BFM TV

BFM TV is a French Television channel private of information uninterrupted, launched on November 28th, 2005 on television and accessible free on TNT, on the cable, the satellite , on Internet and the mobile phones. According to the convention of the chain, the programming is devoted to information, in particular to economic and financial information (without obligation of minimum time volume for these two topics).

Organization

Leaders

Capital

BFM TV belongs to the group NextRadioTV (in the past NextRadio), in addition owner of BFM (radio of economic information) and of RMC (radio of information, debates and sporting information).

Budget

For the year 2006, the annual budget of the chain rose to 15 million (against 13 million initially envisaged, this increase is the counterpart of the good performances of audience). The chain reached financial balance as of September 2006. The objective is to quickly reach 30 million euros of annual budget (the increase will follow that of the advertizing revenues).
According to Alain Weill, a market share (percentage of the people looking at the chain compared to the full number of people looking at the TNT at a given time) of 1% would make it possible to make profitable this budget of 30 million euros. He hopes that the chain will be profitable in 2010, less than 5 years after his creation.

History of the chain

Launching of the project

December 14th, 2004 on television, project BFM TV is officially launched by the group NextRadio (renamed NextRadioTV then) which proposes an economic chain of information uninterrupted on the model of BFM, its radio specialized on economic information.

Following the hearing of the group in front of the Superior council of audio-visual the, this concept is officially retained on May 9th, 2005 on television by SCUMS to appear among the four new chains coming to enrich the free offer by the French Digital terrestrial television.

November 28th, 2005 on television with 18:00, BFM TV officially starts to diffuse its programs on TNT, the cable, the satellite and on Internet. The very first newspaper is presented in a virtual decoration by Ruth Elkrief, which interviews Dominique Baudis in particular on line, then president of SCUMS. At 8 p.m., Olivier Mazerolle receives Francois Bayrou. , chain BFM TV is presented like an original model of the genre:

Concerning its style and its presentation, chain BFM TV seems to refer for some to Anglo-Saxon chains such as BBC World or CNN. With a plate that some qualify " with the américaine" , BFM TV dissociates its French competitors.
the creed of BFM TV seems to be the topicality general practitioner uninterrupted, from every angle and at every hour. Some emissions sets of themes (Political, economy, Debate…) are proposed in addition to its main component of information not-stop : newspapers and editions " all-in-images".
the decoration of the plate of BFM TV exploits the technology of the virtual studio ; ground, walls and furniture of green color are electronically replaced by synthesized images animated in real-time. Thus, the realization, the cutting and movements of cameras influential on the decoration which adapts automatically to get a realistic effect.

Version 1: November 28th, 2005 on television - May 9th, 2006 on television

The grid of launching of BFM TV, launched on November 28th, 2005 with 18:00, was simplissime.
Monday to Friday, 6:00 with 9:30, the chain proposes every half-hour a newspaper on the general topicality of fifteen minutes (presented by Stéphanie de Muru) followed by a newspaper of the economy (presented Thomas Misrachi). During the day, a whole images of fifteen minutes, multi-repeated but updated permanently, occupies the antenna. 18:00 with 30, place au 23:00 “20 hour old newspaper every 30 minutes” with a complete newspaper every half-hour presented in alternation by Ruth Elkrief (with 18:00 and 19:00), Olivier Mazerolle (with 20:00), Florence Duprat (with 19:30, 21:30 and 23:00 - newspaper with dominant economic) and Jean-Alexandre Baril (18h30, 21:00 and 22:00 - newspaper with dominant international).
Each evening, with 20:30 (repeat broadcast with 22:30), Olivier Mazerolle interviews during 30 minutes one or more personalities in Mazerolle Direct . To 23:30, the whole images returns until the following day matin.
The weekend, Guillaume Vanhems presents a 30 minute old newspaper to 19:00 and 20:00, all-images being diffused all the remainder of the day.

Version 2: May 9th, 2006 on television - June 3rd, 2007 on television

Version 2 of the chain was launched on May 9th, 2006 with 18:00 by Ruth Elkrief. The decorations and the preparing were relookés, but BFM TV especially improved its réactivé.
Presenters - leaders of play thus make their appearance to control the large crossroads of information: Thomas Misrachi (6h-9h30), Ruth Elkrief (18h-20h), Olivier Mazerolle (20h-21h), Florence Duprat (21h-Midnight) and Thomas Sotto (18h-21h the weekend) points out the principal titles of the topicality all the fifteen minutes, manages the direct ones with the special correspondents, interviews the guests and ensures the transitions between the various headings (newspaper general practitioner, newspaper of the economy, weather, chronicle,…).
In week, the all-images is replaced by BFM Not-Stop, a newspaper of about fifteen minutes with a bulletin weather repeated uninterrupted, which is presented by Guillaume Vanhems (9h30-13h), Jean-Alexandre Baril (13h-17h) and Stéphanie De Muru (17h-18h). But the all-images remains diffused the night and all the day the weekend (with an interruption between 18:00 and 21:00 for the section of information presented by Thomas Sotto).

With the re-entry of September 2006 on television, Olivier Mazerolle transformed his emission Mazerolle Direct into Journal of countryside (always diffused Monday to Friday with 20:30) from the point of view of the French presidential election of 2007.
Since November 16th, 2006 on television, Ruth Elkrief Co-present, with Hedwige Chevrillon of BFM, Duet BFM , the first emission common to the economic radio of information BFM and BFM TV (which belong both to the group NextRadioTV), in which the two journalists interview a political personality. The emission is diffused each Thursday on line and into simultaneous on BFM and BFM TV with 12:30, then repeated with 14:00 on BFM and 21:30 on BFM TV.

In January 2007 on television, Ruth Elkrief gives up the section of the 18:00 - 20h to present 19:00 to 20:00 only Elysium 2007 a magazine on the Electoral campaign for the French presidential election of 2007 with each evening a debate of a score of minutes. 18:00 with 19:00, then of 20:00 to 20:30, Nathalie Levy presents a newspaper with Gilane Barret (general information) and Julian Bugier (economy). Gilane Barret replaces Rachid Me Barki, which presented until at the time the newspapers of the soir.
The newspapers of the day also change presenters: Guillaume Vanhems is not present any more at the antenna, Jean-Alexandre Baril presents the newspapers of the morning, Stéphanie de Muru those of the afternoon.
Within the framework of the French presidential election of 2007, Bourdin 2007 , the morning interview of Jean-Jacques Bourdin, organizer on the radio RMC, is diffused into simultaneous on BFM TV, the radio and the television channel belonging both to the group NextRadioTV)

Version 3: starting from June 4th, 2007 on television

A version 3 of BFM TV had been announced for the first quarter 2007, then pushed back in spring 2007.
The magazine the Express train of January 18th, 2007 on television announced that the chain will adopt a new slogan " Live and direct" (which will thus make following " The new chain of the info") and will engage about fifty additional journalists from here in April (supposed date of the launching of version 3).
According to the daily newspaper Parisian the of April 24th, 2007 on television, Christophe Delay, presenter of the 7:00 - 8h of Europe 1, would join soon BFM TV as presenter of morning (6h - 9:00) in the place of Thomas Misrachi. According to the daily newspaper, version 3 would be launched the May 15th with, inter alia, a new decoration and new a habillage.
The new version of BFM TV will be finally launched on June 4th, 2007. The chain supplements its grid, with in particular a section of information in middle of day, and develops the direct ones in France and abroad. With a new preparing, new virtual decorations and the use of synthesized images in 3D and numerical special effects, this new formula wants to be more modern, more spectacular, plus rate/rhythm and more fluid that the preceding one. Christophe Delay and Karine de Ménonville takes again the morning one, a section of information is created at the semi-day with Florence Duprat and Thomas Misrachi and the evenings are densified with the arrival of Ronald Guintrange and Thomas Sotto (until at the time with the editions of the weekends). Marc Autheman and Valerie Béranger presents each weekend a session of information of 18:00 to 21:00 In September 2007, Guillaume Cahour, who hitherto presented the morning section " 5-7" on RMC, will take the reins of an emission on BFM TV.

At the time of the re-entry August 27th, 2007 on television, some innovations are brought to the preparing, Bourdin 2007 is famous in Bourdin Direct with a new plate, and the newspaper Info 360 the weekend becomes Week-end 360 presented by Marc Autheman and Stéphanie de Muru.

Current presenters of the chain

Presenters in week

Presenters of the weekend

The presenters substitutes

Gaelle Copienne
Frederic Vat
Geraldine Woessner
Roselyne Dubois
Diane Gouffrant

Audiences

See also: Contenu=Voir the article ''' [[Audience (media)]] ''' in connection with the measurement of the audience and its limits.

First audiences on TNT: BFM TV in front of I>Télé

Revealed in the newspaper Le Monde dated from the February 23rd 2006, the first audiences of BFM TV, created the November 28th 2005, indicates that the new chain exceeds I>Télé, the subsidiary company of Canal+ created in 1999.

In February 2006, BFM TV is the first chain of information uninterrupted on the TNT with 0,7% of share of audience (percentage of the people looking at the chain compared to the full number of people looking at the TNT at a given time) on average against 0,5% for I>Télé and with a cumulated audience (percentage of people having looked at the chain at least a second in the week compared to the full number of people 4 year old and more having access to the TNT) of 27,4% (either 900.000 televiewers) on average for BFM TV against 25,7% (or 850.000 people) for I>Télé.
The chairman of the chain Alain Weill commented on these results with satisfaction: “a chain information has the role to be around 1% of audience, it would seem that will arrive more quickly than envisaged. It is the miracle of the TNT. Moreover, our figure places us at the head new chains of the TNT. And we will not stop we in if good way. Starting from April 2nd, we launch version 2 of BFM TV by enriching the grid by the programs. The televiewers will see more the direct ones in France and abroad and we will reinforce the team of the presenters. To be in front of I>Télé, that consolidates our strategy and many prospects for the future open to us. With this new version, we still will increase our advance. ” .

During the second measurement of audience in July 2006, BFM TV manages to be maintained as the chain of information number 1 on the TNT in front of I>Télé, which continues to proclaim " first chain of information in France" , by artificially adding the audiences with all the supports.

Inversion of the tendency: I>Télé exceeds BFM TV

Into October 2006, a new Médiamétrie study on the audiences of the TNT changes gives it. I>Télé passes in front of BFM TV: it obtains a share of audience of 0,7% on average against 0,5% for BFM TV. The cumulated audience of the chain reaches 21,9% on average against 21,7% for BFM TV.

End January 2007, the new investigation Médiamétrie (month of November and December 2006) nuance the dominant position of I>Télé vis-a-vis BFM TV. If the chain information of the Canal+ group obtains a share of average of market of 0,8% compared with 0,5% for BFM TV, I>Télé and BFM TV is on the other hand with equality in terms of cumulated audience: 22,1% each one (each day, 1.610.000 of 7.285.000 the 4 year old elderly - 3.167.000 hearths - receiving the TNT look at the chain at least a second).

End April 2007, the new bearing Médiamétrie study over the months of January, February and March 2007 indicates a share of audience on the TNT of 0,9% for I>Télé against 0,7% for BFM TV. The daily cumulated audience is identical for the two chains: 24% of the 9,8 million people having access to the TNT, are 2,4 million people, at least once look at the chain in the course of the day.

It is however advisable to recall that I>Télé has an annual budget of almost 40 million euros is twice higher than that of its competitor. Moreover, after 7 years of existence, I>Télé " does not wish to communicate its forecast of profitability " its managing director Valerie Lecasble at the time of the press conference of September 2006 acknowledged, whereas BFM TV is with balance since September 2006.

Record of audience on April 28th, 2007 on television at the time of the Royal debate /Bayrou

Created in November 2005, BFM TV reached its audience record on April 28th, 2007 on television, at the time of the debate between Ségolène Royal and Francois Bayrou within the framework of the French presidential election of 2007. This debate, presented by Jean-Jacques Bourdin and Ruth Elkrief, was diffused on BFM TV and the radio RMC (two antennas belonging to the group NextRadioTV).

According to Jean-Marc Morandini, BFM TV would have carried out its record of audience with more than 700.000 televiewers at the time of this debate, according to a confidential study of Médiamétrie. Historical records the more so as the debate were diffused at off-peak hour and that the high average of the audiences of the chains of the TNT is rather about 100.000 televiewers.

During the debate, between 11:00 and 13:00, BFM TV managed to remain at the head in front of all the other chains, including TF1, which dominates the audiences traditionally: it reached a peak of audience to 8.88% on the Freebox TV and to 25.4% on the Neuf TV. An effect of audience which was to be prolonged even at the conclusion of the debate; the chain was maintained audiences always at the head: with 13:15, it always obtained 8,61% " of audience instantanée" on Freebox, TF1 obtaining only 6,43%. This debate thus had a significant impact on the level of notoriety and average audience of the chain starting from this date.
The system Audience15Live makes it possible to follow in real-time the 15 best audiences of the bouquet Freebox TV, it is perpetually renewed. These figures must however be considered with precaution because they representative only of are not subscribed with Free and not of the French population as a whole. The same precaution must be taken with the audiences provided by the operator Last nine.

In April 2007 on television, BFM TV passes by again in front of I>Télé

According to the blog of Jean-Marc Morandini which reveals a confidential study of Médiamétrie, BFM TV would precede clearly its competitor I>Télé as from April 2007 on television, with 1% of market share against 0,8% I>Télé. This result makes it possible to confirm that BFM TV would thus have profited well from a " effect discusses Bayrou/Royal" ; an analysis in particular shared and made public by the I>Télé competitor.

July 11th, 2007, Médiamétrie places at equality BFM TV and I>Télé for the month of June 2007 with a share of audience on the TNT of 0,8% each one BFM TV has a light advantage in term of daily audience cumulated with 24,1% compared with 23,4% for I>Télé. August 5th, 2007, Médiamétrie places BFM TV at 1% of market share, against 0; 8% for I>Télé, with a daily cumulated audience of 22,6% for BFM TV against 21,5% for I>Télé.

This tendency is on television confirmed in August 2007 since in its study covering the period of July 30th, 2007 on television to September 2nd, 2007 on television, Médiamétrie place BFM TV in front of its competitor with a share of audience of 0,9% compared with 0,7% for I>Télé and a cumulated audience of 20,4% compared with 19,6% for I>Télé. The direction of BFM TV exploits then in its turn with the antenna, the slogan " First chain of information on the TNT " whereas I>Télé maintains its slogan " First chain of information of France " (by considering a combination of the audiences of the cable, satellite, TNT and ADSL).

Diffusion

BFM TV is diffused free by satellite, in DVB - S MPEG-2 clearly, alternative solution, effective, to immediately serve the remote regions and frontier of TNT:

Hot-Bird 13° : 11585 Ghz pol. V, SR 27500 and FEC 2/3, broad beam Europe + the Maghreb + the Middle East
Astra 19°, 11508 Ghz, pol. V, SR 22000 and FEC 5/6, narrow beam Europe (sometimes delicate reception…)

The diffusions by the TNT and satellite, which are free vectors, are supplemented by solutions mainly paying:

Internet network (free flow IP, but subscription ADSL (at least 512 kbits with the FAI of its choice) and ADSLtv, Free, Neuf Telecom, Alice, etc (paying, subscription + hiring interfaces).
cable networks (often paying, subscription + hiring final DVB-C, sometimes included/understood in the subscription)
community aerials TNT and SAT, free (commutated or transposed (a), final locative or bought of its choice).

BFM TV is a chain which its creators wish to see succeeding near very many people thanks to a policy of diffusion/optimal distribution being able to touch, as of its launching, 100 % of the French thanks to the complementarity of technologies TNT + Satellite +DSL+ Cable.

Polemics

Diffusion not - authorized of a debate of the PS

In order to cover the nomination campaign candidate of the PS to the French presidential elections of 2007, the two parliamentary chains National LCP-Assembly and Public Senate organized in October 2006 a series of three debates between Ségolène Royal, Laurent Fabius and Dominique Strauss-Kahn.

The parliamentary chains authorized the chain of information into continuous LCI with retransmettre these debates on line and into simultaneous, but I>Télé and BFM TV was to be satisfied with a diffusion with half an hour of shift (parliamentary chains being in direct competition on TNT with these two chains of information).

I>Télé obtempéré, while qualifying " choquant" such an agreement. On its side, BFM TV announced its dissatisfaction to the first secretary with the socialist party, François Holland. On Tuesday, October 17, 2006, the chain finally decided to take again its antenna, the signal of the parliamentary chains to diffuse the first debate on line (without to have obtained the authorization of it), in the name of the right to information. BFM contributed at the technical expenses of retransmission but the parliamentary chains LCP-AN and Public Senate qualified d'" act of piratage" this takeover by force and brought a procedure against BFM TV, which decided not to diffuse the two following debates on line, while denouncing an uneven treatment between the chains of information. The procedure was stopped, following an agreement between the two parts.

Excessive bipolarisation of the chains infos at the time of the French presidential election of 2007

The Superior council of audio-visual the applies the legal texts and regulatory for the election time of 2007. Particularly precise rules and contraingnantes are in force for the distribution of the speaking time and the time of antenna within the framework of the French presidential election of 2007.
In the first sentence of the electoral campaign, of February 1st 2006 with the March 19th 2007, the speaking time and the time of antenna of the candidates on television and to the radio were governed by the principle of equity: their speaking time was function of their weight politique.
Speaking time: total duration of recovery to the antenna of the words pronounced by one of the candidates or one of its supports. Time of antenna: total duration of any matter (including journalistic) concerning a candidate or his supports. In the first sentence of the electoral campaign, of February 1st 2006 with the March 19th 2007, the speaking time and the time of antenna of the candidates on television and to the radio were governed by the principle of " the équité" : their speaking time was function of their representation on the chess-board politique.
March 20th with the April 8th 2007, the principle of equality of the speaking time applies (each candidate and its supports). Moreover, the equity of the time of antenna is then observed according to the representation politique.
Starting from the April 8th, with the beginning of the official countryside, the principle " of égalité" absolute of the speaking time and the time of antenna which is applied: all the candidates (the official list having been published) have a strict equality in the duration of the speaking time and time of antenna with similar time slots of diffusion.

The February 19th 2007, the SCUMS observed the whole of the chains subjected to the respect of the law as regards elections. Among others, the chains of information I>Télé, LCI and BFM TV were the subject of observations highlighting, the same tendency as on the hertzian chains with a " bipolarisation excessive" speaking time in favor of Nicolas Sarkozy (candidate of the UMP) and of Ségolène Royal (candidate of the PS). The members of the Superior council of audio-visual received with their request LCI and BFM TV which, like I>Télé, had devoted too much speaking time to the two principal candidates with the detriment of the other candidates to the French presidential election of 2007.

LCI and BFM TV (but not I>Télé) was then committed in front of the SCUMS taking without delay of " measurements; significatives" to correct imbalances of speaking time enters the various candidates to the French presidential election of 2007.

The April 19th 2007, the SCUMS published the statement of the speaking times of the candidates and their supports in the program of the French chains for the period from March 20th to April 8th. In this publication, SCUMS observe that the concurrent chains LCI and BFM TV observed a difference appreciably more equitable (reduced) between the speaking times of the various candidates, which is not the case of I>Télé.

Organization polemizes of a debate at the time of the French presidential election of 2007

Between the two turns of the French presidential election of 2007, a debate having to be organized between Ségolène Royal (PS) and Francois Bayrou (Democratic UDF/Parti) was the subject of a succession of cancellations and a violent polemic relative to " pressions" supposed that would have undergone the group Canal+ on behalf of the candidate UMP (Nicolas Sarkozy) for his cancellation. The 27 then on April 28th, 2007, the chains Canal+ and I>Télé as well as the radio station France Inter would have to organize and diffuse this debate on their antennas. The group Canal+ (to which belongs I>Télé) gave up this debate after - according to its declarations - having taken contact with the SCUMS, which would have disadvised this emission for reason for balance of antenna and speaking time. According to the two protagonists Ségolène Royal and Francois Bayrou, pressures on behalf of Nicolas Sarkozy would have taken place during the 48 hours preceding this debate. This last would have refused to profit from the rebalancing " légal" later in its favor, relating to the antenna and speaking time exploited by Ségolène Royal.
For its part, in an official statement dated from the April 27th 2007, the Superior council of audio-visual the demented person that Canal+/I>Télé would have consulted it on this question and underlines the leading freedom of these chains. This denial shows that the decision of cancellation of the debate comes from the direction of Canal+/I>Télé.
Following this denial of the Superior council of audio-visual the, during the same day, one learned that the televised debate would take place well saturdays April 28th 2007, but from now on on the chain BFM TV and the radio station RMC, which would have accepted his organization and his diffusion on their antenna.

Non-observance of the rules as regards advertizing cuts

May 3rd, 2007 on television, the Superior council of audio-visual the put in residence BFM TV to conform to the rules as regards advertizing cuts, in particular in paragraph I of article 15 of the decree of March 27th, 1992 on television, which obliges the television channels to leave one period of at least twenty minutes between two advertizing breaks during the same emission. November 13rd, 2007, the SCUMS addressed a mail to BFM TV and the other national chains of information to require of them to comply with the rules concerning the insertion of advertisements during the emissions. SCUMS also made a point of pointing out the rules concerning sponsoring.

SCUMS indeed noted that two advertizing breaks followed one another less than twenty minutes of interval during the emission BFM Matin of January 29th, 2007 on television, between 6 a.m. and 7 hours. SCUMS had already recalled this rule to BFM TV twice.
He also addressed a letter similar to the concurrent chain I>Télé, noting that the chain had it also enfreint this regulation during the emission I>Matin .

Appendices

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