Ban on TV listings changes

DIGITAL television programming should no longer change at the last minute, spoiling people’s viewing plans.

After a year of negotiations, an agreement has been signed between the main digital terrestrial television (TNT) channels and the magazine union the Syndicat de la Presse Magazine (SPM).

The channels (Direct 8, Direct Star, NRJ12, TMC, NT1, Gulli, France 4 and W9) have agreed to abide by the same “anti-unscheduling” rules as the “historic” channels that also broadcast on terrestrial television (such as TF1 and France 2).

They will have to provide their listings three weeks in advance as the other channels do, the only difference being they are being allowed to do it one day later (Wednesday, not Tuesday).

The channels must provide listings in a digital format on a dedicated secure internet site run by an external provider. They are then relayed by the SPM to the press and cannot be changed apart from in exceptional circumstances.

This has proved effective as concerns the historic channels, making sure the public can trust magazine listings and helping ensure a climate of fair competition between channels, which are not allowed to make misleading listings that
they later change.

In the early 1990s, before the original agreement was signed, competition between chains had been hotting up, leading to more and more last-minute changes. This situation has hitherto been allowed to continue on the digital channels.

According to a spokesperson for the fortnightly magazine Télé 2 Semaines, the limited application of the previous agreement meant the digital channels, whether TNT, cable or satellite, were free to make wholesale changes, for example to avoid showing a programme that might create competition for another channel owned by the same group.

These were decided on shortly before broadcast, making it impossible for magazines to keep up.