France Télévisions ups digital docs to strengthen online portal

French public broadcaster France Télévisions is to devote 5% of its documentaries budget to content for its digital platforms over the next three years as it seeks to bolster its online portal, according to local reports.

Speaking at the Fipadoc festival in Biarritz, broadcasting chief Takis Candilis said that the broadcaster was undergoing an evolution to move with changes in usage among the public.

The pubcaster has created a new pillar dedicated to documentaries headed by Catherine Alvaresse that will also focus on creating content specifically for digital.

Speaking at Fipadoc, programming chief Nathalie Darrigand said that the broadcaster expected France.tv to become the premier entry point to its content over the next few years and that it was important to have a strong programming offer in this area.

The documentary department will have four thematic poles – a unit dedicated to international co-productions, one for history and culture programming, one for discovery and sciences and one for society and geopolitics.