French Superior Audiovisual Council opinion of March 27, 2012 on a draft decree amending decree no. 2007-957 of May 15, 2007 on the digital support fund.

Opinion no. 2012-07 of March 27, 2012 on a draft decree amending decree no. 2007-957 of May 15, 2007 on the digital support fund

Referred to by the Government on March 9, 2012, for a draft decree amending decree no. 2007-957 of May 15, 2007 on the digital support fund, the French Superior Audiovisual Council, meeting in plenary session on March 27, 2012, issued a favorable opinion.

However, the Conseil regrets the reductions in the scope of application of the digital support fund when it is called upon to ensure the continuity of television services that are subject to interference as a result of digital rearrangements designed to avoid disturbances linked to foreign broadcasts.

In order to clarify the text concerning antenna reorientation in the current frequency planning model, it would be advisable to add the following to the provisions of the last sentence of the third paragraph of Article 1: " the fund ensures the continuity of television services authorized to be shown by terrestrial hertzian means only in the event of a definitive interruption in the reception of these services. Such an interruption is deemed to be a disturbance such that it definitively prevents the normal reception of broadcasts from at least one multiplex, even after adaptation of the individual or collective antenna" and those of article 2, 4°: " the residential premises in which reception of these television services is definitively interrupted or disturbed constitutes the household's main residence ". Indeed, the current wording of the draft decree seems, on the one hand, to prevent a viewer affected by "disturbances" without a solution for redirecting the antenna from receiving the aid, and, on the other hand, to allow viewers affected by "interruptions" with a solution for redirecting the antenna to receive the aid. Failing clarification of the wording as indicated above, it might at least be useful to state more precisely what the Government means by "disturbance" and "interruption".

Furthermore, the time limit set by the initial decree at six weeks following the start of the interruptions mentioned in article 1 of the decree, for the fund to intervene on behalf of viewers living in the areas concerned, who meet the established conditions and who make a request, does not seem appropriate. Indeed, experience of the switchover to all-digital technology has shown that requests from users are generally received on a massive scale between the 2nd and 5th month after the operation concerned. In addition, the six-week deadline is also unsuitable for summer vacation periods, as some users are unable to physically demand the intervention of the digital redevelopment fund within such a timeframe. This is particularly the case for redevelopments scheduled to take place in July 2012 on the north-western coast of France, mainly in the Manche department. It would therefore be advisable to extend this intervention period to six months, as was the case for the existing aid for the switchover to all-digital.

Finally, to cope with the whole process of digital redevelopment, the duration of the digital support fund should be extended by 3 years to May 2016. The rollout of future multiplexes, and the associated frequency rearrangements, will extend over several years, making it necessary to prolong the fund's existence.

This notice will be published in the Journal officiel de la République française.

Paris, March 27, 2012.

For the French Superior Audiovisual Council :

Le président,

M. Boyon