France 24 (formerly the Chaine Française d'Information Internationale (CFII) before July 2006, or French International News Network in English), officially pronounced France Vingt-Quatre, is a French government-funded global 24-hour satellite and cable TV news channel. It was launched on 6 December 2006 at 20:29 in Paris.
| Country | France |
|---|---|
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Groupe TF1 and France Télévisions |
| Key people | Alain de Pouzilhac |
Corporate structure
It is run by a partnership between Groupe TF1 and France Télévisions (including France 2 and France 3), with some programmes sourced from Agence France-Presse, Radio France Internationale, TV5MONDE, Arte, EuroNews, and La Chaîne parlementaire. It is funded by France with an annual budget of approximately €80 million and is based in in Issy-les-Moulineaux, Paris.
Channel reception
France 24 will be available by satellite to most of Europe, Africa, and the Middle East, as well as by cable and antenna to New York and Washington, D.C.. Both the French and the French/English channels are available live on the France 24 website, broadcast en direct in Windows Media format.
Programming
France 24 will be broadcast on two channels, one in French, the other predominantly in English with 4 to 6 hours of French per day. Arabic and Spanish programming will be added in the course of 2007. Along with 170 journalists of its own, France 24 can call on the resources of the two main French broadcasters (Groupe TF1 and France Télévisions) as well as partners such as AFP. The CEO of France 24 is Alain de Pouzilhac, and its journalist staff includes former ITN presenter Mark Owen.
Long-term France 24 goals
France 24 intends to give a different view of the news than the Anglophone BBC World and CNN International, which grew in importance with the Iraq war. France 24 wants to put more emphasis on debate, dialogue and the role of cultural difference.
The French government has allocated around €100 million for the project. The European Commission gave the green light to France 24 in June, saying it did not breach European Union state aid rules.