France Télévisions reportedly to create news channel

French public broadcaster France Télévisions is to launch a digital news channel this month, according to a report in French daily Le Figaro.

According to the paper, the launch, which will be part of a major reorganization of news activities at the pubcaster, will capitalise on the success of France Télévisions’ FranceTVinfo website in capturing a significant audience, with 6.55 million unique visitors in October, according to Médiamétrie.

The broadcaster has already launched an on-demand news service on connected TVs earlier this year.

In September, commercial broadcaster TF1 announced that its own news service, LCI, would cease to exist in its current form after the broadcaster failed to secure regulatory approval to transform the pay TV channel into a free-to-air service, with the loss of 148 jobs.