02-07-2022, 07:59 PM
With the summer season underway, and the jokers starting to appear on screen, the French TV new season starts to surprise:
More information to come...
- Canal+ has renewed its exclusive contract with Cyril Hanouna and his company H2O Productions until 2025. This means Touche pas à mon poste ! will remain on C8 until at least 2025, as well as producing new shows and specials for the group's TNT channel; the first one, Objectif Top 100, will involve him on taking new challenges; the first shows involving him playing paddle are being recorded; additionally, the debate show, Face à Baba, originally created for the presidential election, has been renewed for a second, longer season, replacing Balance ton post !; the show will retain the same format, but now will feature interviews with the gamut of public French personalities instead of only politicians.
- François Busnel is leaving France 5's La grande librairie, citing a need to focus on his new producing career, which included his first documentary film on Jim Harrison; he will remain with France Télévisions to host the La p'tite librairie mini-show, as well as the oral contest Si on lisait à voix haute. His successor is being TBA, but Busnel has asked FTV to select a personality who can continue on the line of his presentation style.
- Patricia Loison is leaving franceinfo TV's Le 23h to focus on her family and philanthropy projects; her slot will be taken over by Alexandra Uzan; additionally, the long-form news programme (which replaced Soir 3 under heavy controversy in 2019) will be extended to two hours and begin at 22h.
- After the controversy surrounding France Télévisions to send C à vous' Mohammed Bouafsi to cover the Macron trip to Ukraine, as well as the imminent abolition of the license fee, France Télévisions' newsroom has signed a motion of no confidence against VP of News and Current Affairs Laurent Guimier, and, after an internal vote, this motion was confirmed; however, FTV Director General Delphine Ernotte has decided against sacking the Europe 1 veteran from his post.
- As told in The Sport Thread, Canal+ has won the exclusive rights to UEFA Champions League fixtures, as well as those from the Europa and Europa Conference Leagues, both on linear pay-TV and streaming. The record 480 million euro deal also allows for sublicensing deal; however, Canal+ won't air the Final on an FTA basis, being beaten by M6, who offered 12 million euros for the 2025, 2026 and 2027 finals. The RTL channel, soon to be merged with TF1, will complete its exclusive coverage of European football, already composed of France team matches and two UEFA Euro editions.
- In other news related to the TF1/M6 merger, the Bouygues division has sold its pure player website division Unify to the Reworld Media group. Many of their journalists have condemned the transaction, given Reworld Media's poor record on content, prioritising commercial and clickbait-leaning journalism, including a focus on branded content; this situation led to the walkout of over 100 journalists of the Science & Vie magazine to establish their own magazine.
- As part of Natacha Polony's sacking from BFM TV, the big winners are Yves Calvi and Aurélie Casse. The Calvi 3D slot is being extended to 20h30, with Aurélie Casse's BFM News also extending to 90 minutes and beginning immediately after. Otherwise, the rest of the schedule will remain as is for the rentrée.
- Libération editor and publisher Denis Olivennes has been hired by Public Sénat to front the third incarnation of its books and literary programme. A slot installed by need of Public Sénat's founder Jean-Pierre Elkabbach, who presented it as Bibliothèque Médicis during the first 19 years, the show was relaunched for the first time in 2018 (as part of their massive channel relaunch), as Livres & vous, first presented by Adèle Van Reeth (who, coincidentally, has been named France Inter's content director starting next season) and later by Guillaume Erner.
- More dramatic changes coming to LCI: BFM TV veteran Thomas Misrachi and LCI veteran Marie-Aline Meliyi are out, replaced by political commentator Elizabeth Martichoux, who moves to the 9h/12h, in an attempt to offer a more political focus to the slot. Additionally, LCI has announced their new morning line-up, with Stefan Etcheverry anchoring solo and Adrien Gindre filling Martichoux's spot. Additionally, given his popularity after filling in on legislative election Sunday on TF1, Ange Noiret has been promoted as weekday weather presenter at LCN 26 and stand-in presenter over at the main channel, replacing Karine Fauvet.
More information to come...