What are French news channels called in French?

Answer 1

Well, technically there isn't popular newschannels like those which exists in the US or the UK. The widest part of the TV market is held by six/seven TV channels, called Hertzian Channels.

These channels are:

1) Télévision Française 1 (TF1) - private channel , reputed right-leaning and populist.

2) France 2 (formerly Antenne 2) - state-owned channel

3) France 3 (formerly FR3) - state-owned channel, with regional branches.

4) Canal + (Channel+) - state-owned channel

5) France 5 (formerly La Cinquième) - state-owned channel with a focus on Talk Shows and documentaries

5b) Arte - french/german cultural channel

6) Métropole 6 (M6) - private channel - formerly had a focus on music, and currently battles TF1 for the lead in reality TV liscencing.

All these channels devote at least a part of their daily schedule to news broadcasting, but TF1 and France 2 are bitter rivals in securing audience for the two main news digest slots, 13:00 and 20:00.

Meanwhile, at the 20:00 Canal+ host a mixed-form talk show/news commentary, and a popular satirical latex puppet show, Les Guignols de l'Info, which enjoys stable rating and a quasi total freedom of speech.

Recently, a dedicated newschannel France 24, was launched as a joint venture between the state and the TF1 channel. It broadcasts in French, English and Arabic.

It isn't that popular in France. Some French news agencies do sometimes submit material to European newschannel Euronews, which also broadcasts in French.