French Superior Audiovisual Council opinion of November 9, 2010 on a draft amendment to decree no. 2009-1670 of December 28, 2009 on assistance to viewers to enable the continued reception of free-to-air television services shown by terrestrial hertzian means in analog mode

Opinion no. 2010-24 of November 9, 2010 on a draft amendment to Decree no. 2009-1670 of December 28, 2009 on assistance to viewers to ensure uninterrupted reception of unencrypted terrestrial broadcasting services in analog mode.

On October 1, 2010, the French Superior Audiovisual Council (Conseil supérieur de l'audiovisuel), meeting in plenary session on November 9, 2010, was asked by the Government to amend Decree no. 2009-1670 of December 28, 2009, on assistance to viewers to enable them to continue to receive free-to-air television services broadcast by terrestrial hertzian means in analog mode, and issued the following favorable opinion:
The Conseil is pleased to note that, as recommended in its opinion no. 2010-09 dated April 13, 2010, the draft decree aims to extend to overseas France the financial aid scheme created to facilitate the switchover to all-digital terrestrial television.

In particular, he notes that the draft decree makes provision for a more flexible means-testing system for overseas France, which he feels is entirely appropriate. He welcomes the increase, for overseas France, in the maximum amount of equipment assistance from 25 to 45 euros, or even 70 euros under certain conditions. This increase takes into account the use of the MPEG-4 standard in overseas France, instead of the MPEG-2 standard used for free-to-air channels in mainland France. Use of this standard enables more efficient use of radio frequencies, but makes the purchase of reception schemes more expensive.
However, the Conseil has two major reservations.

Firstly, it regrets that the subsidies are only available to households receiving free-to-air television services only via analog terrestrial channels. The introduction of digital terrestrial television in overseas France will mean a change in the norms for free-to-air satellite broadcasting in certain regions, notably Polynesia and New Caledonia, which will deprive satellite households of their only means of accessing television. This effect is unprecedented, as it has never occurred in mainland France since the launch of digital terrestrial television. However, households that have so far lost access to television programs as a result of the introduction of digital terrestrial television or the end of analog diffusion have all received aid to restore reception. It would therefore seem useful to the Council to extend the benefit of aid for the acquisition of equipment enabling digital television reception to people losing satellite television reception.

Secondly, the Council summons the Government's attention to the particular case of Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon. Should it be confirmed that digital terrestrial television is shown there in coded form, unlike in other territories, this particularity could pose two problems:
- on the one hand, the Decree of December 28, 2009 repeatedly mentions that financial aid is intended to enable access to digital television services "in clear". This wording could tend to exclude the inhabitants of Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon from the scheme. Given that there are also households there that come under the control of analog terrestrial television, the Board considers it necessary for them to be able to benefit from the subsidies, and that the terms "free-to-air" should therefore not be used for this community. To this end, the Council is proposing an article in the appendix to the draft decree:[AppendixArticle 7-1After article 10, an article 10-1 is inserted, worded as follows: "For the application of this decree in Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon, the words 'free-to-air' are deleted from:- article 1;- article 5;- 3° of article 6;- article 7;- II of article 8.]
- secondly, the purchase of adapters for signal decoding is more expensive than simple adapters for a free-to-air signal. It might therefore be useful to increase the amount of aid for the purchase of these adapters for Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon.

This notice will be published in the Journal officiel de la République française.
Paris, November 9, 2010.

For the French Superior Audiovisual Council: Le président, M. Boyon