La Première () is a group of French

radio Radio is the technology of communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 3 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitter connec ...

and

television station A television station is a set of equipment managed by a business, organisation or other entity such as an amateur television (ATV) operator, that transmits video content and audio content via radio waves directly from a transmitter on the earth's s ...

s operated by the

state-owned State ownership, also called public ownership or government ownership, is the ownership of an industry, asset, property, or enterprise by the national government of a country or state, or a public body representing a community, as opposed to ...

France Télévisions France Télévisions (; stylized since 2018 as ) is the French national public television broadcaster. It is a state-owned company formed from the integration of the public television channels France 2 (formerly Antenne 2) and France 3 (form ...

group. The stations operate in France's overseas departments and territories, carrying news, cultural, and regional language programming.

History

The service was first established in 1954 as the Radiodiffusion de la France Outre-Mer (RFOM). It was renamed a year later as the Société de radiodiffusion de la France d'outre-mer (SORAFOM). This was replaced in 1964, following the creation of the

Office de Radiodiffusion Télévision Française The (; ORTF; , or French Radio and Television Broadcasting Office) was the national agency charged, between 1964 and 1975, with providing public radio and television in France. All programming, especially news broadcasts, were under strict cont ...

, by the Office de coopération radiophonique (OCORA). In August 1974, OCORA became a part of the reformulated FR3: a network of regional television stations in mainland France. FR3's overseas operations were known as FR3 DOM-TOM and, unlike the arrangement in metropolitan France, were in charge of both television and radio. In December 1982, France's overseas broadcasting operations were removed from FR3 and invested in the current organization, the Société de Radiodiffusion et de télévision Française pour l'Outre-mer (RFO). In July 2004, Réseau France Outre-mer (RFO) was reunited with the French mainland's public broadcasters when it was merged into the

network. On 30 November 2010, Réseau France Outre-mer was renamed Réseau Outre-Mer 1ère. In 2018, the name was changed to La Première, prefixed with the region name, to resolve a

trademark A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a form of intellectual property that consists of a word, phrase, symbol, design, or a combination that identifies a Good (economics and accounting), product or Service (economics), service f ...

concern from Groupe M6 over possible confusion with its channel

Paris Première Paris Première is a French TV channel, available on cable television, cable, satellite television, satellite and the Digital terrestrial television, digital terrestrial service, Télévision Numérique Terrestre. It was launched on 15 December 1 ...

. On 15 January 2020, France Télévisions channels and

Arte Arte (, , ; ' ('), sometimes stylised in lowercase or uppercase in its logo) is a European Union, European public service Television channel, channel dedicated to culture. It is made up of three separate companies: the Strasbourg-based Europea ...

switched to high definition (HD) on satellite in overseas territories (except in New Caledonia and Wallis and Futuna). Starting in September 2020, and following the release of frequencies operated by

France Ô France Ô () was a French free-to-air television channel featuring programming from the French overseas departments and collectivities in Metropolitan France. It was part of the France Télévisions group. It was a national counterpart of the ...

after its shutdown in August 2020, channels from the network can switch to HD on

digital terrestrial television Digital terrestrial television (DTTV, DTT, or DTTB) is a technology for terrestrial television, in which television stations broadcast television content in a digital signal, digital format. Digital terrestrial television is a major technologica ...

(DTT). Since January 2022, all television services from the network have been broadcast in HD on DTT and satellite. In January 2024, Outre-mer La Première was chosen by the

Regulatory Authority for Audiovisual and Digital Communication The Regulatory Authority for Audiovisual and Digital Communication (; ARCOM) is the resulting from the merger on 1 January 2022 of the High Audiovisual Council (CSA) and the High Authority for the Distribution of Works and Protection of Rights ...

to be the operator of the ROMU overseas DTT multiplex, broadcasting

France 2 France 2 () is a French free-to-air public television channel. The flagship channel of France Télévisions, it broadcasts generalist programming including news, entertainment (such as dramas, films, and game shows), factual programmes, and sp ...

in ultra-high-definition quality.

Services

La Première consists of nine radio and television services serving eleven regions, departments or communities of

Overseas France Overseas France (, also ) consists of 13 France, French territories outside Europe, mostly the remnants of the French colonial empire that remained a part of the French state under various statuses after decolonisation. Most are part of the E ...

. The channels carry programmes that reflect the needs of the regions, including news bulletins and programmes reflective of the region's culture and history. These include

regional language * A regional language is a language spoken in a region of a sovereign state, whether it be a small area, a federated state or province or some wider area. Internationally, for the purposes of the European Charter for Regional or Minority La ...

programming where applicable. The network also operates Radio Outre-mer La Première as a national

internet radio Internet radio, also known as online radio, web radio, net radio, streaming radio, e-radio and IP radio, is a digital audio service transmitted via the Internet. Broadcasting on the Internet is usually referred to as webcasting since it is not ...

station, which carries a mix of music and programmes from all of the La Première stations. France Télévisions previously operated an equivalent national television channel,

, but it was closed in 2020 due to declining viewership, and replaced by a digital platform. La Première radio is available only in overseas territories/departments and on the Internet via the website la1ere.fr. The content changes depending on what radio station one is listening to online or depending on where they live in the overseas territories/departments just like France 3 does with the regional news bulletins such as ''12/13'', '' Soir 3'' or other regional shows. It also offers free streaming online for radio and TV. The television broadcast on the website is only for those who live in the overseas territories/departments. The territory of

French Southern and Antarctic Lands The French Southern and Antarctic Lands (, TAAF) is an overseas territory ( or ) of France. It consists of: * Adélie Land (), the French claim on the continent of Antarctica. * Crozet Islands (), a group in the southern Indian Ocean, south ...

(TAAF) does not have a dedicated station as the population is transient and non-indigenous. Broadcasts, stories and breaking news concerning TAAF would be handled by Réunion La Première as they arise as oversight of TAAF is headquartered in the Réunionnaise commune of Saint Pierre. The other territory without a station,

Clipperton Island Clipperton Island ( ; ), also known as Clipperton Atoll and previously as Clipperton's Rock, is an uninhabited French coral atoll in the eastern Pacific Ocean. The only French territory in the North Pacific, Clipperton is from Paris, France ...

, also has no permanent population and is actually private property of the French government.

References

External links

* Television stations in France Radio stations in France France Télévisions 1954 establishments in France Radio stations established in 1954 Television channels and stations established in 1964 Indigenous television {{france-tv-station-stub