Microsoft Word - OBS_n38472_v3_EUROFICTION_6th_Report

Television Fiction in

Europe

Eurofiction 2002

Sixth edition

Please note:

The following report is a comprehensive analysis of fiction programmes scheduled in European

TVs in 2001.

The European Audiovisual Observatory could not publish anymore such a report for the

following years. However, in the framework of its Yearbook, Film, Television and Video in

Europe, Chapter “Programming”, the Observatory published for all the following years a

statistical analysis of fiction programming in most of the European television markets.

Milly Buonanno (editor)

October 2002

Edited by Milly BUONANNO, EUROFICTION, Television Fiction in Europe, Report 2002

Sixth edition, European Audiovisual Observatory, Strasbourg, October 2002

ISBN 92-871-5028-1

The Eurofiction project team is coordinated by the Hypercampo Foundation, partner organisation of the European

Audiovisual Observatory and comprises of:

Italy University of Firenze

Fondazione Hypercampo

Osservatorio sulla Fiction Italiana (OFI)

France Institut National de l’Audiovisuel (INA)

Conseil Supérieur de l’Audiovisuel (CSA)

Germany Universität Siegen

Spain Universitat Autónoma de Barcelona (UAB)

Corporación Multimedia y TVC

United Kingdom British Film Institute (BFI)

Director of Publication Wolfgang Closs, Executive Director of the European Audiovisual Observatory

[email protected]

Liaison Officer with

Partner Organisation André Lange, Expert – Information on Markets and Funding

andré[email protected]

Marketing Markus Booms, Marketing Officer

[email protected]

Translators/Revisers France Courrèges, Paul Green, Erwin Rohwer, Ann Stedman and Colin Swift

Print Production C.A.R. - Centre Alsacien de Reprographie

Publisher European Audiovisual Observatory

76 allée de la Robertsau

67000 Strasbourg

France

Tel.: 0033 (0)388 14 44 00 Fax: 0033 (0)388 14 44 19

Email: [email protected] URL: www.obs.coe.int

The analyses expressed in these articles are the authors’ own opinions and cannot in any way be considered as

representing the point of view of the European Audiovisual Observatory, its members and the Council of Europe.

Contributors

Giovanni Bechelloni

Head of the Communication Programme, Faculty of Political

Sciences, at the University of Firenze (PhD, Master). President of

Fondazione Hypercampo, Italy.

Milly Buonanno

Professor of Sociology of Communication, Department of Political

Sciences and Sociology at the University of Firenze and at the

Faculty of Sociology, University of Rome. Director of Osservatorio

sulla Fiction Italiana (OFI), Italy.

Hanna Andrzejczyk

Head of Audience Research at Polish Television (TVP S.A.).

Member of the Group of European Audience Researchers

(GEAR/EBU) and European Society for Opinion and Marketing

Research (ESOMAR), Poland.

Carlos Arnanz

Audience Analyst at Radio TV Española. Head of Marketing,

Audience and Contents at Corporación Multimedia, Spain.

Sevilay Celenk

Research Assistant at the Faculty of Communications of the

University of Ankara, Turkey.

Régine Chaniac

Works in the “Direction de la Recherche” at the Institut National de

l’Audiovisuel (INA). Associate Researcher at the CNRS

(Laboratoire “Communication et politique”), France.

Sonja de Leeuw

Professor of Film and Television Studies at the University of

Utrecht, the Netherlands.

Isabel Ferin

Professor and Researcher, Department of Communications Studies

at the Universidade Católica Portuguesa, Portugal.

Ursula Ganz-Blättler

Teaches Sociology of Audiovisual Media as well as Mass

Communications, Department of Sociology at the University of

Geneva, Switzerland.

Gerd Hallenberger

Teaches in the Media Studies course at the University of Siegen,

Germany.

Jean-Pierre Jézéquel

Works in the “Direction de la Recherche” at the Institut National de

l’Audiovisuel (INA), France.

Charo Lacalle

Professor of Semiotics at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona

(UAB), Spain.

Laurent Letailleur

“Chargé de Mission”, Direction of Programmes, Conseil Supérieur

de l’Audiovisuel (CSA), France.

Fabrizio Lucherini

PhD. student at the University of Firenze. Vice-Director of the

Osservatorio della Fiction Italiana (OFI), Italy.

Richard Paterson

Head of Knowledge at the British Film Institute (BFI). Honorary

Professor of Media Management at the University of Stirling,

United Kingdom.

Francisco Rui Cádima

Professor in the Department of Communication Sciences,

Universidade Nova de Lisboa. Director of Obercom – Observatório

da Comunicação, Portugal.

Lorenzo Vilches

Professor of Communication’s Theory, Universitat Autònoma de

Barcelona (UAB). Director of the Master’s Programme in Film and

TV Scriptwriting (UAB), Spain.

iii

Contents

Project Team -------------------------------------------------------------------------vii

Preface ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------xi

Part One

Methodology

1. Preliminary Remarks--------------------------------------------------------- 1

2. Datasheet----------------------------------------------------------------------- 3

1. A Comparative Overview

by Milly Buonanno

1. A New Turbulent Environment --------------------------------------------- 5

2. The Offer of European TV Fiction in 2001: On The Increase ----------12

3. Formats: Between Abundance and Plurality ------------------------------19

4. Co-productions: Awaiting Napoléon---------------------------------------23

5. Sample Week: A Stable Model ---------------------------------------------26

6. Successes: Fading-------------------------------------------------------------29

2. Julie Lescaut Wins Over Loana - French TV Fiction in 2001

by Régine Chaniac et Jean-Pierre Jézéquel

1. The Audiovisual Landscape: The Year of Loft Story --------------------35

2. The Origin of Fiction: Small Evolutions-----------------------------------37

3. Domestic TV Fiction in 2001: Production Down-------------------------39

4. Successes and Failures: Some Surprises-----------------------------------44

5. Success of Short-Format: Comedies ---------------------------------------45

3. The Calm Before the Storm - German TV Fiction in 2001

by Gerd Hallenberger

1. The Audiovisual Landscape: A Precarious Scenario--------------------49

2. The Origin of Fiction: Programming as Usual----------------------------54

3. Domestic TV Fiction in 2001: A Quantitative Approach----------------56

4. Successes, Failures and Innovations: A Special Year--------------------59

4. Cloudy Fictionscape - Italian TV Fiction in 2001

by Milly Buonanno

1. The Audiovisual Landscape: (Almost) the Same as Before-------------65

2. The Origin of Fiction: Europe from Satellite------------------------------67

3. Domestic TV Fiction in 2001: All-Time Peak ----------------------------71

4. Successes and Failures: Back To the Past ---------------------------------75

5. The Last Fires? ---------------------------------------------------------------79

5. The Moment of Local Fiction - Spanish TV Fiction in 2001

by Carlos Arnanz, Charo Lacalle and Lorenzo Vilches

1. The Audiovisual Landscape: The Year of Operación Triunfo----------83

2. The Origin of Fiction: Fall in Offer ----------------------------------------86

3. Domestic TV Fiction in 2001: Autonomic Channels On the Up -------89

4. Successes and Failures: The Rise of Nostalgic Comedy-----------------92

5. Focus: Cuéntame cómo pasó and Temps de silenci ----------------------96

6. Sclerosis of the Schedules - UK TV Fiction in 2001

by Richard Paterson

1. The Audiovisual Landscape: Assessment for the Year ------------------99

2. The Origin of Fiction: UK Dominance-------------------------------------101

3. Domestic TV Fiction in 2001: Marked Increase--------------------------103

4. Successes and Failures: Old Titles on Top --------------------------------107

5. Concluding Remarks ---------------------------------------------------------108

Focus Section

Gerd Hallenberger - Editor

Note from the Editor ----------------------------------------------------------------113

1. Saturated with Domestic TV Series and Soaps – The Mirror of

Everyday Life - Polish TV Fiction in 2001

by Hanna Andrzejczyk

1. The Audiovisual Landscape: Changes over Time ------------------------115

2. Formats, Genres and the Origin of Fiction: The Stable Position of

Domestic TV Fiction---------------------------------------------------------118

3. Domestic TV Fiction in 2001 -----------------------------------------------121

4. Trends and Developments ---------------------------------------------------124

2. Domestic Soap Operas Overtake Brazilian Imports

Portuguese TV Fiction in 2001

by Isabel Ferin and Francisco Rui Cádima

1. The Audiovisual Landscape-------------------------------------------------127

2. The Role and Origin of Fiction ---------------------------------------------128

3. A Case Study of Portuguese TV Fiction on Public and134

Private Television ------------------------------------------------------------132

3.1 Data Analysis------------------------------------------------------134

3.2 Analysis of Cultural Settings------------------------------------135

4. TV Movies---------------------------------------------------------------------137

5. General Trends----------------------------------------------------------------139

UPDATES

3. Historical Fiction and the Telefilm - Dutch TV Fiction in 2001---------143

by Sonja de Leeuw

4. Less Money to Spend, More Movies Made for SBC

Swiss Television Fiction in 2001-----------------------------------------------145

by Ursula Ganz-Blättler

5. Indirect Ways of Foreign Penetration - Turkish TV fiction in 2001----149

by Sevilay Celenk

Part Two

Programmes Index ------------------------------------------------------------------153

France

Top 10 Programmes ------------------------------------------------------------------155

6 Interesting Programmes------------------------------------------------------------160

4 Disappointing Programmes--------------------------------------------------------163

Germany

Top 10 Programmes ------------------------------------------------------------------167

5 Interesting Programmes------------------------------------------------------------172

5 Disappointing Programmes--------------------------------------------------------174

Italy

Top 10 Programmes ------------------------------------------------------------------179

5 Interesting Programmes------------------------------------------------------------186

5 Disappointing Programmes--------------------------------------------------------189

Spain

Top 10 Programmes ------------------------------------------------------------------193

5 Interesting Programmes------------------------------------------------------------199

5 Disappointing Programmes--------------------------------------------------------202

United Kingdom

Top 10 Programmes ------------------------------------------------------------------207

5 Interesting Programmes------------------------------------------------------------211

5 Disappointing Programmes--------------------------------------------------------214

Appendix

The Eurofiction Project ------------------------------------------------------------219

vii

Project Team

Italy University of Firenze

Fondazione Hypercampo

Osservatorio sulla Fiction Italiana (OFI)

France Institut National de l’Audiovisuel (INA)

Conseil Supérieur de l’Audiovisuel (CSA)

Germany Universität Siegen

Spain Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB)

Corporación Multimedia y TVC

United Kingdom British Film Institute (BFI)

Head of the project: Giovanni Bechelloni (University of Firenze)

Project coordinator: Milly Buonanno (University of Firenze)

National Teams

Italy

Milly Buonanno (University of Firenze, Coordinator)

Giovanni Bechelloni

(University of Firenze)

Anna Lucia Natale (University of Campobasso)

Fabrizio Lucherini (Osservatorio sulla Fiction Italiana)

Tiziana Russo (Osservatorio sulla Fiction Italiana)

France

Régine Chaniac (Institut National de l’Audiovisuel.Coordinator)

Jean-Pierre Jézéquel (Institut National de l’Audiovisuel )

Laurent Letailleur (Conseil Supérieur de l’Audiovisuel)

Germany Gerd Hallenberger (Universität Siegen. Coordinator)

Andreas Kaiser (Universität Siegen)

Florian Gersie (Universität Siegen)

Frank Unland

(Universität Siegen)

Robert Wörnle (Universität Siegen)

viii

Spain Lorenzo Vilches (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Coordinator)

Charo Lacalle (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona)

Carlos Arnanz (Corporación Multimedia)

Sonia Algar (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona)

Pilar Conejero (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona)

Marta Ortega (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona)

Sonia Polo (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona)

United Kingdom Richard Paterson (British Film Institute, Coordinator)

Maria Sourbati (British Film Institute)

Netherland Sonja de Leeuw (University of Utrecht)

Poland Hanna Andrzejczyk (Polish Television - TVP S.A.)

Portugal Isabel Ferin (Universidade Católica Portuguesa)

Francisco Rui Cádima (Universidade Nova de Lisboa)

Catarina Burnay (Universidade Católica Portuguesa)

Leonor Gameiro (Universidade Católica Portuguesa)

Marta Fernandes (Obercom – Observatório da Comunicação)

Switzerland Ursula Ganz-Blättler (University of Geneva)

Turkey Sevilay Celenk (University of Ankara)

Acknowlegments

For the Italian side of the research, the network coordination, the organisation of

international conferences, the translations and the publication and distribution of the

report in Italy and abroad, the Eurofiction project drew over the years on funding from

various sources: RAI, MEDIASET as main sponsors, then the Ministry for University

and Scientific Research, the University of Florence and the University of Salerno, the

National Council of Research, the Italian Office of the European Commission and the

European Audiovisual Observatory.

Preface

EUROFICTION, an indispensable tool for understanding the

European audiovisual market

The European Audiovisual Observatory is delighted to present the sixth

EUROFICTION report.

As in previous years, the report is a result of the partnership between the

Observatory and the Fondazione Hypercampo (Università di Firenze).

Professor Milly Buonanno continues to coordinate energetically and

efficiently the network of five national teams which, within their respective

institutions (Siegen Universität for Germany, Universitat autonoma de

Barcelona for Spain, INA for France, British Film Institute for the United

Kingdom and Osservatorio sulla Fiction Italiana for Italy), collect the data

and produce the analyses contained in this report.

EUROFICTION is the only reliable tool for qualitative and statistical

analysis of developments in television fiction in the five largest West

European markets. The continuity provided by the report is clearly

invaluable in an era when the European Union and industry professionals

are endeavouring, not without difficulty, to evaluate the impact of the

"Television Without Frontiers" Directive on the European market.

As well as analysing the situation in the five countries traditionally studied

by EUROFICTION, the report contains, as it does every year, articles

relating to other countries, coordinated by Gerd Hallenberger (Siegen

Universität). This year, countries as different as Poland and Portugal come

under the microscope.

The Observatory would like to thank all the EUROFICTION teams for the

quality and perseverance of their work, carried out under conditions that are

not always easy. We are also grateful to RAI and Mediaset which, as the

main sources of funding for the Osservatorio sulla Fiction Italiana, enable

Professor Buonanno to coordinate the project.

Complementary tools for fiction market analysis

In addition to the EUROFICTION report, the Observatory offers further

tools to analyse the situation of European audiovisual production,

particularly fiction production.

- In March 2002, the Observatory launched the trial version of the

KORDA database (http://korda.obs.coe.int

) on its website.

Accessible free of charge, the database provides a detailed panorama

of public aid programmes for the film and audiovisual industry in the

xii

European Union Member States. It will be gradually broadened to

include data from the Observatory Member States which are not EU

members. The database currently includes more than 200 national

and regional aid programmes for the film and audiovisual industry.

Whilst most of these programmes are aimed primarily at the film

industry, 72 of them support the development or production of

television fiction, illustrating the growing interest being shown by

public authorities in this genre.

- In November 2002, the Observatory will publish the 5th volume of

the 2002 edition of its Yearbook, which deals with the production

and distribution of audiovisual works. Dividing the Yearbook into

thematic volumes has enabled us to increase our statistical coverage

of the audiovisual market. In addition to the traditional data on the

distribution, by genre, of programmes broadcast by the main

European channels, and on the volume and origin of imported

fictional programmes, the 5th volume will include original data on

the financial situation of audiovisual production companies,

particularly fiction production companies. Without revealing the

details of this new statistical data, we should point out that our

current estimates suggest that the TV fiction sector is achieving a

profit margin of 4 to 5%, whereas the film production sector is just

keeping its head above water with a zero profit margin.

- Last but not least, the second edition of the economic study on the

financial value of fiction production in Europe will be published by

the end of the year. The Observatory published the first such report

in 2000, when it was produced by the INA in collaboration with the

EUROFICTION teams, using the data gathered by EUROFICTION.

The first report was co-funded by the Observatory and the CNC.

This year, the CNC is the main sponsor, although the European

Audiovisual Observatory and the Media Development Directorate

(French Ministry of Communication) are providing additional

funding. Based on the so-called "standard cost" method developed

by INA researcher Jean-Pierre Jézéquel, this study enables us to

estimate the value of fiction production in the five featured countries

and to compare the very different situations of independent

production and internal production by TV channels.

André Lange

Head of Department

Information on Markets and Financing

European Audiovisual Observatory

Part One

Methodology

1. Preliminary Remarks

The graphs and tables appearing in the first chapter, as well as those in the

single country-reports, present the results of a study carried out by five

research teams in the EUROFICTION member countries: France, Germany,

Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom. Monitoring was done according to a set

of pre-established, homogeneous criteria. In light of the overall lack of

harmonisation in gathering and processing information which usually

hampers research in the field of television industry and programming, this

homogeneity in methodology is a primary resources of the

EUROFICTION project.

The datasheet presented here below was used to survey and classify all

domestic television fiction programmes, including co-productions,

broadcast as first runs during the year 2001 by the national broadcasting

networks

of five major European countries. The basic unit of analysis was

the single episode or instalment.

The major channels monitored in each country are as follows:

It is important to specify that reruns of domestic fiction and imports from

European or non-European countries are not included in the annual survey.

EUROFICTION is primarily focused on the productive activity and capacity

of European broadcasters. The most evident indicator of this is without any

doubt the volume of first runs domestic fiction programmes each network is

able to offer per year.

Spain is the only exception here. The autonomic Catalan channel TV3 was included in the

study since 1996 because of the important contribution it makes in producing and

programming domestic fiction. Moreover in 1999 all the other regional/autonomicas channels

were included as well.

See the country-report for Germany for more detailed information.

France Germany Italy Spain

United

Kingdom

TF1 ARD Raiuno TVE1 BBC1

France2 ZDF Raidue La2 BBC2

France3 RTL Raitre T5 ITV

M6 SAT.1 Canale5 A3 Channel 4

Canal+ Pro7 Rete4 TV3 Channel 5

Arte (others)

Italia1 Autonomicas --

Reruns and imports have been included, on the other hand, in the data gathered

during the sample week (4-10 March 2001). Monitoring, for this week only,

includes the totality of fiction programmes without exception, in order to

situate the results within a broader range of contextual factors.

Fiction is a product both of industry and television culture. This dual

approach, which is the cornerstone of the EUROFICTION research project, is

reflected, from a methodological point of view, in the datasheet, which has

been divided into two sections.

In the first section, fiction programmes are classified according to key

variables related to format and genres in conjunction with their position in the

schedules and their ratings.

The second section looks at four cultural indicators, time, place, environment

and main character, in an attempt to give an overview of the dimensions and

characteristic of the more specifically cultural aspect of the stories told. It is

clear that the definition and breakdown of cultural indicators need further

fine-tuning as the research project progresses. Nevertheless, this has already

proven its worth as one of the peculiarities of EUROFICTION for two

reasons:

- first, because it integrates the quantitative/statistical approach by a

qualitative and interpretative stance, which is what EUROFICTION

selfconsciously regards as its competitive advantage in the research field of

European television industry and culture,

- second, it entails and implies a working method requiring first-hand

knowledge of the fiction programmes. Without this, the classification of

cultural indicators would be impossible.

This first-hand knowledge is the starting point for a thorough and

comprehensive analysis of the state of domestic fiction and its major trends in

the individual countries observed, as it can be found in the national chapters

of this report.

2. Datasheet

(Unit of analysis: broadcast unit, i.e. single episode, part or instalment)

A. Basic classification

1. Retrieval information

- Title:

- Day:

- Date:

- Channel:

- Time slot:

- Length in minutes (advertising not included):

2. Type of production

1. Domestic productions

2. Inter-European co-productions(with partners

from other European countries: *

Europe is meant within conventional

geographical borders)

3. Inter-continental co-productions (in

partnership with non-European countries, or

with otherEuropean+non-European

countries)

* if the case occurs, co-productions with same-

language countries can be introduced

separately

3. Format

1. TV movie (one-off)

2. Miniseries (up to six episodes, narrative

closure)

3. Series (anthology plot, almost self-sufficient

episodes)

4. Open serial (e.g.soap)

5. Closed serial (e.g.telenovela, in any case

running plot over more than six episodes,

narrative closure)

4 . Genre

1. General drama (e.g. soap)

2. Action/crime (e.g.police)

3. Comedy (e.g. sitcom)

4. Other

5. Subgenre

establishing subgenres is left to each national

research team)

6. Audience data

- Audience average:

- Ratings:

- Share:

B. Cultural indicators

1. Time

1. Present (the present decade)

2. Past

3. Future

2. Place

1. National - i.e. if the story is set mainly in the

country of production (if national, specify:

Region)

2. International - if the story is set in other

countries as well

3. Abroad - if the story is set totally in other

countries

3. (Main) Environment

1. metropolitan (specify if Capital city)

2. urban

3. rural (countryside, seaside etc.)

4. other

5. not identifiable

4. Main character*

1. Male

2. Female

3. Male group

4. Female group

5. Mixed/choric

* any elements implying that one character holds

a special position (e.g. programme title) are to be

considered indicators of non-group/choric status.

1. A Comparative Overview

by Milly Buonanno

1. A New Turbulent Environment

An area of turbulence is forecast for the imminent future of European

television fiction. Actually the future, disclosed by much evidence in 2001 -

the reference year of the current Eurofiction report, the sixth of the series -

has already become part of the present at the moment of this volume’s

publication and circulation.

We are used to diversifying each year, at the beginning of the comparative

overview, the metaphors, the key words and the perspectives that we adopt

in order to offer – on the basis of phenomena and trends deemed the most

significant - an immediate and synthetic characterisation (the cipher) of the

period under analysis. The European television landscapes having

undertaken an incessant though partial and not necessarily disruptive

transformation process, always offer something different from before (or

perceptible from an innovative point of view): and this requires a

diversification of the descriptive and interpretative language. Furthermore,

the many aspects of inevitable repetition of a yearly production need to be

balanced by a dose of novelty, exactly what happens to the narrative

seriality of television fiction.

In presenting the sixth Eurofiction report, from a temporary perspective now

more than ever liminal, at the crossroads between 2001 already finished and

2002 already well on its way, we happen instead to recall the metaphor of

the “turbulent environment” previously adopted. The fact is that nothing

else can better account for the present condition of the television fiction

industry in the five largest European countries.

We resorted to the same words in the introduction of the third report (1999).

But the turbulences of only three years ago, correlated firstly to the advent

of digital TV and its presumable repercussions on the industry of contents,

seem to be quite feeble in the light of the present-day situation; and above

all they seemed to be at that time endowed (perhaps deceivingly) with a

comfortable dose of ambivalence. In fact, they half revealed a dual potential

- always in terms of impact on the fiction sector - risk but also opportunity,

restriction and resource, slowdown and thrust. The risk and slowdown

factors in the meantime appear to have increased and become more

threatening.

In the first place, it must be made clear that fiction is still a vital genre in

Europe and capable of excellent performances – as far as quality and

audience ratings are concerned - even though the limelight it enjoyed

during the second half of the nineties is perhaps not so brilliant as before. It

would therefore be out of place to immediately invoke the generic and

alarmist category of “crisis”. As we argued in the introduction to last year’s

report (Eurofiction 2001), the cyclical tendencies and the alternating ebbs

and flows are peculiar phenomena in the television industry - at least as we

have experienced it up to now.

It is most likely that the cycle of luck and expansion of European drama is

just on the wane; but the drop promises, or better, threatens to be important

because, apparently for the first time, there are many unfavourable factors

involved. However the theory of ebbs and flows, supported by experience,

suggests the benevolent and even reasonable expectation of a turn-around in

the near (but unspecified) future, it is just as reasonable not to underestimate

the empirical indicators and the factors responsible for the actual and

potential difficulties of European television fiction.

It is almost paradoxical that here we face one of the rare cases in which we

can use the word “European” without worrying about generalising. Even

though, on the specific terrain of television drama, in the last few years there

has been a process of relative unification among the major European

countries - this can be seen in the previous Eurofiction reports - the enduring

national peculiarities concerning systems, resources, television and social

culture and much more, often make the word “European” a mere convention

and a linguistic short cut. “Excepted the differences between one country

and another” is a warning often expressed and always implicitly effective in

the comparative synthesis of Eurofiction. But, as the national chapters

included in this report show right from the para-textual side of the title

(from the Italian “Cloudy fictionscape” to the German “Calm Before the

Storm”), the conditions or the prospects of a turbulent environment are

seemingly omni-present and give rise to an authentically European

phenomenon: which evidently makes it much more serious and relevant.

Exogenous and endogenous as well as structural and cyclical factors, meet

to create the contemporary turbulent habitat of European television fiction.

Even if for analytical and clarifying reasons we deal with them separately,

as discrete variables, it must be understood that they act and make an impact

in reciprocal inter-relationship.

A. Exogenous factors: are those which do not originate inside the television

systems, which however they affect at various levels. The sharp drop or

even turnabout of the growth in advertising investments is today the

exogenous factor with the most negative impact on the entire economy of

the European television systems. Over and above what is normally

described as convergence, the connection between media and

telecommunications finds added evidence in this phenomenon: if Internet

and telecommunications were those which fostered by their expansion, even

on the front of advertising investments, the prosperity of television up to the

beginning of the third millennium, the “shrinkage” of the sector is among

the main responsible for the present contraction of television resources.

Generally speaking, the depletion of resources brings about restraints, to a

greater or lesser extent, of the programming costs. In similar circumstances

the broadcasters are pressed by the difficult objective of squaring the circle,

setting up programme schedules which are both economical and appealing,

so as to avoid triggering off a vicious circle: meaning that a poorer offer and

thus (eventually) less attractive risks to arouse a loss of viewers, which in

turn is likely to cause a further outflow of advertising investments. Genres

and contents less expensive or deemed more reliable for realising a better

balance between production costs and benefits of audience and advertising,

become crucial for this strategic operation.

In particular, the shrinkage of the resources hits first and foremost the

television fiction sector, notoriously the most prestigious and costly of the

contents (with the exception of soap operas and the like, not by chance in

great expansion in many countries), as well as that which in recent years has

seen its production costs ballooning out of proportion. Following the

advertising recession, budget cuts in fiction were announced, or in any case

decided, by many European broadcasters, firstly but not exclusively by the

commercial channels - is another small paradox that this has happened after

a year of great achievement: as we shall see later on in this chapter, in 2001

the drama of the European private televisions earned itself a larger number

of positions in the list of the 100 most watched episodes.

Against budget cuts, the declarations of the broadcasters aimed at

reconfirming the confidence and the commitments to indigenous fiction as a

structural component of the schedules and primary marker of the identity of

the channels, are hardly reassuring for the independent producers. Small or

large controversial hotbeds, concerning in particular the question of rights

ownership and exploitation and the amount of the producer’s fee, have been

constantly kindled in recent years, and these latest developments do not help

to improve the climate of the relationships between the parties.

The intrinsic weakness of the sector of independent television production in

Europe risks breaking cover as never before in the present situation. The

volume of financial capital which is needed to set a fiction project in motion

is undeniably out of reach for the independent production companies, most

of them being small or medium sized. The more or less total cession of the

rights to the broadcasters does not permit additional earnings from the sale

abroad or on secondary markets; on the other hand, this is a more relevant

obstacle in terms of principles rather than facts, since a secondary market of

some importance has not been set up in any of the countries - the multi-

channel environment still has to keep its promises in this instance - and we

can hardly say that national European fiction, except for Germany, is

competitive on an international level.

The absence or the small size of the ancillary internal markets, and the

relative scantiness of the flow of finances conveyed by exportation,

obviously put the breaks on the acquisition of added resources by the

broadcasters as well: a limit which can be unimportant in the phases of

prosperity but is much more of a burden in critical moments as now. As

regards international contributions linked to fiction co-productions, their

incidence can sometimes be relevant for single projects but certainly not

decisive as substantial compensation for the cuts due to the deficit in

primary advertising resources - which, out of all the European televisions,

only the wealthy BBC is able not to miss at all.

B. Endogenous factors. These originate from inside the television field. In turn

they can be divided analytically into two categories, depending on whether

they concern competition among different genres, or if they are pertinent to

a specific area of contents (fiction, in our case).

Concerning competition and the position of strength between the television

genres, it is well-known that since 1999 and in a more explosive way since

2000 a cycle has begun (or should we say begun again, after about ten

years) of huge popularity for the reality and game shows, and continues to

be so. From Big Brother to Operación Triunfo and their more or less

successful clones, these programmes have done much more than simply

establish themselves in the schedules of European television, and specially

of commercial channels. They have triggered off co-operation between

different distribution platforms, established forms of interactivity and

nourished other sectors of the media industry (advertising, music). They

have achieved the goal, which rarely and often in vain is attempted by the

traditional terrestrial networks, i.e. to attract the evasive young audiences,

and above all have obtained a public visibility and sparked off discussions

even within the circles and the media of the intellectual elite. This has

brought back television - recently undermined by the arrival of digital TV,

the convergence, technology and the like - to centre stage.

The subsequent editions of the same programmes have generally occurred in

a more inattentive atmosphere; the share of the channels usually falls back

to the previous levels after the soaring figures which successful reality

programmes benefit from. There have also been some quite sensational

failures (however they have been cushioned by a fast rate of exchange of

offer); where they were shown in direct competition with fiction

programmes, the reality shows have sometimes managed to siphon off

audiences and sometimes they have not managed to do so (for example

French fiction has stood up to this situation very well). In spite of this

distinction, it can not be denied that the reality shows secured the public’s

approval in one go - above all appealing to common people’s widespread

desire to be protagonists - as well as the broadcasters, and constitute the

most popular television genre of these days.

As we had already assumed in the introduction of the previous report, the

(so-to speak) attack of the reality shows on fiction programmes does not

happen so much or primarily in the form of direct competition, coming out

trumps or in any case formidable competitors in a possible neck and neck,

but more by an indirect passage but actually more decisive: the diverging

repositioning of the two genres on the agenda of the broadcasters’ strategic

priority. This simply means that - spurred on by the crest of the wave of

success - the reality shows become the leading programmes of the channels,

the mainstay of the schedules, the typology of production and offer on

which higher expectations of notoriety and success are invested, and greater

planning, promotional and fulfilling commitments are deployed. In this

process of redistribution of positions, fiction programmes tend to shift (from

a little to a lot) lower or marginally.

Moreover, compared with fiction, the reality shows have a double

competitive advantage which - combined with their ascent in winning over

viewers favour - create an amalgam which the broadcasters find difficult to

resist. They are in fact economical in two ways, both financial and creative.

Although it would be misleading to consider them as totally inexpensive

programmes, the preparation, production and management of the reality

shows imply decisively lower costs than those for fiction programmes of a

medium standard (and they can be just as successful or even more so): an

appreciable requisite as never before, in a contraction phase of advertising

resources. Also appreciable are the creative economies made possible by the

fact that in most cases the setting up of reality shows is based on already

tried and tested international concepts or formats. Without denying the fact

that the local adaptation of formats can in turn be creative and at times

enhance the original idea, the saving in terms of inventive elaboration is

unquestionable.

There is more to it. Just because they are based on formats for international

circulation, the reality shows often benefit (and consequently bring benefit

to the networks) of an “embodied advertising resource”. Unless of course

they are not debuting, they appear on television in various countries already

preceded and surrounded with a glow of publicity for the success they have

obtained elsewhere. This kind of promotional resource, able to intensify the

curiosity and the expectations of the public, obviously does not offer any

guarantee against failure or disappointment; but it pre-establishes a vibrant

context of reception which, when given the chance, can facilitate the swing

of a programme (reality or other) towards success. The same popularity

obtained in Europe in the past by many American fiction programmes, and

basically also the more restricted cult phenomena which they evoke today,

were facilitated (although never determined) by the international run-up of

echoes of their fame in their home country and overseas. For obvious

reasons purely national fiction cannot take advantage from a similar

promotional device.

Lastly, the reality shows are or appear to be endowed with a further

requisite: not so much a mere gleam of newness rather more a true

innovation. They mix-up genres and languages, perform inter-mediality, and

democratically exalt the desire to be protagonists of the ordinary people.

They present themselves as the most advanced frontier of television

communication (not unlike what happened ten years before), thus offering

the channels which broadcast and cultivate them a “progressivist”

legitimisation. Together with all the rest, it is enough to illuminate the

scenario of competition between the reality shows and television drama.

This latter point directly introduces the second endogenous factor of

turbulence, the critical area inside the very body of European drama: the

poor capacity of renewal and regeneration.

In order not to give the false impression of a genre cornered by the

triumphant advance of the reality shows or affected by inherent weakness, it

is necessary once again to stress that European national fiction is still today

an important structural component of the schedules of public and private

channels, and a means of great successes: a sign of its lasting ability to gain

and hold the favour of the local audiences. Just a short time ago it could

have been considered, and it actually was by many broadcasters, the

strategic content of programming. The fading of the successes, in other

words the relative fall of audience ratings pointed out unanimously in the

national chapters of this report, rings perhaps an alarm bell: but it resounds

more for the dispersion of viewers into the rivulets of the multi-channel

television environment, than for the same public’s disaffection for fiction

programmes. Equally, one must accept with a certain amount of caution the

disapproval coming from intellectual circles, media critics (and indeed

sometimes by the same authors) on the widespread decline in quality of

fiction production. Although such manifestations perform, in each country,

an invaluable role of keeping alert the attention towards the cultural and

aesthetic standards of such a prestigious genre as drama, often they are

biased by idiosyncratic evaluation criteria, or they are “mixing the good

with the bad”. Good or excellent quality fiction - which more often than not

coincides also with good or excellent audience ratings - are omni-present in

the programming of European televisions, to an extent which does not

entitle us to consider it a rare event.

Nonetheless, there is a problem; and having systematically followed the

development of European fiction for the last six years (seven, if we include

2002) we do not wish to underestimate it. The problem lies in a drive

towards renovation or innovation which is too weak, non-existing or

inefficient: when it comes to formulae and concepts, genres, language and

other. We do not refer to the few novelties which in variable numbers and

with alternating luck are scattered over the seasonal or yearly programming

of indigenous fiction in each country; but to the ideas, the talents and the

experiments able to mark a turning point, rejuvenate or rewrite a genre,

establish new standards, recreate long-lasting phenomena of popularity or

cult, give rise to trends, gather fans (and passable audience ratings). Nothing

more than what is needed for fiction to keep its vital momentum which

generates and in turn is regenerated by a good dose of innovative audacity.

The innovative audacity seems to have become a limited resource in the

national panoramas explored by Eurofiction, where the prudent reliance of

the broadcasters on the tried and tested - the re-proposal of consolidated

formulae which defends against having to deal with the risk of change -

prevails. The capacity of resistance of older programmes with respect to the

rapid obsolescence of many recent programmes is likely to corroborate this

policy of caution, giving the apparent evidence of the fixed habits of the

fiction viewers. But it is just as evident that in this way the diversification of

the audiences is undermined - notwithstanding the satisfaction which

usually welcomes the discovery of tribes, clusters or profiles of segmented

audiences announced by the marketing companies. In this way one also

gives up the culturally driving role which, at least in part, pertains to the

creative sectors of great responsibility and social influence, as it is

undeniably the case with television fiction.

To cope with the risk of innovation (obviously without having to abandon

the large and safe roads of the tradition) is no easy task or a question of

simple good will on the parts of broadcasters and producers. It requires the

singling out and nurturing of the right talents, a lot of research and

experimentation, suitable slots in the schedules to put the experiments to the

test of targeted audiences, a wide rate of tolerance of failures, and in

conclusion the mobilization of fairly large resources and a financial

machine.

The present circumstances do not lend themselves to a similar eventuality,

hardly compatible with either the down-flow in advertising incomes or the

competitive ascent of other television genres. To bet on safety constitutes,

understandably, the guiding principle in the phases of major uncertainty.

We shall see, in the next few years, in which way European fiction will cope

with the condition and the challenges of this turbulent environment, and the

ensuing results. A problematic and delicate phase is beginning or more

exactly has already begun. It is however encouraging that home-grown

drama in Europe is preparing to face it from the advantage point of its still

vigorous state of health.

2. The Offer of European TV Fiction in 2001: On The Increase

The volume of national fiction supply has never been as bountiful as in

2001: 5883 hours totalled in the five largest European countries. The

overall growth of just over 300 hours (+5.7%) fully compensates the drop in

2000 and recuperates the expansive trend which has been recorded in the

European television industry since the second half of the nineties. With

respect to 1996, the presence of fresh national products in the schedules of

both public as well as private channels (N.B. the Eurofiction monitoring

concerns only first-run contents) went up by more than 1700 hours, thus a

substantial increase of 43%.

In this fairly short time span of six years, and putting aside at the moment

the different directions of the national dynamics shown in the graph, the

productive capacities of the European television industry – of which fiction

represents the most important output - have strengthened and have enabled

the channels to fill widening spaces in the schedules with domestic

programmes, the most enjoyed by the local audiences. Especially in prime

time this process has gone pari passu with the huge, though not complete

eviction of imported programmes, and particularly those from the USA. It is

not just by chance that more than six out of ten hours of European fiction in

2001 were broadcast in prime time. Though this distribution should be

adjusted in the light of both the variable extension of the evening slot in the

different countries (from two to three hours), as well as the variable

scheduling of the different formats: the British channels by tradition and the

Italians due to recent innovation, for example, transmit the soap operas in

prime time, which obviously contribute in expanding to quite an extent the

volume of supply in that time slot.

As highlighted in the previous reports (and is promptly taken up again in the

national chapters), the expansion of production and offer of national fiction

in the main European countries between 1996 and 2001 was neither a

generalised or homogenous process.

It was not generalised because one of the countries, France, did not take part

and in fact moved in the opposite direction: excluding the temporary revival

during the two years 1998-1999, French fiction fell systematically in the

period under consideration and today is the only case of a national industry

with a production level lower than that of 1996 (graph. 1).

It is well known, and is quite evident in the distribution of offer by time

slots (graph. 2), how the main cause of this regression is the absence of the

fiction de journée, the daytime programmes, and generally the fact that the

French channels have refrained up to now from taking the way of the long

seriality; or more precisely they stopped going along it once the vein of

youthful series, which flourished in the early nineties, had been exhausted

and after the unsatisfactory results of the first home-grown soap opera in

1999.

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1400

1600

1800

2000

Graph. 1 - TV Fiction in Hours 1996-2001

1996

1690 1059 459 221 691

1997

1815 1225 759 397 576

1998

1945 1321 851 357 621

1999

1828 1324 1465 504 665

2000

1801 1322 1199 627 615

2001

1800 1463 1306 761 553

Germany

United

Kingdom

Spain Italy France

tot 1996:h 4120

tot 1997:h 4772

tot 1998:h 5095

tot 1999:h 5786

tot 2000:h 5564

tot 2001:h 5883

Source: Eurofiction

904

896

1009

454

894

412

461

300

397

156

Germany

United Kingdom

Spain

Italy

France

Graph. 2 - Hours of TV Fiction in Prime Time and

Off Prime Time in 2001

Off PT

Prime Time

Source: Eurofiction

Graph. 3 - Country share in 1996

Germany

41%

United

Kingdom

26%

France

17%

Spain

11%

Italy

Tot. Hours 4120

Source: Eurofiction

On the other hand, it was not a homogenous process because it happened

with very different intensity and with different impact on the local and the

entire European scenario in each of the other four countries. If we wish to

trace back the various evolution dynamics to the same regime of regulation,

we can affirm that the television industry in each country was strengthened

inversely in proportion to the level of production capacity which it had

already reached in 1996.

Thus, Germany which was and still remains the main European producer,

and started with a volume of domestic fiction at approximately 1700 hours,

after having touched the level of more than 2000 in 1998 has levelled out

during the last three years at the fairly high quota of 1800 annual hours.

The United Kingdom, in turn, has continued to hold the position of the

second largest producer, gradually increasing the output of locally produced

drama from over 1000 hours initially to top 1400 hours in 2001: 38% more

than 1996.

However, the most vehement driving force was produced by the Spanish

and Italian television industries, which far from the preceding (with 459 and

221 hours respectively) and falling behind France, were in 1996 the weakest

links in the European production apparatus. Spain’s contribution to the

global bulk of European fiction almost tripled between 1996 and 2001

(+185%) and the capacity of this national industry is now placed above the

threshold of one thousand hours per year (it must be noted that the historical

series of data from Spain presents some problems of comparability, as in the

first three years of Eurofiction the very productive autonomic televisions

were not included in the survey).

As far as Italy is concerned, the truly paltry size of that which in the middle

of the nineties could hardly be called industry, has given way to a

production system which is now three and a half times more than its initial

capacity (+245%), and lastly has broken away from the French one: where

in 1996 Italian fiction amounted to only just a third of that produced in

France.

The field of positions of the five countries, based on the quota supplied by

each one to the cumulated volume of European fiction, has therefore been

restructured over the years, following the dynamics of stabilisation, rise and

fall referred to previously. The comparison between 1996 and 2001 shows

immediate proof of the changes in degree and substance which occurred in

this sector: the fairly significant downsizing of the German output (though

still representing the major producer), the more than double incidence of

Italian and Spanish productions, and in spite of the French quota being

halved, the shortened distance between the Anglo-Saxon countries on one

side and the Latin countries on the other. In 1996 the “slices” of these latter

were equivalent, as a whole, to the third of the “cake”, and this means that

out of three hours of European fiction only one was produced by the

Mediterranean television industries; in 2001 the proportion increased to

more than four hours our of ten (44%).

Graph. 4 - Country share in 2001

United

Kingdom

25%

Spain

22%

Italy

13%

France

Germany

31%

Source:Eurofiction

Tot. Hours 5883

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

Graph. 5 - Episodes -Years 1996-2001

1996

1998

2000

2001

1996

2532 696 1836 228 893

1998

2715 1424 2286 378 612

2000

2610 1961 2178 902 802

2001

2628 2467 2407 1194 715

Germany Spain

United

Kingdom

Italy France

Tot. 1996 = 6185

Tot. 1998 = 7415

Tot. 2000 = 8453

Tot. 2001 = 9411

Source: Eurofiction

Whether we are speaking of Anglo-Saxon or Latin countries, the increase in

the hourly volume of fiction supply is due to an identical primary factor: an

intensified process of serialisation of national production. In other words,

the schedules of the British, Spanish and Italian channels were nourished by

a greater quantity of long seriality fiction, and in the first place soap operas.

This is confirmed by the evolution of the episodes, which increased by more

than 900 units between 2000 and 2001: the 11.5% more (double the

progression in hours). Spanish television and above all the autonomic

channels, which in the year under analysis beat the national channels in

hours and number of episodes, contribute significantly (500 episodes) to the

further expansion of long seriality. A new soap opera in Italy and two in the

United Kingdom, as well as the addition of supplementary weekly episodes

to some of the pre-existing ones, cover the remaining difference.

Not only in 2001 but during the entire time span of Eurofiction monitoring,

the serialisation has been the main originator of such a explosive growth (as

in the case of Spain and Italy) of European national drama. The French case

provides an evidence a contrario: it is the only national industry which does

not produce soap operas and long series, and is also that whose production

volume has fallen over the years.

In terms of episodes - not hours, given the short length of the instalments in

soaps - the open and closed serials amount today to more than half of

European fiction, all countries considered. Their incidence is the highest on

the Italian and British channels, although seriality holds a very different

position in the television history of the two countries: the United Kingdom

counts on soaps which have been transmitted for many decades, in Italy the

first local soap dates back to 1996.

Tab. 1 - Episodes of Serials in % in 2001

United Kingdom 72%

Italy 71.30%

Spain 59.60%

Germany 49.60%

France 0%

Source: Eurofiction

Even though, as we can see, not all countries support - or at least not to the

same extent - that which a few years ago was rather disdainfully called

“soapmania”, the reasons why the long serials are well placed in the

preferences agenda of the broadcasters at well-known and understandable:

unrivalled capacity to structure the schedules, which they supply hundreds

of episodes per year; ability to ensure a relatively stable and faithful

audience over a long period; training providers for creative talents;

maintenance of a high level of employment in the production system; and

last but not least, consistent production economies. In reality, even more in

the present situation of skimpy resources, serials offer the best solution for

the problem of keeping down the costs without having to lower production

levels. As regards the audience ratings, no country has been able to equal

the extraordinary and long-lasting popularity of several British soaps,

authentic institutions of the national popular culture; but generally speaking

the serials can assure the channels satisfactory performances, in relation to

the average shares of the time slots where they are scheduled. It is not rare

that this slot is the prime time (on the British, Italian and Spanish

television), even though in recent years the long seriality has been exploited

by the broadcasters to better refurbish the daytime slots, still saturated by

imports (however in slight decrease), with indigenous fiction programmes.

If we compare the breakdown of the episodes by time slots in 1996 and

2001, the expansion of supply in off prime time on the British, Spanish and

Italian channels is quite evident (next to the stable distribution of German

fiction and to the contraction of the French off prime time for reasons often

mentioned). Thus, while prime time is in the forefront in hourly volume, in

terms of episodes - all countries considered - the distribution of the offer is

equal.

723

1809

1441

395

379

317

137

225

668

Germany

United Kingdom

Spain

Italy

France

Graph. 6 - Episodes in Prime Time and Off Prime Time in 1996

Off Prime Time

Prime Time

Source: Eurofiction

Against long seriality, and almost everywhere, it exists - in the intellectual

and professional circles and even among the viewers - a negative prejudice,

the tendency to hastily accuse it of second-rate quality. In this instance, the

advancement of soaps, serials and long series in European fiction should be

considered further evidence of the dumbing-down of contemporary

television. There is no need to share such a schematic and detrimental

perspective - which attributes all the quality to formats similar to films, as

the TV movie and mini-series, and nourishes the eternal yearning for single

plays - in order to perceive the imbalance of a production and offer of

national fiction too leaned on long seriality side. At least because soaps and

their variants represent the expression and the real emblem of a fiction in

full sense domestic, localised and sometimes regionalised: a great resource

for keeping television in contact with the national and regional audiences,

on the basis of the cultural proximity and the sense of belonging to the same

home, but for this very reasons a eminently inward looking fiction. If one of

the problems, both cultural and economical, of European drama is the

difficulty to establish on a national level a sufficient “critical mass” of

potentially exportable programmes, the growing volume of production of

the soaps is far from providing a solution.

There are two tendencies seemingly conflicting but for the most part

interconnected which can be seen in contemporary European fiction: on one

hand the serialisation which has just been mentioned and which, consisting

of a dilated and hyper-dilated programme segmentation, can be identified

with a form of stretching; on the other hand a reduction of the length of the

episodes, or rather the proliferation of short episodes, equivalent to a form

of shrinking.

Two fiction episodes out of three last less than half an hour, the typical

length of soaps and sitcoms, and between 1996 and 2001 the number of

1716

943

923

685

361

Germany

U.K.

Spain

Italy

France

Graph. 7 - Episodes in Prime Time and Off Prime Time in 2001

Off Prime Time

Prime Time

Source: Eurofiction

short episodes has risen by 68%. The average standard of hour long

episodes are still irregularly widespread in Europe, above all because the

French and Italian tradition of the series of cinematic length is still strong

and competitive; however, since the end of the nineties, both industries have

started a more sustained production of one hour series.

If soaps and sitcoms give obviously the major contribution to the shortening

of length, the shrinking of the episodes is also the manifestation and the

result of a recent and interesting phenomenon which can be ascribed to the

few novelties in European fiction. This is actually the advent of very short

formats (only a few minutes), first introduced in France in 1999 with the

comedy Un gars, une fille, adaptation of an original Canadian format. A

second series of the same type Camera cafe was added in 2001, while one of

the Spanish channel has re-adapted the former with the title Ell i Ella.

Moreover some British channels have commissioned and scheduled an

unusual number of short TV movies. These productions which last as video-

clips, and sometimes are shaped according to the same aesthetics, have

opened up a small space of refreshing innovation in the rather static

panorama of European drama; and lending themselves to programming

which does not need great manoeuvres in the schedules and just exploits the

short intervals between one programme and another, they have introduced a

new typology of interstitial fiction.

3. Formats: Between Abundance and Plurality

If the hours and the episodes capture the accelerated rhythm with which the

European television industry has been developing during the last six years,

the third indicator - the number of titles - supplies the elements to ascertain

Graph. 8 - Episodes by Length in 2001

1459

1839

1760

906

324

796

614

408

158

373

239

198

233

0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400 1600 1800 2000

Germany

Spain

United Kingdom

Italy

France

Long >60'

Medium >30'<=60'

Short <=30'

Source: Eurofiction

and downsize this large expansion. Suffice it to compare the differences in

growth over this period - according to the episodes, hours and titles - in

order to obtain an immediate idea.

Tab. 2 - Differences 1996-2001

Episodes +52%

Hours +43%

Titles +12%

Source: Eurofiction

Instead of introducing a contradiction in the picture already outlined up to

now, the modest increase in titles represents its confirmation: namely it

confirms that, where it has been produced, the new abundance of European

fiction was rather more the result of a dilatation process (accentuated

segmentation, stretching and therefore increase in hourly volume) than of a

pluralisation process of the programmes commissioned and offered by the

television channels.

In reality the number of titles reached its zenith (876) in 1998, and then

began to decrease in the subsequent two years; and although in 2001 there

were 50 more productions than the previous year, it was not enough to

recuperate the previous levels of 1998. Most of the new titles were made up

of TV movies, which seem to have regained momentum in Germany, France

and the United Kingdom; but the respective national chapters resound a note

of caution in this instance. Some German broadcasters have already

announced that they want to reduce the number in the near future; the new

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

Graph. 9 - Titles -Years 1996-2001

1996

1998

2000

2001

1996

297 194 200 27 43

1998

373 204 203 33 63

2000

361 171 151 54 62

2001

387 176 170 61 57

Germany France

United

Kingdom

Spain Italy

Tot. 1996 = 760

Tot. 1998 = 876

Tot. 2000 = 799

Tot. 2001 = 851

Source: Eurofiction

regulation in France on the broadcasters’ production commitments, in force

since 2002, contain dispositions which could favour the series - because

they are more repeatable - compared to the one-off formats, less exploitable

as reruns; the blooming of British TV movies is above all due to the

aforementioned “shorts”.

The titles and their corresponding formats represent a strong element of

distinction among the different countries and heavily restructure their

relative positions. Thus, if Germany remains the major producer whatever

indicator is taken into consideration (387 fiction programmes), France,

which is the last according to hours and episodes, goes to second position

thanks to 176 titles in 2001; with respect to the French channels, the Spanish

ones offer three times as many episodes of domestic fiction, four times the

number of hours and barely a third of the programmes; measured in hours

Italian fiction is much more than half of German output, measured in titles

is a seventh. In conclusion, 45% of European fiction programmes is

produced in Germany – which presumably is not unrelated to the

competitive capacity of the German television industry on the export front.

Tab. 3 – Formats

TV MOVIE SERIES MINI-SERIES SERIAL COLLECTIO

2001

385 291 109 51 15

2000

345 293 94 45 22

Source: Eurofiction

Graph. 10 - Formats by country in 2001

229

108

100

150

200

250

Germany France UK Spain Italy

Tv movie

Miniseries

Series

Serial

Collection

Source: Eurofiction

From this point of view, not of minor importance, little has changed in fact

since 1996; the Spanish and Italian television industries, if on the one hand

have proved to be the most dynamic and have given the major contribution

to the quantitative growth of European fiction, on the other hand have not

been able to bridge to a proportional degree the gap from the high level of

multi-programmes productiveness of the more mature and consolidated

industries. The double aim of abundance and plurality of production and

offer was probably too difficult to achieve short-term.

All countries considered, the distribution of the formats shows few changes

compared with the previous years, not so as to modify positions and

incidence of each typology. We must note that the lack of seven collections

is an added downsizing factor to the comeback of the TV movie.

Tab. 4 - Summary of the Offer in 2001

Hours Titles Episodes Seriality

Index* 2001

Seriality

Index* 1996

Germany

1800 387 2628 6.7 8.5

United

Kingdom

1463 170 2407 14 9.2

Spain

1306 61 2467 40.4 25.7

Italy

761 57 1194 20.9 5.4

France

553 176 715 4 4.6

tot.

5883 851 9411

Source: Eurofiction *average number of episodes per title

The German channels above all, and quite a long way off the French,

continue to cultivate in high quantities the one-off format; Italy has almost

left it by the wayside and Spain has only just begun to introduce it. The

countries characterised by a richer and multiple production in terms of titles

(Germany, France and the United Kingdom) grounds this prerogative on the

coupling of the preferential formats of the TV movie and the series; the

abundance of Spanish fiction rests on the binomial of series and serials;

Italy, whose catalogue of annual programmes is the least (57 titles),

equilibrates the dilation of the series and serials devoting half its titles to the

mini-series format, which is the emblem of its productive tradition.

4. Co-productions: Awaiting Napoléon

Immediately after 1998, the year in which the total of inter-European and

inter-continental co-productions reached its peak with 180 titles, 2001 was

the more fertile season for the international component of European fiction.

The 156 co-productions found in the offer of the five countries confirmed

the slight increase following the sharp fall in 1999; and with respect to the

129 titles of the first year of monitoring demonstrated steady progress of

20%.

The situation, however, is far from giving us the possibility of proclaiming

triumphalism nor even only great expectations. During the last six years

neither of the two types of co-production - the inter-European between two

or more European countries; the inter-continental, the fruit of a partnership

between European and extra-European operators, the latter being mostly

American - have shown signs of a vigorous and sustained growth. There

was an initial stage of ascent (the three year period 1996-1998), a

subsequent decrease and more recently a two year period of revival; but the

oscillations are few and the incidence of the co-productions (on average

18%) on the number of titles of fiction annually programmed by the

European televisions remains more or less unchanged.

Graph. 11 - Co-productions

101

135

122

108

117

107

4545

100

120

140

160

1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001

Source: Eurofiction

Inter-european

Inter-continental

In fact the co-productions have constituted, at least up to now, one of the

more stable objects (or more stationary) of our data gathering, in the sense

that each year the picture has not undergone significant variations. It is

necessary however to avoid considering not elastic results in a similar way

as non-results, or inert information; on the contrary, these are eloquent

indicators of a crystalised state of affair, and for one reason or another

(generally more than one) allergic to change - if not perhaps over the long

period.

In the more or less recent years we often had the illusive impression that

favourable conditions were emerging for the intensification of the creative

and productive cooperation among the European countries, and among the

latter and the “others” in far away countries. International treaties, alliances

among operators, the support of the European institutions and the more

compelling thrust by the increasing costs of fiction production, have

nourished the expectations of a substantial expansion of the inter-European

and inter-continental co-productions.

The reaping of this crop of expectations was frankly meagre, if it has to be

gauged according to the additional handful (fewer than 30 titles) of the co-

productions in 2001, compared to those in 1996. And for the future,

observing how Germany is the country which is more involved in both the

typologies of co-production, we must ask ourselves what kind of impact the

headlong fall of the television empire of Leo Kirch (till now one of the most

active players on the field) will have on the German partnerships, and

subsequently on the co-productions in Europe.

Graph. 12 - Inter-european co-productions in 2001

Germany

51%

France

35%

Spain

Italy

United

Kingdom

Tot. 122

Source:Eurofiction

There are naturally good and quite plausible reasons able to explain the

cautious evolutive dynamics of the sector. As with every plan which

involves negotiations and agreements among several partners, the co-

productions are a complicated and lengthy business: a discouraging

prospective right from the start or during the negotiations, and a kind of

inborn device of selection and reduction of initiatives. Furthermore they

show a rate of risk far superior than normal as regards the artistic

presentation and the audience results, every time that the mixing of national

and international components produce an imperfect amalgam, not

recognisable enough as being local by the public of the primary markets,

and not attractive enough as “exotic” for the public of the secondary

markets. Many European broadcasters have not forgotten the era of the

Europuddings: when, also on the wave of a certain EU rhetoric based on an

enthusiastic and abstract idea of pan-European television, co-productions

were set up which were mere and inefficient combinatory formulae of

international contributions (financial, infrastructural, scenographical,

artistical): without however basic resources, a story, characters a narrative

style endowed with an authentic trans-cultural attraction. That unsuccessful

experience has left long-lasting signs, even though a few recent episodes

have shown that it is possible to achieve co-productions very successful

among the audiences of the partners’ countries, and beyond.

As a matter of fact it is the “demonstrative effect” (see Report 2001), the

symbolic value of the small number of productions able to achieve

popularity and trigger off multi-local and cross-border resonance - as was

the case of The Count of Monecristo and Les Miserables and some chapters

Graph. 13 - Inter-continental co-productions in 2001

Germany

47%

United

Kingdom

26%

France

15%

Italy

Spain

Tot. 34

Source:Eurofiction

of the Bible project - which repays the efforts of co-productions: over and

above the stagnation of titles or the modest increase in projects. The

quantitative dimensions are not however secondary, both because the

stressed economies of the production systems can find relief in the

international financial contributions, as well as the fact that the co-

productions partially substitute the trade deficit of much of the European

fiction.

Demonstrative effects, echoes and resonance are however volatile

phenomena which necessitate incessant nourishing and regeneration. In this

instance 2001 has been a year of stand-by for the co-productions. Waiting

for the heralded event of Napoléon.

5. Sample Week: A Stable Model

The Eurofiction sample week during which the entire fiction supply,

including repeats and imported programmes are monitored, is systematically

set in March; the selected week can vary from one year to another - in 2001

it was between 4-10 March - owing to possible exceptional circumstances

which in some country happen to interfere with the routine programming.

The idea is to report on the distribution of national and foreign fiction in a

week as normal as possible, and therefore widely representative of the

programming policies when the television season is going full blast.

Although this is an objectively limited temporary cross-section, its results

help us to outline a basic picture where we can observe the presence of the

indigenous output in relation to imports, and how these latter are articulated

following the geographical origin.

Over the years, from 1996 onwards, the results of the sample week have

brought to light a stable and steadily consolidated model of fiction

distribution and offer in the European television schedules, which can be

summed up with the expression: off prime time is global (mainly

American), whereas prime time is local. The predominant dualism of the

local products on one side, and the American ones on the other, leaves

variable margins - normally between 10% and 20% - for fiction from other

origins: European non national, Latin American (in Spain and Italy),

Australian (in the United Kingdom).

The results for 2001 confirm the stability of the model. Over the entire day

fiction of American origin comes close to, or goes over 50% of the

programming of the German, French and Spanish channels, reaching its

peak in Italy. The most intense “Americanisation” of the Italian schedules is

also a long-lasting feature: to a large extent it is connected to the marginal

use of home-grown fiction by the two minor commercial channels, officially

for limited budget reasons.

Compared to the previous years, however, the quota of the American

imports appears to be dwindling throughout the entire day, both in Italy and

elsewhere. Neither must we forget that the more conspicuous part of the

American (and generally imported) fiction broadcast by the European

televisions in the off prime time slots mostly consists of repeats, and often

viewed for the umpteenth time.

In previous reports we have repeatedly and lengthily dwelt on the rather

secondary role in the programming of non-national European fiction,

namely the omni-present and unresolved problem of the limited level of

circulation and exchange of contents of European origin. It is however

worth pointing out the empirical manifestations of circulation and inter-

exchange, as they can be observed in the five largest European countries.

The distinction between the Anglo-Saxon and the Latin (Mediterranean)

sub-areas, which we have mentioned in other situations, is once again useful

to systematise (if no to explain) the scenario under analysis. In fact, in the

former area i.e. German and British televisions, drama from other European

countries is hardly ever to be found; the flow of imports and exports within

the same area, between Germany and United Kingdom, is equally absent.

The latter area appears to be more open to including non-national European

fiction. Mind you this is a rather relative opening, which appear more

remarkable only on the French channels - subject to tighter regulations in

this instance - and clearly decreases on the Italian and Spanish televisions; it

is however worth establishing a divide.

Modest and asymmetric flows of inter-exchange occur between Italy and

France, in the sense that French fiction - TV movies, recurrent heroes and

old youthful series - is more widespread on the Italian channels than the

Graph. 14 - Origin of tv fiction -Sample week 2001 (March 4-10)

All time slots

51%

49%

32%

18%

19%

24%

16%

14%

57%

61%

45%

49%

51%

Germany United Kingdom Spain Italy France

other

usa

european

domestic

Source: Eurofiction201h 104h10 110h 184h21 185h20

opposite is true. Actually the non-national European product circulating in

the entire sub-area of the Latin countries comes mostly from the Anglo-

Saxon area; more precisely Germany, the major European producer, is the

almost exclusive supplier.

Thus the one-way direction of the flow of exports - from German to the

Mediterranean countries and not the reverse – outlines the distinct profile of

an asymmetric relation, not dissimilar to that maintained by all the European

countries (perhaps with the slight exception of the United Kingdom) with

the USA.

Over and above the considerations triggered off by each situation of

imbalance, the case of Germany is of great (unacknowledged, and modestly

topicalised) importance as regards the issue – in actual fact a real cultural

and economic problem - of exportability of national European fiction. For

reasons which are worth an in-depth investigation sooner or later, the firm

belief of an inborn incapacity of European drama to travel, and above all

within and across Europe, has put down its roots and become common sense

in the various milieus of the audiovisual sector. In the previous report we

spoke of this as a syndrome of self-fulfilling prophecy widespread among

the European operators. The TV movies and the German series which

circulate extensively and quite successfully (not to mention when they give

rise to real and true popularity phenomena, as in the case of Derrick or

Kommissar Rex) over and outside their national frontiers, supply this

common sense with disproof of opposite empirical evidence.

Graph. 15

Origin of tv fiction-Sample week 2001 (March 4-10)

Prime time

86%

84%

90%

53%

75%

34%

25%

10%16%

14%

Germany United Kingdom Spain Italy France

other

usa

european

domestic

Source: Eurofiction36h 27h25 15h 24h43 21h

Going back to the sample week results, the second component of the offer’s

structural model is confirmed as never before in the 2001 survey. Home-

grown fiction programmes hold the lion’s share during the prime time, in an

unparalleled way in the history of Eurofiction data. In four countries out of

five (in Italy the share of local programmes is the majority for the first time,

but much more compressed than elsewhere) nationally produced fiction is

overwhelmingly dominant. That broadcast in prime time, in each country, is

mainly fresh fiction: the newest and most prestigious product supplied by

the national industries, offered for the enjoyment of the largest possible

audiences.

6. Successes: Fading

The extent of the largest possible audiences has begun to shrink. The de-

intensification of the successes of domestic fiction is one of the highlights of

2001, and it is underlined in every national chapter of this report. The

comparison with other genres could confirm the hypothesis that this

phenomenon is due less to an incoming crack in the solid alliance between

fiction and its audiences, than to the dispersion of the latter among the

various channels of the new television environment. They are small signs of

erosion, not a landslide: more than 20 million viewers for the episode of

Only Fools and Horses opening the British Top 20, 50% share for Julie

Lescaut in the same position in the French ranking, the three Italian and two

German titles on top of their respective ranking with more than 9 million

viewers, confirm and not deny the lasting ability of European drama to

attract national audiences en masse.

Nevertheless, this capacity of attracting viewers is no doubt languishing,

and some telling examples can be provided.

In Germany the viewers figure of the first most watched episode is the

lowest in the 1996-2001 period, and the audience of the last title in the

ranking of the previous year has now become enough to reach the tenth

position.

English drama, which traditionally obtains ratings of matchless magnitude

compared to other European countries, has even reinforced its position if we

look at the results of the first two episodes in the list, more than 20 million

viewers; yet, we should consider that in the top 20 of 2000 there was no

title with less than 10 million viewers, while in 2001 there are nine episodes

under this threshold.

French fiction, despite having faced competition from reality shows in a

very positive way, has had a decrease in audience ratings. The episodes with

a share of more than 40% have fallen from nine to seven, and the threshold

of 50% in 2001 is crossed only by the first in the list, against the first three

of the previous year.

In the 2000 Italian classification, the first four episodes fell gradually from

fourteen to ten million average viewers; in 2001 no episode reaches ten

million or a 40% share, obtained by the first two titles in the previous year.

As for the Spanish situation, finally, the high and the middle area of the

ranking are relatively the same in 2000 and 2001; but not the lower area,

where in 2001 we find six episodes having lower audience ratings than the

one in the last position in the 2000 Top 20.

The outlook is too varied and complex to enable us to generalise or identify

factors which can be applied to every situation. Generally speaking, we can

just note that the most recent productions, the new fictions, are the ones that

seem to suffer from fragility. There is a problem of “turnover” in the field of

European drama, and this is likely to become more urging in case the de-

intensification of successes should seriously draw on the position even of

the long-lasting and most consolidated and guaranteed programmes.

Almost everywhere (except Spain), during 2001 public channels happened

to lose points in the competition for the best ratings of national fiction,

letting private televisions to regain even to an increased extent their usual

advantage. Commercial channels are, on the whole, more productive than

public stations from the successes point of view; and there are a number of

reasons for that, from market position to a host of other elements probably

different on a case-by-case basis. This is what usually happens in France,

and more moderately, in the UK and in Spain; and since it happens in three

countries out of five, this is not counterbalanced by the public channels

dominance in Germany and in Italy. As a result, among the 100 most

watched episodes of every year all countries considered, a small majority of

about 55 titles is fiction offered by European private channels (however, we

should say that the total result is somewhat biased due to the almost total

predominance of TF1 in the French Top 20).

From 1996 to 1999 the positions of public and private televisions did not

change. In 2000 a sudden and short-lived reversal took place, but by the

following year it was over. Where, as in the French and British case, private

channels are systematically dominant in the list of the most watched

episodes, the phenomenon was further marked: ITV and TF1 in 2001 gained

three new positions compared to 2000. In Italy and in Germany, where

supremacy traditionally lies (and still does) with public channels, the gap

was reduced. RAI fiction featured in the top 20 with eleven titles compared

to fourteen in 2000 and, for the first time, it lost the top place. The loss of

positions of public channels occurring in Germany is much greater (six

episodes), allowing commercial channels’ fiction to appear in the list eight

times against the two of the previous year.

We could be speaking of a restoration of the usual proportions, except for

the fact that in 2001 fiction successes of the European public televisions

were at their lowest since 1996, with only 39 episodes among the 100 most

watched.

On the other hand there are no relevant changes in the matter of successful

formats and genres. The capability of serial fiction of attracting and

maintaining large audiences thanks to regular appointments with recurring

heroes (single or collective, men or women), and environments, basic

dilemmas and modes of action in turn recurring, is confirmed: in 2001, as in

the past, the episodes most watched by European audiences are series

episodes. To tell the truth, there is a minor decrease in series compared to

2001, and it is worth noting it is to TV movies’ advantage: this latter has,

during 2001, undertaken a revival in Germany and in France, the two major

European producers of the format, and also has obtained good ratings - with

even eight TV movies in the French Top 20 -. However TV movies remain a

risk format in the current situation of European fiction, as pointed out and

explained in the French and German chapters.

Lastly, the breakdown of genres brings to light the unchanged preference of

European audiences for cop shows; if drama is predominant, this is because

it is fractured into many sub-genres, none of which however has, in any of

the countries, the detached predominance of stories about little and great

deviancies and anomalies, which have become the privileged point of view

from which national fiction of European countries monitors and represents

the agency of the contemporary social fabric.

Graph. 16 - Public and private channels: successes

(100 most watched episodes)

2000

52 48

2001

39 61

Public tv Private tv

Source: Eurofiction

The police/crime genre is mostly preferred by German audiences (at the

same level as drama is preferred by British and Italian audiences), and it

gains a good share of success everywhere. Comedy on the other hand finds

the most favourable context of reception (and offer) in Spain; it is

completely absent among the Italian successful programmes, and it is

amazing that the great tradition of British sitcoms is represented only by an

exceptional case (a Christmas special of Only Fools and Horses). It is just

as surprising that comedy re-flourishes where it is deemed less likely: inside

the German fiction, which already had two episodes of humorous series in

the 2000 Top 20, and has doubled them in 2001.

Graph. 17 - Success formats in 2001

(100 most watched episodes)

Tvmovie

14%

miniseries

20%

series

56%

collection

serial

Source: Eurofiction

crime comedy drama

Graph. 18 - Genre of 100 most watched episodes in

2001

Germany

Spain

Italy

France

36 eps. 18 eps. 46 eps.

Source: Eurofiction

In the previous reports the comparative overview routinely ended with a

short section about Eurofiction «cultural indicators»: a doorway to the

more specifically qualitative dimension of our approach to European

television fiction. It was, as we have already stated in some of the last

reports, an insufficient and unsatisfactory attempt.

Seven years after the beginning of the project, we would like to go further.

Eurofiction, in the meantime, has produced an economic spin-off

(Eurofiction economy), which is in its second edition, and will be issued at

the same time as this report. It will produce, in the near future, a qualitative

spin-off (Eurofiction culture) which aims to deepen and enlarge via case

studies and focused in-depth analysis of trends, genres, contents (and

more), the exploration and understanding of European television fiction.

2. Julie Lescaut Wins Over Loana*

French TV Fiction in 2001

by Régine Chaniac et Jean-Pierre Jézéquel

1. The Audiovisual Landscape: The Year of Loft Story

After a year of steady progress in 2000, French television registered a

decline in advertising investment in 2001, estimated at 3.5% for terrestrial

channels. The two public channels, France 2 and France 3, account for two

thirds of this reduction, the year 2001 being the second step in the reduction

of advertising time imposed by the government. TF1 too registered a clear

fall and M6 is thus the only terrestrial channel which managed to increase

its advertising revenues. Advertising on thematic channels, accessible on

cable or satellite, increased substantially but still accounted for a marginal

share (5%) of the television advertising market.

Average viewing time in France, which has been steadily increasing since

1998, went up again by 5 minutes per day in 2001, arriving at 3 hours 18

minutes for individuals 4 years old and over. Extra viewing time is shared

equally between terrestrial and thematic channels.

Tab. 1 - Market Share of French TV Channels

1996 1997 1998 1999 2000

2001

TF1 35.3 35.0 35.3 35.1 33.4 32.7

France2 24.2 23.7 22.5 22.3 22.1 21.1

France3 17.7 17.1 17.0 16.3 16.8 17.1

M6 11.9 12.7 12.9 13.6 12.7 13.5

Canal Plus 4.5 4.5 4.6 4.5 4.1 3.6

Arte/5ème 3.0 3.3 3.4 3.6 3.5 3.4

Other TV 3.4 3.8 4.3 4.5 7.5 8.5

Source: Médiamat/Médiamétrie, ind. 4 years old and over

In audience share, two channels gained ground with respect to the others:

M6, which had lost much ground the year before, almost regained its record

1999 level; France 3 has² continued to progress for two consecutive years.

Therefore, the two leading channels declined. France 2, which had resisted

the “Other TVs” well the year before, lost one point and TF1 saw the

erosion of its audience continue.

Loana was one of the most popular participants in Loft Story, French adaptation of Big Brother

Since 28 February 2000, the Médiamétrie panel has added 280 digital homes; the “Other

TVs” audience share went from 5% over the first two months of the year to 8,1% over the

following ten months.

At the end of the year 2001, French population receiving widened cable or

satellite possibilities amounted to 22.4% of individuals owning a television.

After the digital bouquet boom in 1997-1998, progress slowed down and

had the same rhythm for three years. At the end of 2001, 3.5 million homes

were subscribed to digital television, of which 1.8 million Canalsatellite,

1.1 million TPS and 0.6 million cable.

In terms of programmes, the year 2001 might be considered the year of

reality TV on French screens. M6 opened the floodgates in spring with the

broadcast of Loft Story from 26 April to 5 July. The event was on a level

with the heavy investment made by this small commercial channel which,

for the first time, was able to destabilise the big channels, especially TF1.

Loft Story fascinated adolescents, invaded conversations, aroused debates

and passions and mobilised the entire media. A reference newspaper like Le

Monde, clearly representative of the critical observer pose adopted by the

written press with respect to television, increased its readers and advertising

revenues by dedicating its first pages to the Loft Story phenomenon.

In audience terms, the results have to be relativised. Of the channel’s many

broadcasts (almost 200 in 10 weeks, constituting a total of more than 120

hours), the greatest success went to the access prime time slot, during the

week, which gained an average audience share of 35%, with peaks at more

than 40%, clearly beating TF1 and France 2. Thursday evening prime time

also went well, with an average share of 36%, but it was not able to

dethrone TF1’s leadership with recurring heroes series. The other slots

(weekend access, best of 7 minute-broadcasts during the week at 20:45)

remained at less than 25% on average. But above all, the channel’s global

audience share, which increased significantly over the whole period, getting

over 16% in May and June, fell after the end of Loft Story to its old level

(12.3% over the August-December period).

In the wake of Loft Story, two other reality TV programmes were broadcast

at the end of the year (Popstars on M6 and Star Academy on TF1) but

without the same public reaction. However Popstars was the origin of a

controversy in professional circles, following the decision of the CNC to

consider the transmission a documentary and therefore an “œuvre”, which

meant it could benefit from a subvention. All the latent ambiguity of our

national regulations concerning television – should we support creation or

the programmes industry – was revealed once more and divided producers

and authors. A consultation of the entire profession on the definition of

audiovisual œuvres, keystone of the French regulatory system, was

conferred on the CNC by Catherine Tasca, Minister of Culture. This led to

an initial report in spring 2002, just before the elections, which was happy

with just demonstrating the different points of view; it did not take up any

position.

Once more in the regulatory field, the new decree stating obligations on the

part of terrestrial channels concerning production, came out just before the

summer and was not applied until 1 January 2002. With the scope of

facilitating the exploitation of œuvres by producers, the decree envisages a

limiting of rights acquired by the broadcaster who is limited to a single

broadcast over 18 months. The broadcaster will later have the priority to

repurchase reruns, the total of which will be included in his production

obligations (fixed at 16% of his turnover). This device, which has long been

claimed by producers, should allow them to make more of their success with

productions. But it risks benefiting recurring-heroes series, which lend

themselves to reruns, to the detriment of one-off TV movies - seldom

rebroadcast - which it will be more difficult to finance.

2. The Origin of Fiction: Small Evolutions

In 2001 total fiction supply, of all types, was stable and amounted to a fifth

of total broadcasting volume of the five terrestrial channels. After the

inflation of this genre, which characterized the arrival of commercial

television during the second half of the 1980s, and the slight regression

which followed, an equilibrium seemed to have been reached. Television

fiction seems still to be the most popular genre with the public, but it no

longer constitutes the absolute “joker” in the competition between channels.

They also depend on new magazine formulae which, in one way or another,

base themselves on testimony or the exhibition of the intimate lives of the

participants.

The constant volume of fiction broadcast hides a number of small

evolutions, above all between the two main channels. For three years, the

total fiction broadcast fell on TF1, while it increased on France 2 whose

supply almost reached that of the private channel. With a small rise, M6

clearly overtook them with almost a third of its schedule dedicated to TV

fiction.

Tab. 2 - The Evolution of Total TV Fiction Supply

In hours and in % of each channel’s supply

1997 1998 1999 2000 2001

hours % hours % hours % hours % hours %

TF1

2650 30.3 2821 31.7 2745 31.4 2600 29.8 2316 26.5

France 2 1578 18.1 1797 20.2 1801 20.6 1930 22.1 2110 24.2

France 3 1200 16.3 1049 14.0 1099 14.7 953 12.6 1038 14.0

La 5

/Arte 841 11.1 600 7.7 676 7.9 483 5.5 421 4.8

M6 2 995 34.3 2931 32.9 2771 31.7 2754 31.5 2833 32.4

Total TV 9264 22.5 9198 21.9 9092 21.5 8720 20.5 8718 20.6

Source: Médiamétrie

As in previous years, national production, even counting reruns, was

nowhere near enough to fill the many fiction slots offered to French

viewers, especially in the daytime. The following table, on the sample week

from 4 – 10 March 2001, furnishes the breakdown, by fiction origin,

broadcast on each channel, including the pay TV channel Canal Plus.

The figures obtained are, on the whole, similar to those of previous years.

The total volume of fiction broadcast over the sample week matches well

with the annual volume provided above by Médiamétrie, except for

France 2 which is placed at a good ten hours lower than its annual figure.

French fictions are almost a fifth of fiction broadcast, i.e. a mediocre result,

intermediate between those of previous years. The proportion of North

American products is stable, with a little more than half of the fiction

broadcast. European fiction took advantage of the decline in national fiction

and achieved the remarkable level of a quarter of fiction broadcast, beating

its record of 22% registered in 1996.

Tab. 3 - Origin of TV Fiction Broadcast (Sample Week 4-10 March 2001)

FRANCE EUROPE USA OTHER TOTAL

Hours % Hours % Hours % Hours % Hours

TF1 5:16 11.0 12:01 25.1 30:39 63.9 - -