Television is faced with structural economic changes, in particular with the multiplication of the number of channels, the change in consumption methods or the arrival of new players such as Internet access providers. This round table made it possible to confront the points of view between theorists (Nathalie Sonnac, Michel Mougeot) and practitioners of the sector like Nelly Favrat, Deputy Director of Deputy of TV8 Montblanc.
Television is faced with structural economic changes and the sector was turned upside down by the emergence of network technologies and the digitization of content. These new developments question both upstream the organization of the media industries market and downstream the structuring of cultural consumption practices.
The theorists present (Nathalie Sonnac, Michel Mougeot) underlined the main developments in the sector:
- The multiplication of the number of channels ;
- Changing consumption methods ;
- The increase in the costs of acquiring the most sought after programs (sport, cinema, major series) ;
- The entry of new players, including internet service providers.
The digitization therefore presides over a set of transformations in terms of practices and in terms of uses. Access conditions have increased, including a multiplication of diffusion services (ADSLsatellite, cable…). In addition, digital provides self -production means. These elements found a new era and modify the economic rules and therefore the competitive environment of the media economy. Thus, with the joint development of the Tnt (since March 2005) and theADSLviewers have access to an extended offer that fragments the offer but also the advertising market. This new offer is the result of traditional players in the sector but also new entrants, in particular Faifor which television is only one job among others. We have notably seen Orange compete with the dominant actor of paid television in France, and even almost unique since its merger with TimeCanal +, gradually constituting premium bouquets capable of competing with the offer of Canal +.
On the consumption side, we can cite the development of interactivity and above all consumption “ non-linear »In the form of television on demand or pay-per-view.
In this context, we are witnessing an evolution of the traditional television model, whether free televisions funded by advertising or paid television. The traditional model, in which paid televisions are exclusively buying premium programs, is perhaps weakened. The question of financing a public television by the fee has also been the subject of a keen debate.
Representing practitioners of the sector, Nelly Favrat, Deputy Managing Director of TV8 Montblanc, above all, endeavored to expose the difficulties to impose a local chain in this increasingly fractional landscape. Thus, the absence of daily audience surveys by Médiamétrie decreases the visibility of local televisions, which only have investigations by waves similar to what is done for radio.
At the beginning of 2009, Orange wanted to reserve certain channels of its orange bouquet to the subscribers of its offer Fai. In this context, seized for opinion in January 2009 by the Minister of the Economy, the Competition Authority generally examined the exclusivity relations between activities of electronic communication operators and distribution of content and services.
The authority declares itself favorable to the entry of new players on the market for paid television but believes that the response must be sought elsewhere than in the economic model of the double exclusivity claimed by Orange. She notably calls for the development of self -distribution (economic model adopted by Canal+, which distributes its bouquet not only on its own satellite platform, but on other channels – ADSLcable, etc.) and the regulation of the wholesale market of paid channels used to constitute the bouquets.