Pfimlin named as new France Télévisions chief

The new president of public broadcaster France Télévisions, Rémy Pfimlin, has presented his plans to media regulator the CSA following his appointment by French president Nicolas Sarkozy to replace Patrick de Carolis.

Pfimlin, previously director-general of newspaper and magazine distribution organisation Presstalis and a former head of France 3, told the CSA that “thanks to the end of advertising, which will allow us to address the citizen rather the consumer, and thanks to digitisation, we can develop TV open to culture, a citizens’ television that is respected and that inspires confidence…such as a public enterprise should be”.

Pfimlin also said that if advertising on the public channels is retained during non-primetime, as called for by a number of members of the country’s legislature, the broadcaster should obtain a moratorium on the planned disposal of its advertising sales arm.