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Television inFrance was introduced in 1931,when the first experimental broadcasts began.Colour television was introduced in October 1967 onLa Deuxième Chaîne.
The digital terrestrial television platform, known locally asTNT (from the literal translation in French,télévision numérique terrestre), was launched on 31 March 2005 after a short testing period. LikeFreeview in the UK, it provides many new channels, as well as the current terrestrial television stations. Like the rest of Europe, France uses theDVB-T transmission technology.
The 13 first digital free channels were launched on 31 March 2005.[1] In October, 4 additional free channels were added: the 24h news channelsBFM TV andI-Télé, the music and entertainment youth channelEurope 2 TV, and the free children channelGulli, joint-venture betweenLagardère Active and France Télévisions. Pay channels were progressively added until 2006:TPS Star,Paris Première,Canal+ Sport,Canal+ Cinéma(s),AB1,Planète,TF6,Canal J,LCI andEurosport.[2][3]
Regional channels started to launch on the TNT in 2007.
Due to the unsuccess of the pay-DTT, the terrestrial broadcast was abandoned byAB1 in October 2008 andCanal J on 30 April 2009.[4]
On 14 December 2010, the CSA selectedCFoot to relaunch a pay terrestrial channel. This channel was owned by theLigue de Football Professionnel, to raise the stakes of French football leagues, and was launched in July 2011 on the LCN 34 of the TNT (formerly assigned to AB1). With the arrival ofBeIN Sports, CFoot closed on 31 May 2012. In addition,TPS Star closed in the same month.[5]
TF1 and M6 closed their pay channelTF6 on 31 December 2014.[6] In early 2015,Eurosport ceased its terrestrial broadcast after TF1 sold it toDiscovery.[7]
By 2012, the digital terrestrial television services were expected to cover at least 95% of the French metropolitan population. Fivehigh-definition (HD) channels (fourfree-to-air and one subscription) were launched in October 2008 using also theH.264 format. In September 2005,pay television channels were launched that use theMPEG-4 format, unlike most of Europe, which usesMPEG-2.
Pay-per-view terrestrial channels useH.264. TNT is the first service to implementDolby Digital Plus as anaudio codec on its high-definition channels. Viewers must buy a TV set (orset-top box) that supports both MPEG-4H.264 and DD+ to enjoy HD channels.
Analog broadcasts wereswitched off on 30 November 2011 on all platforms, whether it is terrestrial,satellite orcable.Overseas departments and territories (such asFrench Guiana andMartinique) also terminated all analog broadcasts on the same day.
By 2008, 34% of the French population was using analogue TV as an only reception mode. The next year, the city ofCoulommiers switched to digital-only TV, serving as a test city for TDF. By the end of 2009, analog TV was shut off in the NordCotentin, and TDF reported no major reception problems. Citizens in DTT test zones were informed that analog TV would shut down by early 2009, and consequently they adapted their installation.
For the rest of the country, the shut-off progressed by regions, more preciselyFrance 3 regions. It means that every transmitters broadcastingFrance 3 Méditerranée Provence-Alpes went digital-terrestrial on the same date, another date for those that broadcastFrance 3 Bourgogne Franche-Comté. The analog shut-off occurred in 2010 in the north; the south was the last to phase out analog television broadcasts.
For three months before shutting down an analogue transmitter, it transmitted the DTTmultiplexes so that viewers could adapt their installation on time. Also, a message was displayed asmarquee on analog channels warning the viewer that they would no longer receive TV if they did not switch to digital. To help people installing their DTT reception equipment, the French government created "France Télé Numérique". It made didactic videos, television advertisements, and went through the local markets, to meet people and solve their problems regarding DTT reception.
Elderly people and those with restricted financial conditions, received help from the French government; so that they could switch to DTT easily.
The most common adapters sold in the market only decode MPEG-2 and have only oneSCART output socket. Old TV sets (before 1980) need a UHF modulator between the TV and the set-top box, as they have no SCART socket. Unlike VCRs, DVB-T set-top boxes rarely include such amodulator, and a SCART to RCA adaptor is often needed to feed the modulator with the signal. The solution recommended by France Télé Numérique is just to buy a new TV set instead of using a modulator.
On 30 October 2008, the TNT HD was launched with four national channels:TF1,France 2,M6 andArte.[8]
On 8 June 2010, the overseas France dedicated channelFrance Ô became available nationally on TNT channel 19, taking the vacant frequencies ofAB1 which left the pay-DTT. Before, it was available locally inÎle-de-France starting from 24 September 2007.[9][10]
On 30 November 2010, the digital terrestrial television launched inOverseas France, with 8 public channels:La Première,France 2,France 3,France 4,France 5,France Ô,Arte andFrance 24 (replaced by France Info on 8 April 2019). Most territories also have up to three local private channels.[11]
On 12 December 2012, six new HD national channels were launched (HD1,L'Équipe 21,6ter,Numéro 23,RMC Découverte andChérie 25).[12]
On 5 April 2016, the Metropolitan France fully transitioned toMPEG-4 withHDTV for almost all channels, andLCI became free-to-air.[13]
On 1 September 2016,France Télévisions launched its news channelFrance Info on channel 27. France Ô was downgraded to SD to make place for France Info.[14]
France Ô closed on 24 August 2020.France Info was upgraded to HD in Metropolitan France, andLa Première were upgraded to HD in Overseas France.[15][16]
On 1 February 2021, France Télévisions launchedCulturebox [fr] on channel 19, to promote cultural events during theCOVID-19 pandemic.France 4 and France Info were downgraded to SD to make room on the multiplex. On 1 May, Culturebox starts timesharing with France 4, which returned to HD with France Info.[17]
France 2 started to roll out itsUltra HD feed in 2024 on the DTT, after many experimental UHD tests from TDF since 2018, and France 3 UHD has also been available during the2024 Summer Olympics.[18][19]
In 2024, theARCOM reviewed the DTT licences, and cancelled the frequencies fromC8 andNRJ 12 which ended on 28 February 2025, on the main basis of their failure to fulfill their programming obligations, and reallocated them to new groups with Réels TV and OFTV projects then launched asT18 andNovo 19.[20][21] As a consequence, Canal+ has cancelled the terrestrial licenses of all its pay channels which ended on 6 June 2025.[22][23] The Arcom thus used this date to introduce its re-numbering, when the public services France 4 andLCP-Public Sénat were reallocated to channels 4 and 8 respectively, creating a block of news channels from 13 to 16,Gulli was awarded the channel 12, afterTFX which is partially aimed at the same target in morning time slots, and T18 launched on its former slot.[24][25] Novo 19 launched later on 1 September.[26]
TNT channels are also available for reception by satellite, broadcast from theAstra satellites at19.2° east with TNT SAT and fromEutelsat 5 West B with FRANSAT. Some of the channels are encrypted but there is no subscription charge, and both the set-top box and viewing card (valid for four years) that are required are available fromhypermarkets.The Franco-German channelArte is available in free-to-air.
During the2010 FIFA World Cup,France 2 andFrance 3 were blacked out to viewers outside France.France 2,3 and4 were also blacked out outside France during the2018 FIFA World Cup when they shared French TV rights for the tournament withTF1 andbeIN Sports.
Mostinternet service providers in France now offerdigital television (IPTV) packages throughtriple-playset-top box as part of fibre link packages or DSL link packages. However, some DSL subscribers have too muchattenuation distortion on their lines to benefit from the service, and France does not yet have 100%DSL coverage. The main IPTV providers areOrange,SFR,Free andBouygues Telecom.
French cable providers France Telecom Cable, Noos SA and UPC France SA andNumericable merged to become the largest cable operator in France which was then merged info SFR. SFR cable offer is part of their very high speed offer and providescable television andIPTV usingFTLA approach EuroDocsis 3.0 compatible set top boxes.
Digital satellite television inFrance was launched in 1996.HDTV transmissions began in April 2006, whenCanalSat launched its first HD channel (Canal+ HD).Télévision Par Satellite and CanalSat have merged in 2007, leaving Nouveau Canalsat and Bis Télévisions as the two main competitors for thesatellite television market in the country.
Four companies dominate the French TV market:
Yearly viewing shares in 2022 (not including subscription channels):[27]
LCP-Public Sénat is uncounted because it is not destined to be profitable.France 4 shared its canal withCulturebox from May 3, 2021[28] and was no longer counted in the ratings until June 2025.
| Canal | Channel | Position | Owner | Theme(s) | Share of total viewing (%) in 2022 | Evolution in comparison to 2021 (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | TF1 | 1 | TF1 Group | General programs | 18.7 | -1.0 |
| 2 | France 2 | 2 | France Télévisions(state-owned) | General programs | 14.8 | +0.1 |
| 3 | France 3 | 3 | France Télévisions(state-owned) | General programs, Regional | 9.4 | = |
| 6 | M6 | 4 | M6 Group | General programs | 8.4 | -0.7 |
| 5 | France 5 | 5 | France Télévisions(state-owned) | General programs, Culture, Family | 3.6 | +0.3 |
| 10 | TMC | 7 | TF1 Group | General programs | 3.0 | = |
| 7 | Arte | 8 | Arte(state-owned) | Culture | 2.9 | = |
| 9 | W9 | 10 | M6 Group | General programs, Music | 2.3 | -0.2 |
| 13 | BFM TV | 6 | NextRadioTV | 24/7 news | 3.3 | +0.4 |
| 24 | RMC Découverte | 12 | NextRadioTV | Documentaries | 1.9 | -0.1 |
| 11 | TFX | 17 | TF1 Group | General, Reality TV, Children | 1.5 | = |
| 20 | TF1 Séries Films | 14 | TF1 Group | Fiction, Movies | 1.7 | -0.2 |
| 22 | 6ter | 16 | M6 Group | Family | 1.6 | +0.1 |
| 4 | France 4 /Culturebox | - | France Télévisions(state-owned) | General programs, Youth, Culture | Uncounted | - |
| 12 | Gulli | 20 | M6 Group | Family/Children | 1.2 | = |
| 21 | L'Équipe | 18 | Amaury Group | Sports | 1.5 | +0.2 |
| 23 | RMC Story | 13 | NextRadioTV | General programs | 1.9 | +0.3 |
| 17 | CStar | 23 | Canal+ Group | Music | 1.1 | = |
| 25 | Chérie 25 | 19 | NRJ Group | Women, Movies | 1.3 | +0.1 |
| 15 | LCI | 15 | TF1 Group | 24/7 news | 1.7 | +0.6 |
| 14 | CNews | 11 | Canal+ Group | 24/7 news | 2.1 | +0.1 |
| 16 | franceinfo: | 24 | France Télévisions,Radio France, INA,France Médias Monde(state-owned) | 24/7 news | 0.9 | +0.2 |
| 19 | Novo 19 | - | - | - | - | - |
| 8 | LCP-Public Sénat | - | French Parliament | Politics, News | Uncounted | - |
