Telethon faces axe after controversy

FRANCE'S television fundraising marathon, the Téléthon, could be scrapped next year after it was accused of raising "too much money", to the detriment of other charities.

Le Figaro says new France Télévisions president Rémy Pflimlin is considering ending its 23-year partnership with muscular distrophy charity AFM when it comes up for renewal in 2011.

The 30-hour fundraiser has aired on the public TV network over a weekend in December every year since 1987. Last year, it raised €95m for AFM (the Association Française contre les Myopathies).

This figure was down five per cent on the previous year, after the head of an Aids charity prompted a public controversy when he accused the event of "leeching off people's generosity".

Sidaction president Pierre Bergé said in an interview shortly before the 2009 fundraiser began that he believed the Téléthon raised too much money for a single cause.

France's broadcasting watchdog, the Conseil Supérieur de l'Audiovisuel is due to publish a report later this month investigating whether the media could do more to promote charities fairly.

Le Figaro says one of the report's recommendations is that the Téléthon raise funds for a broad range of charities. AFM receives more than 80 per cent of its annual income from the TV event.

Another reason why the broadcast could be dropped is its audience figures. According to research body Médiamétrie, the Téléthon in recent years has attracted a 20 per cent audience share, while other big appointments-to-watch such as the Miss France final and the Restos du Coeur charity event on TF1 can easily attract 40-50 per cent.

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