides useful tips to properly identify and understand community organisations and foundations and their purposes, as well as more specific recommendations where calls to generosity on the audience's part is being considered as part of a fund-raising effort.

Audiovisual Media and Diversity:
Firmly Set High on the Agenda

In 2014, under the chairmanship of Mémona Hintermann-Afféjee, the Diversity working group carried out pro-active ground and field work on this strategic issue which served to firmly set it high on the regulator's agenda.

The diversity survey (baromètre de la diversité), introduced by the CSA in 2009, based on a British experience, now benefits from true legitimacy in the eyes of civil society; it serves as a benchmark of diversity perception in the media. Results of the 2013 survey were released in January 2014—the periodicity now being annual, and publication in the first quarter. This year again, results show a mismatch between the image of society, as it is broadcast on TV screens, and its actual make-up; this is true, in particular, of socio-professional categories and perceived backgrounds. People with a disability are also almost never seen on screen. The media have a high responsibility to promote dynamics of social inclusion that acknowledge all, and to which all can identify, as a component of public life. The survey contributes precisely to that effort, in tandem with the Observatoire de la diversité: working under the aegis of the CSA, since 2013, the Observatoire brings together institutions, such as the Défenseur des Droits, media professionals, community organisations, and academics. As in 2013, work performed by the Observatoire—in particular through regular hearings—provided insight for the annual report on French society's diversity on radio and television, which the CSA forwards to Parliament every year, pursuant to article 3-1 of the law of 30 September 1986.

On the occasion of 14 July, in response to Mémona Hintermann-Afféjee's call, editors organised, for the second year in a row, a campaign to promote the nation's diversity, under the federating title Nous sommes la France.

In 2014, the media's collective involvement in promoting diversity and equal rights also focused more specifically on persons with disabilities' access to jobs. On 11 February, in the presence of the Deputy Minister in charge of persons with disabilities and the fight against exclusion, large national radio and television networks, both public and private, made the committment to foster persons with disabilities' access to broadcasting jobs. Adapted recruitment processes and special support taking disabilities into account will be provided to students from fifteen partner schools offering training for all broadcasting careers.

Finally, at the institutional level, as part of a larger effort to ensure full effectiveness of the CSA's action in favour of diversity and equal rights, a partnership agreement was entered into with the Défenseur des Droits. The project was initially conducted with Dominique Baudis, Défenseur des Droits and former Chairman of the CSA, and Maryvonne Lyazid, his deputy in charge of the fight against discriminations. Despite Dominique Baudis' passing—to whom the CSA's pays tribute for his work in favour of rights and freedom, and in particular, broadcasting freedom—the agreement was executed on 24 November 2014.  Olivier Schrameck and Jacques Toubon, the new Défenseur des Droits, were particularly keen to see it come to fruition. The agreement provides for mutual support, on the part of both organisations, through exchange of experience and information, so as to provide the best possible response to discriminations that may be experienced by our fellow citizens. In this area also, the CSA contributed to the work of the national consultative committee on human rights, whose opinion in relation to combating hate speech on the Internet was adopted in February 2015.

Women's Rights:
Reflection in the Media

Our Women's Rights working group was installed in 2013, with Sylvie Pierre-Brossolette as Chair. The law of 4 August 2014 relating to true gender equality confirmed and supplemented our group's approach to the issue. In June 2013, the CSA had issued a very favourable opinion regarding the broadcasting provisions in the then bill. Under the new law, women's rights are recognized as both, a full-fledged regulation issue, and a specific responsibility on the part of national radio and television networks, be they public or private.

An important series of surveys had already been conducted by the working group in 2014, ahead of this legal development. The results of this initial stock-taking exercise were released in February 2014: they showed insufficient female representation in the media, but also welcomed the inclusion, as early as 2013, by France Televisions, in its contrat d’objectifs et de moyens (objectives and means legal agreement), of numbered commitments regarding women's presence on sets, and in particular, the rate of 30% of female expert guests by end of 2014. A study of women in news programmes, conducted with Institut national de l’audiovisuel during the first quarter of 2014, also highlighted, in particular, a discrepancy between the growing numbers of female journalists, and the second-rate position often granted to their work. Finally, in July, a three-prong study was conducted on female stereotypes in fiction, entertainment, and animation programmes, and provided an overview of preconceived roles in which women may find themselves pigeonholed.

The CSA used this in-depth analysis as a stepping stone for our on-going assessment of ways to implement our new charges under the law of 4 August 2014. 18 meetings were also held, throughout the year, with radio stations and television channels, to identify ways to foster greater female presence in broadcasting which are now the subject of a deliberation dated 2 February 2015. It specifies the conditions in which the annual obligation to broadcast programmes contributing to the fight against gender prejudice and violence against women is to be implemented, as well as quantitative and qualitative information to be provided to the CSA as part of the monitoring of female representation on radio and television, and lists optional undertakings relating to programming and human resources.

Education and the Media:
A Project for the Youth

In 2014, the work of the Broadcasting and Education working group, chaired by Mémona Hintermann-Afféjee, continued to make this crucial issue a mainstay of the regulator's action. In today's audiovisual communication environment, the media's educational potential must be further harvested, using available knowledge-sharing technology, in order to meet society's need to spread desire for knowledge to as vast an audience as possible, and in particular, young people. Audiovisual media consumption has become multiple, interactive, and mobile. Individuals now have access to considerable amounts of information and content; they must be able to approach them critically, while also exercising their freedom of choice. Active support to media literacy is therefore paramount.

To rise to this dual challenge, a new Observatoire,entitled Médias et Éducation was created, based on the model of the Observatoire de la diversité. It was installed on 15 September 2014, under the aegis of the CSA, with Ms. Hélène Carrère-d’Encausse, Secrétaire perpétuel de l’Académie française, as honorary President. It brings together representatives spanning the whole broadcasting industry, and education specialists, both active in the field or in academia. Analyses performed by the Observatoire will provide the working group with insight, especially as education and youth protection are now the remit of a single working group under the Conseil's new organisation as of January 2015.

The merger of these two working groups appeared as a natural development on the occasion of a large symposium, held at the Sorbonne, on the topic of 'Young People and Screens', jointly organised by Françoise Laborde, Chair of the Youth working group, and Mémona Hintermann-Afféjee. On 9 December, in the presence of the Minister for National Education, using as a starting point a study specifically conducted by the CSA for this purpose, two roundtables described young people's relationship with audiovisual communication—in particular those between the ages of 13 and 24—and their consumption's impact on the kind of programmes they are offered. The discussion was also fed by comments and questions from the audience, made up of high school and university students among others. In an effort to match the multiple ways in which media are now accessed, the CSA's annual youth protection campaign was broadcast on television, the Internet, and, for the first time, the radio; movies made for the occasion included situations of exposure to shocking content on new screens, and underscored the importance of inter-generational dialogue.

Independence and Performance:
New Dynamics between Public Broadcasting and Regulation

The 2014 report is structured around two words, 'independence' and 'performance', and aims to clearly reflect the CSA's ambitions for public broadcasting following the significant reform introduced by the law of 15 November 2013. The CSA has regained the essential power to appoint—under a revised process—the Chairs of the public broadcasting companies (sociétés nationales de programme); the law also tasks the CSA with contributing to the definition of the companies' missions described in the companies' contrats d’objectifs et de moyens (objectives and means legal agreements), and monitoring performance thereof. These new responsibilities were performed by the CSA this year.

Appointment of the Chair of Radio France

As the term of office of the Chair of Radio France had expired, 2014 quickly gave the CSA the opportunity to exercise anew its power to appoint public broadcasting companies' (sociétés nationales de programme) Chairs. Mathieu Gallet was unanimously appointed, on 27 February, based on the strategic project (projet stratégique) he presented, as required under law, and following a process defined by the Conseil in compliance with constitutional case-law. Pursuant to law, this young executive's selection was based on his skills and experience in the audiovisual industry—in particular as Chair of Institut national de l’audiovisuel—and on the cogent prospects in the strategic project he defended during his hearing. Subsequently, under another requirement in the new law, as newly-appointed Chair, he forwarded to Parliament a document d'orientation (policy paper), spelling out the objectives he intended to pursue during his term of office, which he also publicly presented to the Assemblée nationale and Sénat committees in charge of cultural affairs.

Besides the usual annual reviews, the CSA assessed Radio France's management against provisions in the company's contrat d’objectifs et de moyens (objectives and means legal agreement) (COM). In its opinion, issued on 24 October 2014, the CSA concluded to compliance, in 2013, with most of the COM's provisions; however, it underlined the late transmission of the rapport d'exécution (performance report), which only reached the CSA several months after the end of the year under review. The new COM—for the 2015-2019 period—is currently under discussion between Radio France and the Government, and will be submitted to the CSA for consultation prior to its execution.

France Télévisions' Four-Yearly Review

Under the new process whereby the CSA appoints the Chairs of the national programme companies (sociétés nationales de programme), the CSA must also forward to Parliament a reasoned opinion regarding the companies' performance, four years into the acting Chair's term of office. The point of the review is to inform Parliament on live issues for the next term of office, and convey the regulator's assessment of them.

The company's terms of reference(cahier des charges), which were amended in 2009, and its contrat d’objectifs et de moyens (objectives and means legal agreement) for the 2011-2015 period, which was amended in 2013, served as the basis for the four-yearly review of France Televisions' performance over the 2010-2014 period which the CSA published on 10 December 2014. The review was supplemented by numerous hearings—and more particularly that of Chairman Pflimlin. The Conseil found that, over the four-year period, the group had maintained significant audience shares, remained a reference for news, and significantly invested in new content. However, the report also pointed out insufficient differentiation between programmes offered by the public service's channels and those offered by private services, as well as insufficiently clearly stated identities for each channel in the public service package. Finally, the Conseil welcomed the group's digital endeavours and noteworthy actions in favour of women's rights, but also underlined that further active cost control and governance clarification were needed. 

Economic regulation:
STAKEHOLDERS' security and viability

In 2014, economic regulation was at the heart of the CSA's action and work. On 2 October, to illustrate this aspect, the CSA welcomed to its headquarters representatives spanning all stakeholders in the audiovisual industry for a seminar entitled L’audiovisuel : enjeu économique (the audiovisual industry: an economic challenge). Organised as a study day, it was opened by the Minister for Culture, concluded by the President of the Republic, and was the occasion for a rich and lively conversation. The morning session was devoted to the audiovisual industry's economic position and growth outlook in the context of a widely open international digital environment; the afternoon session broached the CSA's regulation aims and tools. In the wake of this first meeting, the CSA intends to hold, at its headquarters, a regular cycle of topical seminars to explore issues such as, e.g., European cooperation, the international promotion of French audiovisual works, and new digital audiovisual services.

In 2014, more specifically, among the many economic issues the CSA dealt with, two were particulary wide-ranging and had significant import: the first one was the viability of the DTT platform; the second was the growth of radio as a medium.

The CSA's 2014 public report is also the first implementation of the requirement—under the new drafting of article 18 of the law of 30 September 1986 as amended—to include an impact analysis of airwave management decisions, in particular from an economic perspective.

The DTT Platform:
Scarce Available Airwaves

45% of France's inhabitants receive television through terrestrial airwaves only. More broadly, DTT is present in 60% of households, and it is the main source of economic support for French audiovisual and cinema production. The CSA, therefore, lends rigorous attention to development issues pertaining to DTT. In 2014, it focused mainly on two sensitive and long-ranging issues, involving two essential commodities for the DTT platform: advertising and airwave availability.

The first of these two issues was changes to national DTT channels' funding. 

Following amendment, under the law of 15 November 2013, of article 42-3 of the law of 30 September 1986, three companies licensed to broadcast a national DTT pay service requested the CSA to approve changing their service into a free-to-air service, i.e., no longer funded by subscriptions but, rather, by the sale of advertising slots. In view of the potential effect of such a change on the free-to-air DTT market, the law provides for a specific process, whereby the project is analysed and its impact assessed, in particular from an economic perspective. On 28 July, having carried out investigations for almost six months, heard applicant channels and third parties wishing to express their views at public hearings, and prepared the three impact studies required under law, the Conseil issued decisions rejecting channels LCI's, Paris Première's, and Planète Plus' requests.

In the decisions, the Conseil noted that no significant advertising market recovery was expected in the short term, and that mid-term prospects remained uncertain. Account was also taken of the still fragile financial positions of several free-to-air channels, in particular, those that are not backed by a large group. Finally, in the Conseil'sanalysis, the arrival of one or several additional free-to-air channel(s) would not lead to significantly higher TV consumption, and would likely, therefore, result in audience transfers to the detriment of existing free-to-air channels.

For all of the above reasons, the Conseil ruled that, as of the date of the decisions, conditions were not met to grant the applicants authorisation to switch to free-to-air broadcasting. However, the Conseil specified that more favourable market positions would justify re-examination of the applications. The Conseil, subsequently,supported and closely followed the services' endeavours to continue broadcasting on the pay DTT platform, and on packages offered by distributors of audiovisual services.

The second important issue regarding DTT, in 2014, was the platform's technological restructuring, as had already been the case in 2013, and probably will be again, in 2015. This is due to the Government's decision to set aside—for mobile telephone services' use—the so-called 700 MHz band, i.e., 30% of the airwaves currently allocated to audiovisual media.

In an opinion to the Government, dated 26 November 2014, the Conseil pointed out that, besides being important for audiovisual media users, national DTT services are, currently, the most important source of support for French cinema and audiovisual production. Significant constraints also bear on the proposed reallocation, in particular, the implementation deadline of 1 July 2019. The Conseil also underlined that, as high speed digital infrastructure, the platform's viability should be ensured, especially, when considering that the deployment of six new DTT channels, which received a licence in 2012, has not yet been fully completed. Legislative steps, in particular, will be necessary to support such a wide-ranging overhaul through household equipment assistance, modernisation of broadcasting and coding technologies, and the gradual switch-over to high definition and ultra high definition.

To evaluate all requirements precisely, and contribute to the industry's, the users', and policy makers' better information, the Conseil initiated wide-ranging consultation. Contributions were collected at the end of February 2015. In the meantime, before the results are known, in view of the future reduction in the number of multiplexes in mainland France (métropole)—when reallocation of the 700 band has been completed—the Conseil has decided to stay the 12thand second but last deployment phase of the new DTT channels, which was initially due to start on 7 April 2015 in the départements of Savoie. The 13^th and last deployment phase, which is to take place in the rest of région Rhône-Alpes, remains set at 2 June.

This context of uncertainty notwithstanding, development of the DTT platform remains a priority for the CSA.

Wider use of MPEG-4, in particular, will allow frequencies to be released, despite the reduction in the number of multiplexes. This may allow—following a public consultation and an impact study—the issuance of an invitation for applications (appel à candidatures) for the development of high definition, and, possibly even, new services, where enough frequencies have been released.

Local television channels, which currently serve 46 million people in France, are also an important issue in relation to the platform's growth. In order to rise to the complex challenge of fostering dynamic local television channels, the Local Television working group, chaired by Nicolas About, is particularly attentive to feedback from the whole territory. In March 2014, licenses to broadcast were awarded to two services in the areas of Montpellier and Nancy, and a frequency was set aside by the Government for the broadcasting of France 24 in région Île-de-France. Also in the capital's region, an invitation for applications was issued by the Conseil,in relation to an additional frequency, for which 14 applications were received. Selection will be finalized in 2015, as will also be the case of invitations for applications issued in 2014 in collectivités Antilles and Réunion.

Local television development requires entrepreneurs taking risks; the CSA's role is to support them in their endeavours. The medium's economic well-being is still fragile, in France, but also abroad. Under the law of 15 November 2013, the Conseil is required to draw up an annual status report relating to the development and funding of television channels targeting local populations. The 2014 report found them to be generally dependent on public funding, except for channels in Île-de-France, which, by virtue of the large audiences in their coverage areas, have access to private funding from national advertisers purchasing their advertising slots. The Conseil also pointed out local television channels' generally weak budget capacities and profitability, and, consequently, their difficulty in obtaining banking support.

Radio: Concentration Regulation;
Densification; Digitization

The road map which had been presented on 25 November 2013 during the Assises de la radio was implemented by the CSA in 2014. Action was taken on three fronts: modernisation of anti-trust rules; analogue broadcasting optimisation; and digital broadcasting expansion. This full and structuring agenda was steered by the Radio working group, with Patrice Gélinet as Chair, under the industry's watchful eye.

The Conseil's report relating to radio concentration rules was forwarded to Parliament in April 2014. The report stressed that, while concentration control is necessary in order to guarantee audiovisual communication plurality and independence, modernisation of the current rules' main feature—the concentration cap—should be given consideration. Under the current cap, a single person may not have at their disposal analogue off-air networks whose cumulative coverage exceeds 150,000,000 inhabitants or 20% of the potential cumulative audiences of all radio services, whether public or private, analogue or digital. This is only partially fitted to the new challenges on the radio market: not only does the rule not take into account the exponential growth of Internet radio listening, its national dimension, also, does not capture local pluralism challenges, and does not allow for a precise response to them, even though they are determining factors for local media. The Conseil, therefore, submits that a reform, or even a repeal of the cap, warrants consideration by Parliament. Concentration regulation could be achieved instead through invitations for applications (appels à candidatures) and control of mergers and acquisitions between services; ex ante regulation of operators identified as powerful could also apply, where necessary.

Dynamic and pluralistic radio requires efficient concentration regulation so that, in turn, competition may be effective. Optimal technical and technological conditions are also required for growth. To achieve this, the CSA must optimise FM band usage, and further the deployment of digital terrestrial radio.

In certain areas of France, under current frequency planning, the FM band is fully saturated. The CSA has put forward a proposal for densification of the FM band, implying a complete overhaul of current planning methods. Radio stations' technical needs are being evaluated by an operational working group, through a series of numerous meetings steered by the Conseil's Directorate for Technologies. The group's work is structured around two objectives: identifying selection principles for geographical areas that will be subject to an invitation for applications (appel à candidatures), taking listeners' and editors' needs into account; the second, is to anlayse frequency planning technical principles, in order to identify possible amendments. The outcome of these exchanges will provide the basis for a public consultation which will be held prior to any possible frequency planning reshuffle.

In parallel, the Conseil continued to search for available frequencies, and to issue invitations for applications (appels à candidatures), such as, e.g., in the geographical jurisdictions of the Lyon and Caen comités territoriaux de l’audiovisuel; as required under the law of 15 November 2013, given the potential effect the invitations for applications may have in the given markets, impact studies are under way in some areas.

Beyond off-air network enhancement, the regulator's work, in 2014, focused on radio digitization. In October, the Conseil noted that, out of the 14 digital terrestrial radio multiplexes that had been awarded a license in 2013, in the areas of Marseilles, Nice, and Paris, 13 had been commissioned; they now broadcast over 100 programmes, for the most part in the DAB+ standard adopted in August 2013. From a practical point of view, therefore, digital terrestrial broadcasting was, in fact, launched in 2014. It would be premature, however, to assign it a precise preconceived role between the incumbent FM base and the growing use of Radio over IP, in particular thanks to mobile applications.

The CSA's report Évolution des modes de diffusion de la radio : quel rôle pour la diffusion numérique terrestre ? (changing radio broadcasting modes: what role for digital terrestrial broadcasting) is precisely devoted to that question. It was forwarded to Government, and published, on 21 January 2015, following several months of hearings and a last round of public consultation. The aim is to provide insight into all radio broadcasting opportunities. The report also recalls lawmakers' desire, expressed on four occasions, to develop digital terrestrial radio in France, and the regulator's responsibility to implement it while ensuring balance in the industry is preserved. New invitations for applications (appels à candidatures) will be prepared by the Conseil, in 2015, in order to further this development.

The Impact of Licenses
Issued by the CSA

One of the focuses of the law of 15 November 2013 is how regulation is achieved; the law introduced the requirement to perform an impact study before any major airwave management decision can be made. It also provides for an ex post management account by the CSA, as part of its annual public report. The 2013 report was the first implementation of this requirement; in 2014, it is met in a more detailed and precise manner, by means of a 35-page study included in the report. As regards radio, the Conseil indicates, from the very beginning, that a pluriannual basis is better suited to perform the ex post impact assessment of licences to use frequencies issued in 2014. As regards television, however, the impact of licences for the operation of six new high definition national DTT channels, issued in 2012, may be performed more precisely in 2014.

Programme economics:
The CSA's Year in Sports

The steady inflation in sports broadcasting rights raises critical issues for editors; competition is fierce among them, and increasingly high and risky investments are made.

This may lead to fair competition issues, as was the case, for instance, this year, for the rights to rugby's Top 14. On 30 July 2014, France's Autorité de la concurrence (competition authority) issued a decision on the matter, for which it sought and took account of the CSA's opinion, which itself followed the report of our Economics of the Broadcasting Industry working group, then chaired by Emmanuel Gabla.

The situation on the sports rights market also raises the sensitive issue of the public's access to sports news, as major sporting events are increasingly broadcast by thematic pay services, to the detriment of free-to-air general purpose television channels. In 2012, the conditions for the broadcasting of short clips of sporting events were set forth in the French Code du sport; they transfered from the Government to the CSA the responsibility to guarantee that exercise by sports rights owners' of their right to trade them do not constitute a barrier to the public's information. Implementation of the CSA's first deliberation, dated 15 January 2013, quickly showed that greater balance was needed between the public's rights, television channels' editorial freedom, and trading of sporting rights. Very extensive consultation, steered over 18 months by Christine Kelly, as the head of the CSA's Sports taskforce, led to the adoption of a new deliberation, dated 30 October 2014, fostering use of short clips, depending on events and programmes, and supporting diversity in sports, in particular, women's sports and disability sports.

It is an innovative project which speaks directly to the issue of audiovisual media coverage of women's sports. Current coverage is insufficient, especially when compared to the public's growing interest in women's sports, and when considering how crucial media coverage is for female athletes' fame and funding. In January 2014, the CSA published a first study pointing these challenges out; in its wake, we organized an unprecedented eventcalled Les 24 heures du sport féminin. The 24 heures have already taken place twice, on 1 February 2014 and 27 January 2015, with the support of the Government and sports professionals. French and French-speaking audiovisual media conducted a week-long awareness raising campaign, prior to the event, and on the day of the event itself, broadcast special programming devoted to women's sports, in order to kickstart better coverage.

cultural diversity:
FOR an ambitious long-TERM REFORM

The conversation regarding reform of the various schemes in place to support new audiovisual content markedly intensified in 2014; these schemes form one of the pillars of France's cultural exception. Adapting them to new media consumption has become urgent, whether it be video on-demand, or on-line music; more broadly, they must be better suited to the globalised context in which audiovisual works are to move and spread.

Changing Schemes to Support
New Content

In 2013, we collected numerous contributions on all aspects of the various schemes supporting the creation of musical, cinema, and audiovisual content. All highlighted the need for a holistic reform, so as to rise to the challenges of digitization and globalization of communication.

As regards music, in a study released in January 2014, the CSA restated that a critical review of radio stations' obligations to broadcast French-language songs was needed, and that greater flexibility and efficiency should be sought. This all the more necessary as, under European law and directives, new online players are, neither considered to be radio stations, nor on-demand audiovisual media services, and are, therefore, not associated with schemes aimed at enhancing French-language songs.

As regards audiovisual services' contribution to cinema production, following intense negociations, led by the CSA, between cinema industry professional organisations and service OCS, 2013 ended with the execution of a supplemental agreement to the channel's convention (legal agreement). Further negociations between audiovisual services and cinema industry professional organisations will start once the arrêté of 9 July 2009 relating to the mandatory sequence of media releases (chronologie des médias) has been modernized. The proposed new sequence will be put to the CSA, which must be consulted in this regard. The CSA is of the view that the new sequence of media releases must both, be adapted to new audiovisual consumption, and take into account the respective positions of all stakeholders in the cinema funding chain.

Finally, as regards audiovisual production, the Conseil'sconveyed its opinion in relation to the conditions for a reform of support schemes, on two occasions. First, as part of its April 2014 report, entitled Les soutiens à la production cinématographique et audiovisuelle : des changements nécessaires (support to cinema and audiovisual production: necessary amendments), the Conseil provided an answer to the French Cour des comptes (court of auditors).

Then, on 2 December, following a wide-ranging consultation of stakeholders, the Conseil forwarded its opinion to Government with respect to a draft décret amending television services' scheme to contribute to the production of audiovisual works. The purpose of this amendment is to implemement greater flexibility in the scheme governing television services' contribution to independent audiovisual production, as provided for in the law of 15 November 2013. Under the law, television channels may now own producers' shares in works funded by them under their obligation to invest in independent production. Thanks to this new feature, channels can continue to trade for profit works they have substantially funded, beyond their own programme broadcasting cycle. In the opinion, the Conseil restated two points that in our view are essential. First, the scheme governing broadcasters' obligations to invest in audiovisual production must foster consolidation in the production industry; this, however, must not be seen as going against preserving diversity in the kind of companies operating the industry, or new entrants. Second, the regulatory framework must be conducive to optimal movement and exposure of French and European programmes, so as to ensure their national and international success. This means, in particular, that a funding editor must have the option to hold marketing rights to a work, subject, however, to the executive producer's express consent thereto. Absent a specific provision to that effect in the editor's convention (legal agreement) or cahier des charges (terms of reference)—that would necessarily have to take industry agreements into account—the editor would only be allowed marketing rights where the producer does not have distribution capabilities, in respect of the relevant work, capable of ensuring equivalent marketing conditions. More broadly, the Conseil stressed the importance of legal agreements (conventions)in ensuring efficient steering of editors' investment in independent production. Finally, the CSA underlined that, notwithstanding the significant progress introduced by the law of 15 November 2013 and its draft implementation décret, an overall reform of the audiovisual production support scheme must be initiated taking into account the various positions of all players in the industry.

On-Demand Audiovisual Media Services:
Fostering a Holistic Reform

As of 2014, a holistic reform is still awaited in relation to legal provisions governing on-demand audiovisual media services, and more specifically, their contribution to audiovisual content creation.

The law of 15 November 2013 has specified the CSA's regulation of on-demand audiovisual media services, and made it easier; under the law, on-demand audiovisual media services must now register with the Conseil,prior to start of operation (déclaration préalable), and may settle disputes before the Conseil. However, more broadly, to enable full growth of these new media, legal provisions governing on-demand audiovisual media services must be adapted to the specifities of the digital economy, and its strong competition, in particular from extraterritorial players. These recommendations were included in its review of the implementation of the 2010 décret, which the Conseil forwarded to Government in December 2013. In June 2014, in line with our recommendations, the Ministry for Culture and Communication opened a consultation on possible amendments to the décret.

In autumn of 2014, the arrival on the French market of a new global video on-demand subscription service, established in a Member State of the European Union where regulation is less stringent, also served to highlight the kind of competition distorsions that may arise where the 'country of establishment' principle—under the audiovisual media services directive—is applied in its current form. ERGA, the European Regulators Group for Audiovisual Media Services—which was installed on 3 February 2014, under the aegis of the European Commission—has tasked a working group, chaired by the CSA, to explore this territorial application issue.

More broadly, concomitantly with the French Conseil d’État's annual study devoted to Numérique et droits fondamentaux (fundamental rights in the digital age), the CSA explored issues raised by the expansion of digital audiovisual services, in terms of communication freedom, upholding the principles of the rule of law, and promoting cultural diversity.

On-demand audiovisual media services, and more specifically, subscription on-demand audiovisual media services, increasingly use recommendation algorithms to better grasp what users are looking for and earn their loyalty. These algorithms are fed by personal data and identify individual preferences. Apart from privacy concerns, these technologies also raise issues regarding their impact on cultural diversity. The consequences this new form of editing may have on the diversity of works suggested to viewers must be carefully considered, so as to avoid the pitfall of users being closed-in inside their own inclinations. This was pointed out by Olivier Schrameck on several occasions this year, such as, e.g., at MIPCOM, on 7 April, and at the Forum de Tokyo, on 5 December.

Promoting cultural diversity is also closely associated with the issue of net neutrality. Growing bandwith use to access new audiovisual content has become an economic and an industrial challenge for all players in Europe, as well as in the United States. In this context, in December 2014, the CSA reiterated its position regarding the issue of net neutrality in the contributions it made to the public consultation organised by France's Conseil national du numérique.

In the CSA's view, equal treatment of data flows by ISPs guarantees communication freedom; it ensures plurality and diversity, and is essential to innovation and competitiveness. However, not discriminating flows does not entirely preclude any public policy in favour of cultural exception. In this respect, distributors of audiovisual services, in particular ISPs and their managed services, appear as strategic players; as such, their legal definition should be made more precise and their regulation improved. For instance, the CSA suggests that services contributing to new content funding and cultural diversity promotion should benefit, under a legal agreement (convention), from a right to be carried (droit de reprise) in distributors' offers. Finally, the CSA underlines that the issue of net neutrality should not be limited to telecommunications operators' networks, but should also include the crucial role now played by new distributors, such as large digital platforms.

What Kind of Cultural Programming for Public Television?

Public broadcasting must be exemplary in terms of cultural programming. This conviction on the part of the Conseil was the reason behind a specific survey of cultural programmes on group France Télévisions' channels, conducted in 2014, and published in July. The survey found that even though cultural programmes on public service channels are plentiful and, at 9,000 broadcast hours, make up over a fourth of their programming, classical knowledge, such as arts and literature, is greatly under-represented and under-exposed. It only represents 8% of cultural programmes, and, three times out of four, it is programmed between midnight and six a.m. This only apt characterisation of this is: too little, too late. The Conseil put forward various areas of action for better enhancement of these programmes—in particular, promotion and teaching—which ought to be included to France Télévisions' obligations under regulatory provisions, and in its legal agreement (convention).

For the Conseil supérieur de l'audiovisuel,2014 was a particularly rich year, during which the regulator's views with respect to three key issues—economic development, social cohesion, and cultural diversity—were consolidated and matured. In 2015, the CSA will share its insight about these issues with others, and in particular, with the group of European regulators; this year, again, the CSA will act as Chair of the group, and host the members in Paris this April, following two plenary sessions in Brussels, in March and October of 2014. It is, in fact, at the European level that the future of audiovisual communication will be formed, through promotion and development of a wide area of freedom, culture, and peace, resisting the assaults of ignorance and brutality that recently struck European countries, and in particular, France.