French Superior Audiovisual Council opinion of May 27, 2010 on a draft decree on financial compensation paid by the State to local authorities

Avis n° 2010-14 du 27 mai 2010 sur un projet de décret relatif à la compensation financière versée par l'Etat aux collectivités territoriales et à leurs groupements ayant mis en oeuvre toute solution permettant d'assurer la continuité de la réception des services de télévision en clair après l'extinction de leur diffusion par voie hertzienne terrestre en mode analogique

Referred to by the Government on May 6, 2010, for a draft decree on the financial compensation provided for in article 8 of law no. 2009-1572 of December 17, 2009 on fighting the digital divide, which will be paid by the State to local authorities and their groupings that have implemented any solution to ensure the continuity of reception of free-to-air television services after the end of their terrestrial broadcasting in analog mode, the Conseil supérieur de l'audiovisuel (French Superior Audiovisual Council), meeting in plenary session on May 27, 2010, issued a favorable opinion.

In a letter to the French Prime Minister dated March 26, 2010, the Conseil welcomed the forthcoming publication of the decree, and reiterated the importance of ensuring that local authorities benefit from all the schemes provided for by law for organizing the switch-off of analog broadcasting. The Council hopes that the proceedings instituted by the draft legislation can be completed by the publication as soon as possible of the study on television reception in areas not covered by digital terrestrial television, as provided for in the last paragraph of article 30-3 of the law of September 30, 1986.

Articles 1 and 2 of the draft decree make provision for the financial compensation to be received by the local authority to be based on the number of households whose main residence currently receives analog television, and which may not benefit from continuity of service at the time of the switchover to all-digital. The Conseil notes that it will therefore have to certify this figure, in the light of the current analog coverage of the area concerned and the technical installation project that will be communicated to it by the public interest group created by article 100 of the law of September 30, 1986 or, in the case of a new transmitter, by the local authority applying for the allocation of diffusion frequencies.

Article 2 caps the amount of the subsidy at 80% of capital expenditure. The Conseil requests that the notion of investment be interpreted strictly, and in particular that long-term rental expenses not be taken into account in this calculation.

Furthermore, the strictly proportional compensation provided for in Article 2 may constitute a financial incentive to commission sites serving a very small number of households. The Conseil reiterates the need to respect the national timetable for analogue switch-off, and its link with the ability of technical broadcasters to bring into service, in good time, the many sites required for digital terrestrial television diffusion. The addition of many more sites, beyond the lists already published by the Conseil, presents a risk for the respect of these objectives. Consequently, the Conseil emphasizes that the delays in commissioning the technical schemes that could result from the application of this draft decree must under no circumstances be used to justify postponing the date of the switchover to all-digital in one of the regions provided for in the national analog switch-off timetable.

In view of the decisive importance of the instruction rules adopted by the above-mentioned public interest group, both for the economy and for the timetable for the completion of local authority projects, the Council wishes to be involved in the drafting of the circular that will govern this proceedings.

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