Ten years ago, we weren’t really expecting it. We already had CNN International, BBC World News and Al Jazeera. But in a short time, it has filled an essential space in the viewing habits of tens of millions of citizens from all continents. Whether they are watching our output on a TV or whilst surfing the Internet, whether seeking the answers to an increasingly disturbing world or wanting to participate in its narrative, whether they speak French, English, Arabic or soon Spanish, all have expressed their commitment to a channel with a world view that is neither religious, ideological nor nationalistic. A channel that promotes freedom and equality but also secularism, a diversity of viewpoints, universality and conviviality in an effort to understand the news.
Our teams gather the news on the ground, at the heart of the world, where the action is, often in high-risk zones, not out of recklessness or bravado but because our journalists know that silence is the ally of dictatorships, massacres and human-rights abuses. It is an act of brotherhood for those who have no voice, because our fellow human beings matter to us. We have the world at heart, which perhaps explains France 24’s meteoric rise.
So now, with all my heart, and more than ever in these increasingly dangerous times, I salute the founding fathers of France 24, I congratulate all the teams and I wish the channel a long life.
France 24 makes your head spin with its diversity: 35 nationalities. With its responsiveness: thousands and thousands of hours of air time. With its ability to cover the news, everywhere, all the time, with honesty and accuracy, in three languages and soon four. In these troubled times when violence, exclusion and insularity cast a dark shadow on the world, the smiles, open-mindedness, curiosity and fraternity of our channels’ teams are acts of resistance in mind, body and spirit. Thanks to the intense goodwill and professionalism of its teams, France 24 has found its rightful place among the international giants of rolling news. Better yet, its unique editorial line and its values have made it a worldwide reference. Information can make or break people's lives. In 183 countries, every day, France 24 is there to witness first hand the joys and sorrows of humans who live on our small blue planet.
5 December
Exclusive worldwide launch of France 24 on france24.com
6 December
Launch of France 24 in French and English to 80 million TV households
2 April
France 24 in Arabic launches with four hours of programmes per day
November
After one year, France 24 gains a 9% market share in 17 European countries (European Opinion Leaders Survey)
January
Launch of France 24’s interactive Observers site
April
Creation of l’Audiovisuel Extérieur de la France (AEF) uniting France 24, RFI and Monte-Carlo Doualiya
March
France 24 becomes the first channel available live and free of charge in 3 languages via iPhone
April
France 24 in Arabic now broadcasts 10 hours a day
June
france24.com reaches 7 million hits
October
France 24’s Arabic channel begins broadcasting 24/7
November
France 24 launches on TNT Outre-Mer
January
France 24 exceeds 26 million viewers per week
April:
Creation of the Académie: “better training for better news”
January
France 24 becomes the leading international news channel in French-speaking Africa (Africascope survey)
April
France 24 crosses the threshold of 245 million TV households worldwide
January
France 24’s The Observers launch a Persian service in collaboration with RFI
February
France 24 becomes the most-watched international channel in Tunisia and strengthens its place in the top three news channels in North Africa (Maghreboscope survey)
June
L’Audiovisuel Extérieur de la France becomes France Médias Monde
October
France 24 in English launches in India in 30 million TV homes
December
New, fuller programme schedules mark the end of identical output on all channels, much more live output, new broadcast design
June
70 years after the D-Day Landings, France 24 broadcasts live to New York’s Times Square and pays homage to the American soldiers
September
France 24 launches on channel 33 of TNT Île-de-France
October:
France 24 now broadcasting to Paris airports
December
France 24 available live and in 3 languages on YouTube
April
50% rise in audience figures in France
May
France 24 becomes the no.1 French media on Facebook
December
New control rooms and new hi-definition (HD) studios
January
The channel records its highest measured audience: 51 million viewers every week
March
“Mashable with France 24” website launches
August
France 24 has 30 million subscribers on social networks
September
Launch of franceinfo, the national public-service news channel alongside France Télévisions, Radio France and the INA
November
France 24 is accessible in 325 million TV households in 183 countries.
The channel crosses the threshold of 2 million hotel rooms connected, making 730 millions nights per year.
Et ça continue...
Much more to come…
Continuará…
والمسيرة مستمرة...
September
France 24 in Spanish launches
US television outlets should study @France24's English coverage last night: incredibly sober, calm, factual, informative, speculation-free.
— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) 14 novembre 2015
.@FRANCE24 coverage is authoritative and not in the least bit hysterical. Essential viewing at this terrible time. #Paris
— Robert Benzie (@robertbenzie) 14 novembre 2015
Great live coverage from Paris on France24 English—channel 219 on @TWC in New York City @France24_en
— Hendrik Hertzberg (@RickHertzberg) 11 janvier 2015
France 24 received a host of birthday messages in French, English AND Arabic (and some even in Spanish!) from celebrities, including Catherine Deneuve, Gad Elmaleh, Sting, Ingrid Betancourt, Susan Sarandon, Geena Davis, Alain Mabanckou, Laurent Lafitte, and Matthew McConaughey.
FRANCE 24
Design et developpment : Studio Graphique France Médias Monde