Dear V. Britto and all,
Two things intrigued me reading your proposal: the absence of F2 and  
F3, arguably the two predominant public channels, especially since you  
plan on analyzing advertising, which was affected on public channels  
by the Cope Law.
A few basic titles include: Media et societe (Francis Balle), La  
television Francaise au jour le jour (Francois Jost) and perhaps La  
nuit et l'ete (Catherine Clement).  Great sources for numbers on TV is  
Mediametrie and to a lesser degree ecrans.fr.  Et biensur, l'INA est  
une ressource sans pareil.
Good luck researching and writing what sounds like an exciting project!
Best,
Anne Dotter
American Studies
Lecturer
Humanities and Western Civilization
The University of Kansas


On Sep 8, 2009, at 3:16 AM, Doc Britto wrote:

> Dear all,
>
> I am beginning to work on a French research project to analyze the  
> current French TV cartoon offer for young children (and possibly  
> extend the analysis to older kids).
>
> One of the main issues I will analyze is what has happened/is  
> happening to public television in France through this perspective of  
> children's programming, specifically by comparing cartoon  
> production . Cartoons are the dominant genre of children's  
> programming in France. In reference to preschool cartoons, my  
> proposal entails comparing the programming of France's main public  
> channel (France 5) to a few of the main private and thematic cartoon  
> cable/satellite channels.
>
> Having been an insignificant player until the 1980s, France ranks  
> today as the world's third largest producer of television cartoons.  
> France is also Europe's greatest animation producer ( an average of  
> 280 hours for the years of 2000-2005). France ranks as Europe's  
> biggest exporter (62,3 million Euros in 2004). Animation is also the  
> genre most produced by the French (followed by documentaries and  
> fiction). The bulk of this cartoon production (80% of the total)  
> comprises series with episodes in the 13 or 26 minute format,  
> destined for 6 to 10 year-olds, with an average budget of 3-7  
> million Euros for a series of 26 minutes (26 episodes). (CNC 2006)
>
> My comparison of current programming would analyze criteria such as  
> genre, cultural/educational content, format, cost (when available),  
> audience ratings (if available), production data, and the  
> advertisements that are shown along with the series (product type,  
> message). I propose to compare the cartoon series programming during  
> one week, from 6 a.m.-midnight, during the regular cartoon series  
> season (outside vacations and holidays). My comparison would include  
> the following five channels: France 5 (free, public), TF1 (free,  
> private), Piwi and Tiji (thematic, private, cable), Disney  
> (thematic, private, foreign, cable).
>
>
> Main hypotheses
>
> One of my main hypotheses, based on my readings so far, is that, if  
> compared to the selected private channels, the main public channel  
> for preschool children's animation in France (France 5) will not  
> display any significant difference concerning the series' genres,  
> the percentage of educational content compared to exclusively  
> entertaining themes, the cultural and artistic quality level, and  
> the series formats. It is proof that, in reference to multiple  
> criteria, children's cartoon programming on public television in  
> France is indistinguishable from the programming of private  
> channels. However, there may be other criteria where we may find  
> significant differences and I hope that the proposed comparison will  
> bring them to light (for exemple, differences concerning the number  
> of original French productions, advertisement (quantity, product  
> type, target), and audience measurements).
>
> Another important hypothesis is that one of the cardinal functions  
> of the French public channels as it concerns the animation market is  
> to fortify the French animation industry. However, the main  
> production companies in this sector are private, forming a monopoly  
> of approximately 10 companies. Consequently, this means that the  
> public television channels are at the service of this private  
> monopoly. (The exact manner of how the public channels co-finance  
> and co-produce cartoon series is not clear to me at this point, but  
> it is another important aspect of the complexity found in this mixed  
> public-private dynamics of the current French television animation  
> industry). Nevertheless, this monopolistic structure is not  
> absolute, allowing the participation of other less important  
> companies along with a variety of other players active in the  
> marketplace. Moreover, this support function of the public channels  
> for the French animation producers is further reinforced by various  
> types of aid offered by the French government along with other more  
> recent European initiatives to support all European animation  
> industries.
>
> If this subject or research proposal is of interest to any list  
> members, I would very much appreciate receiving comments on the  
> proposed research project or structure, or suggestions for related  
> bibliography.
>
> Best regards,
>
> V Britto
>
> Univ. de Toulouse
> Toulouse, France
>
>
>
>
> ----
> Online resources for film/TV studies may be found at ScreenSite
> http://www.ScreenSite.org

----
Online resources for film/TV studies may be found at ScreenSite
http://www.ScreenSite.org