French TV fiction suffers at U.S. dominance

June 22, 2009 U.S. TV series are giving French fiction programming a run for its money, having monopolized the Gallic small screen last year, according to figures from French audiovisual promotion association the APA, released Monday. Meanwhile, market shares for the country's digital networks have quadrupled in just two years, taking a 14% share of the most-watched TV in the territory, yet the DTT channels haven't yet started to invest in the fiction genre. However, France's main TV channels continue to invest in home-grown fiction, with Arte doubling its investments and focusing on 52-minute formats, public TV group France Televisions investing €258 million ($357 million) in fiction in 2008 and announcing plans to invest even more in the future.

Subscribe to the Hollywood Reporter and see the entertainment industry from its best angle: the inside looking out. Complete access to real-time news and exclusive analysis that goes behind the scenes from film to television, home video to digital media.

   Subscribe now.