France abolishes the licence fee – listen to the latest episode of TV Watch

The latest episode of Digital TV Europe’s podcast TV Watch is now available to stream wherever you get your podcasts.

At the end of July, the French Parliament delivered on a key manifesto promise of president Emmanuel Macron – to abolish the country’s licence fee. 

The €138 fee, much like in the UK, serves to fund public broadcasters in France along with international media outlets, generating around €3.2 billion per year. 

In total, 170 French MPs voted in favour of the move and 57 opposed it, with Macron saying that it would ‘give back purchasing power’ to citizens at a time of economic hardship.

The motion came with its fair share of detractors though, with left-wing politicians from the Nupe party alliance voting against the motion. MP Clémentine Autain specifically said that it was a “highly political and dangerous measure”, while staff at France Télévisions and Radio France went on strike in June over the proposed scrapping.

This episode, Omdia research analyst Matthew Evenson joins host Jonathan Easton to provide his perspective on the French television market, the ramifications of the parliamentary vote and the parallels between this and the UK government’s ongoing push to abolish its licence fee.

TV Watch can be streamed for free via Apple Podcasts and Spotify.