Key Benefits:
The Prime Minister,
On the report of the Minister of Culture and Communications,
Having regard to the Directive of the Council of the European Communities 89/522/EEC of 3 October 1989 on the coordination of certain legislative, regulatory and administrative provisions of the Member States relating to the exercise of television broadcasting activities, as amended by Directive 97/36/EC of the European Parliament and the Council of 30 June 1997, in particular Article 3 bis;
Having regard to the European Convention on Transboundary Television, open for signature on 5 May 1989, amended by the Protocol adopted by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe on 9 September 1998, open for acceptance by the Parties to the Convention on 1 October 1998, including its Article 9 bis, together with Acts No. 94-542 of 28 June 1994 and No. 2001-1210 of 20 December 2001, which authorize approval and Decrees No. 95-438 of 28 April 2002
Having regard to the agreement on the European Economic Area signed in Porto on 2 May 1992 and the protocol on the adaptation of this agreement signed in Brussels on 17 March 1993, including its annex X, together with Act No. 93-1274 of 2 December 1993 which authorizes its ratification and Decree No. 94-43 of 1 February 1994 which publishes it;
Having regard to Act No. 86-1067 of 30 September 1986 on freedom of communication, including article 20-2;
Considering the letter of 7 April 2004 of the European Commission on the draft measures transmitted by France for the implementation of Article 3 bis of Directive 89/552/EEC, as amended by Directive 97/36/EC;
The State Council (inland section) heard,
Decrete:
This Order sets out the conditions under which television service publishers must ensure the exclusive retransmission of major events so that a significant part of the public is not deprived of the possibility of following them on a free-access television service.
For the application of this title, is viewed as:
(a) "Free access television services publisher": any publisher of a television service whose funding does not involve remuneration from users and whose programming may be actually received by at least 85% of the households in Metropolitan France;
(b) "Restricted Access Television Service Editor": any publisher of a television service that does not meet the two conditions set out in the preceding paragraph.
The list of events under section 20-2 of the Act of 30 September 1986 referred to above is as follows:
1° Summer and Winter Olympic Games;
2° The matches of the French football team listed in the International Federation of Football Association (FIFA) calendar;
3° The opening match, the semifinals and the final of the World Cup of Football;
4° The semifinals and the final of the European Football Championship;
5° The final of the European Union Cup of Association Football (UEFA) when a sporting group registered in one of the French championships takes part in it;
6° The League of Football Champions Final;
7° The final of the French Football Cup;
8° Six Nations rugby tournament;
9° The semifinals and the final of the rugby World Cup;
10° The French Rugby Championship Final;
11° The final of the rugby European Cup when a sporting group in one of the French championships takes part in it;
12° The finals of the simple gentlemen and ladies of the Roland-Garros tennis tournament;
13° The semifinals and finals of the Davis Cup and the Fed Cup when the French tennis team takes part in it;
14° The Grand Prix de France de Formula 1 ;
15° The Tour de France cyclist masculine ;
16° The “Paris-Roubaix” cycling competition;
17° The men's and women's finals of the European Basketball Championship when the team of France takes part in it;
18° The men's and women's finals of the world basketball championship when the team of France takes part in it;
19° The men's and women's finals of the European Handball Championship when the team of France takes part in it;
20° The men's and women's finals of the Handball World Championship when the French team participates in it;
21° The World Athletics Championships.
The exercise by a television service publisher, in French territory, of the rights of broadcasting acquired on an exclusive basis, after 23 August 1997, on one of the major events mentioned in the previous article cannot hinder the retransmission of this event by a free-access television service, which must then be integral and insured live, except in the following cases:
1° The retransmission of the event mentioned at the 15th of Article 3 may be limited at significant times, in accordance with the use of the broadcast of this event;
2° The retransmission of the events referred to in 1st and 21st of section 3 may be limited at times representative of the diversity of the sporting disciplines and participating countries and ensured in deferred when the trials take place simultaneously;
3° Retransmission of major events may also be ensured on a postponed basis when the event takes place between 0 and 6 hours, French time, provided that its broadcast in France begins before 10 hours;
The fact, for a publisher of limited-access television services using remuneration from users and whose programming may be received under the conditions referred to in article 2 of this Decree, is to broadcast this event in full and live, subject to the provisions that precede, without subjecting it to special access conditions, is not considered as an obstacle to the retransmission of a major event by a free-access television service.
In order to allow the retransmission of a major event by a publisher of free-access television services under the conditions set out in section 4, a publisher of exclusive broadcasting rights television services for any or part of a major event that is not in a position to comply with these conditions must, within a reasonable time prior to the event, formulate, according to the terms and conditions of publicity allowing the information of the free-air publishers of This offer must be made in fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory terms and conditions of market.
If, in response to this offer, no proposal from a television service publisher is made, or if the proposal is not formulated in terms and conditions of fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory markets, the proprietary publisher may exercise these without meeting the conditions set out in section 4.
The provisions of this title apply to publishers of television services under the jurisdiction of France that provide television broadcasting, in the territory of another State, a member of the European Union, a party to the agreement on the European Economic Area or a party to the European Convention on Transboundary Television, of an event designated by that State as of major importance to the society of that country within the meaning of the provisions of Directive 89/55.
Television publishers under the jurisdiction of France shall exercise, in a State referred to in Article 6, the rights of broadcasting acquired on a major event, as defined by that State, in a manner that does not deprive a significant part of the public of the possibility of following these events live or in deferred, on a television service to free access within the meaning of the provisions of Article 3 bis of the directive of October 3, 1989.
When a television service publisher under the jurisdiction of France ensures the retransmission of a major event in one of the States referred to in Article 6, it must meet the conditions set by that State for the retransmission of the event by the television service publisher.
The Conseil supérieur de l'audiovisuel, which is supported by a television service publisher or its own initiative, may render an opinion on the conditions for the application of the provisions of this decree.
A decree in the Conseil d'Etat ulterior will set the list of events of major importance and the conditions of their television broadcast for overseas departments, Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon, Mayotte, Nouvelle-Calédonie, French Polynesia and the Wallis and Futuna Islands, taking into account, inter alia, the specificities of each of these communities and the technical characteristics of the television broadcast overseas.
The Minister of Culture and Communications and the Minister of Overseas are responsible, each with respect to him, for the execution of this Order, which will be published in the Official Journal of the French Republic.
Done in Paris, December 22, 2004.
Jean-Pierre Raffarin
By the Prime Minister:
Minister of Culture
and communication,
Renaud Donnedieu de Vabres
The overseas minister,
Brigitte Girardin
