Eurosport 2 and Franceinfo singled out by Arcom – Libération

Eurosport 2 and Franceinfo bad performers in the fight against doping? This is essentially what a report published this Thursday, October 3 by Arcom, the audiovisual regulatory authority, raises. The document underlines that these two channels did not respect their participation obligations on this issue in 2022 and 2023. Under a 2017 law, channels must contribute “the fight against doping and the protection of people practicing physical and sporting activities” by broadcasting programs of more than two minutes on these subjects at least once each year.

The Eurosport pay channel package confirms that it has only broadcast the required programs on the Eurosport 1 channel, leaving Eurosport 2 to be singled out. As for the public continuous news channel Franceinfo, it is among the culprits because it did not provide Arcom with its contribution for 2022 and 2023, unlike the France Télévisions channels which fulfilled their obligations. In detail, the pay channel RMC Sport 1 is also cited for its shortcomings in 2022, where it only broadcast a single program “outside the prescribed time slot”.

In total in 2022, of the 33 national channels concerned, 21 have fully applied the rules and 9 partially. Last year, there were more of them: out of 36 channels, 28 complied fully with the obligations and 6 partially, including the CNews and France 24 channels. “The vast majority of publishers subject to the system complied with it in 2022 and 2023, which constitutes notable progress compared to previous years”greets Arcom.

Formats courts

Concerning the contents, the «angles» proposed by the publishers were “varied, both in the context of amateur and professional sport, and sometimes specifically aimed at young audiences”congratulates Arcom. The organization favors, for example, the two channels of the M6 ​​group which have been broadcasting the same program entitled How does the fight against doping work? in the youth magazine Kid & Toi. While inviting channels to diversify their content aimed at young audiences.

As the Paris Olympic Games approach, “the deadline, of importance for French anti-doping, was regularly mentioned in the declared programs”notes the independent authority. However, she observes that “short formats, or sequences lasting less than two minutes, still represent too large a share of the broadcasts declared by publishers”. And that the channels suitable for the exercise are essentially the same since the entry into force of the declaration. Namely France 2 via the show One day, one question (which has had a version for young audiences, with educational clips like “Since when has doping existed?”), but also France 3, France 4, France 5, M6 and W9.

The audiovisual media regulator further notes that while most channels address these themes “in general, without targeting a particular discipline”, the institution underlines “a strong progression of programs focusing on a particular sport”, notably football and cycling, two of the disciplines most controlled by the French Anti-Doping Agency (AFLD) according to its 2023 activity report. Arcom analyzes in particular that the preponderance of cycling can be explained by “the history of this discipline and the past media coverage of emblematic doping cases”. The Festina or Lance Armstrong cases were thus recounted in the documentary Tour de France, a French passion, broadcast in 2023 on the France 3 channel.