Abstract
Since its appearance in the grid of programming, televisual entertainment has changed on several points: the presentation, the production, the mixture between entertainment and information. In this chapter, the authors study entertainment on French television by raising four principal points. A first part points out the important dates that marked the history of televisual entertainment. The second one presents the new chains that exploited the crenel of the entertainment and then allowed the multiplication of these programs. The third part counts the results and the analyses carried out on the evolution of the televisual entertainment by researchers in social sciences. The last one analyses the particular mixture between entertainment and politic. In conclusion, the authors say that entertainment has considerably changed in form but also in background. The objectives and reasons that characterize it are not comparable to those of its beginning.
TopIntroduction
Since its appearance in the grid of programming, the televisual entertainment changed on several points: presentation, the production, the mixture between entertainment and information. Indeed, gradually, the emissions of entertainment opened with the participation of politicians or other personalities which do not result from the entertainment world or which are not artists (actors, singers, musicians, etc.). The televiewers thus could attend the “slip”, with the fusion of emissions generally reserved for political personalities with emissions of entertainment.
In this paper, we propose to study entertainment on French television by raising four principal points. We present initially the important dates which marked the history of the televisual entertainment and which explain the important place that it occupies now in the programming. When they asked for the authorization of broadcasting, the free and paying channels of digital terrestrial television practically justified the creation of their chain by two arguments: programming of entertainments intended for a well identified public (young public, adults) and contents of the entertainment (artistic manga, plays, contests). The second part thus presents the new chains which exploited the crenel of the entertainment and which then allowed the multiplication of these programs. Indeed, from the Eighties to today, the entertainment underwent many modifications and was the object of research for many researchers, in several disciplines (sociology, communication sciences, history). The third part thus counts results and analyses carried out on the evolution of the televisual entertainment by researchers in social sciences. One of the important modifications of the entertainment is the place dedicated to the political personalities since the beginning of 2000. Previously, the politicians intervened only in the emissions of debate, during interviews or in the News… but not in the emissions of entertainment. However, they are now very numerous to request the emissions of entertainment, even during their electoral campaign. The last part develops this rather particular part of “entertainment and politic”.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Le Grand Journal: Is a French TV program on Canal+, broadcast since August 30th, 2004 “in light”.
Political (Man or Woman): A political personality is a person implied in the political life.
Digital Terrestrial Television: Digital terrestrial television is a technical evolution as regards remote transmission, founded on the diffusion of signals of digital television by a network of terrestrial hertzian relay transmitters.
Peopolisation: The peopolisation, pipolisation or vedettisation are the propensity of the media to attach significance to the personalities of the entertainment world, the policy and sport by spreading out at the great day their private life.
Programming: The televisual programming is the schedule of television.
Entertainment: Activity which makes it possible to the men to occupy their free time while having fun.
CSA: The Conseil Supérieur de l'Audiovisuel is the administrative authority independent in charge of the regulation of the sector with broadcasting (televisions, radios, télédistributeurs,…) in France.