TF1

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TF1
Image:TF1 Logo.gif
Formerly Called	Radio-PTT Vision (1935-1939), Fernsehsender Paris (1943-1944), Télévision française (1946-1963), La première chaîne (1963-1974, in RTF and ORTF times)
Launched:	13 February 1935
Audience Share in 2004:	31.9% <ref>Source: Médiamétrie</ref>
Owned By:	TF1 Group
Web Address:	www.tf1.fr
Availability
Terrestrial Analogue:	SECAM, Normally tuned to 1(in France)
Terrestrial Digital:	TNT (Tèlèvision Numèrique Terrestre Française) Channel 1 in France
Satellite:	Atlantic bird 3 (Analogue), TPS Channel 1 (Digital)
Cable:	Yes

TF1 is a private French TV network, controlled by TF1 Group, which is majority owned by Bouygues. TF1's 35% average market share, achieved on the ménagères de moins de 50 ans audience segment (house-wives less than 50 years old) makes it the most popular domestic network. TF1 is the crown jewel of the TF1 Group of mass media companies, which also includes Eurosport, the largest European sports network.

Together with France Télévisions, TF1 will co-manage the new French 24-hour international news channel, Chaîne française d'information internationale (CFII), known in English as the French International News Network.

TF1 originally stood for Télévision Française 1 (French television 1) but the abbreviation is no more expanded today, especially since the 1987 privatization and since this would introduce a confusion with France Télévisions.

1 Criticism
2 Trivia
3 Programs
4 References
5 External links

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Criticism

Critics of TF1 contend that its news coverage is slanted towards supporting right-wing politicians — they were in particular accused of supporting Édouard Balladur in the 1995 presidential elections, and of overstating crime during the 2002 electoral campaign to tilt the balance in favor of incumbent president Jacques Chirac, who campaigned on law-strengthening proposals. Immigration and violence are still amalgamated in most of the channel's news programmes. Heads and famous journalists of TF1 are close friends to some of the most powerful politicians in France. TF1 gives them a hand before elections - Nicolas Sarkozy is a redundant guest of the channel - and expects from them a more liberal legislation on media matters, if not a bonus for Bouygues when a public contract must be signed.

In addition, it is occasionally alleged that news reports from TF1 tend to ignore issues yielding a bad light on their parent group (Bouygues), while stressing problems of competitors (such as VINCI).

They also contend that TF1's news coverage focusses on anecdotes and on sensationalism, and that their programming often deserves the trash TV name. Getting a 40% market share on every program is TF1's primary objective, dictated by the necessity of justifying advertising prices, so shows which fail this benchmark significantly get off air very quickly. France has no tabloid papers but that side of the media industry is widely overtaken by TV - and especially TF1 - there.

Such criticism is heavy in the satirical show Les Guignols de l'Info, broadcast on rival private network Canal Plus. However, TF1 now competes inthis category with M6, which was initially a generalist channel focusing on musical programs, but now has programming more resembling TF1 (notably, reality shows that TF1 started running just after M6 introduced them).

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Trivia

On Friday, November 19 2004, Béatrice Schönberg, a news anchor of the public France 2 network had a tongue slippage when relating a major problem which occurred on the Bouygues Télécom cellular network. She said Bouygues télé conne, before confusingly correcting herself; this translates into moronic Bouygues télévision.

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