From the 19th of May, FRANCE 24 will unveil a new schedule that prioritizes the morning and evening slots, anchored live by the network’s editorial staff. More programming space than ever before will go to business, sport, culture and studio discussion. New global weather reports will also be featured, alongside new magazine programs. A warmer, more engaging style of presentation will be backed up by faster reaction times to global news events, in a scheduling structure that will also give a clearer coverage of national news stories in France.

“The new schedules are an ambitious statement of intent on the part of FRANCE 24,” said network CEO Christine Ockrent. “For a network which has carved out a place for itself in the international news arena in record time, the moment has come to expand our content while sticking to our founding principles: an alternative perspective on world news, parallel programming in French, English and Arabic, staying on top of the game in terms of technology and interactivity. By putting the emphasis on live coverage of events and pursuing our focus on sport, business and culture, we aim to keep our current audience and attract more and more new viewers around the world.”

DISCOVER THE MAIN NEW FEATURES

With an editorial team of 260 journalists from no less than 35 different countries and an impressive worldwide network of correspondents, from the outset FRANCE 24 invested in new distribution technologies as its blueprint for the future, creating a global news platform that broadcasts in French, English and Arabic on its three channels and websites, as well as on mobile. As Vincent Giret, General Manager in charge of news, programming and multimedia, puts it, “FRANCE 24 will be enhancing the level of convergence between TV and the Internet, in particular with our new program The Observers, which will feature brand new content supplied by our network of 2,000 web ‘observers’ around the globe.”

Since the 27th April 2009, FRANCE 24’s Arabic-language programming has been extended from 4 to 10 hours per day, maintaining an editorial stance in line with the two other channels: a French perspective on world news that features discussion, studio debate and culture as well as business, sport, analysis and in-depth reports.
Two years after its launch, FRANCE 24 has successfully formed a loyal international audience base for both its TV and online content. Already the leading news network in French-speaking Africa and ranked in the top three news channels in the North Africa, FRANCE 24 continues to grow in Europe, in the Near and Middle East and in the USA.
With the introduction of new programming schedules that enhance its offer in morning and evening dayparts, FRANCE 24 is embarking on a new phase of development which is set to increase its audience reach around the planet.

'Thanks to the dynamism and talent of its workforce, FRANCE 24 has already achieved a level of audience penetration way beyond expectations at the time of its launch in 2006,” notes FRANCE 24 Chairman Alain de Pouzilhac. “Firstly, I would like to thank the teams who have achieved this fantastic performance to date. With the new schedules directed by Christine Ockrent and managed by Vincent Giret, with Nahida Nakad in charge of the Arabic-language side, our staff have an opportunity to add another chapter to the network’s success story.”