[Medianext.MX]

But I think the Germans have it better: many areas aren't covered in France by a local channel at all, except outputs for France 3, which UK also has on BBC One and ITV (not much from M6 and not at all from TF1).

M6 don't have regional/local opt outs anymore. Most of them closed between 2006 and 2009, as regional newspapers (which produced many of these regional opt outs) were forced by the CSA (now Arcom) and or decided directly to focus on its local channels after the launch of the TNT; other editions produced directly by M6-supported newsrooms were dropped due to low ratings (in contrast to France 3's newscasts) and M6 shuffling its schedule to increase the number of family-oriented shows and the impeding plans from M6 to drop the Six' format in favour of anchored newscasts (as currently done).

---

The BFM Régions model is something I wish we had in the UK, which would have stopped local channels simulcasting the likes of Talk TV.

20 Minutes TV has kept on heritage presenter Jacky for a music and interview show along with Olivier Quéméner who presents Salut l'Île-de-France and news bulletins.  His former co-presenter of IDF1 et vous Isabelle Kirszenblat and the horoscope show is back as a columnist on Salut l'Île-de-France.

To give it a British comparison, 20 Minutes is a commuter freesheet in Paris, similar to Metro in the UK.    It's co-owned by Ouest France & Rossel group.

Worth noting too that 20 Minutes TV is modeling itself on the Lille-based Wéo network, also majority owned by the Rossel group (through Groupe La Voix), and which operates channels in the northern regions of Nord-Pas-de-Calais and the Picardie. The founder and CEO of Wéo, Jean-Michel Lobry, is also in charge of operating the Paris channel.

www.lunion.fr 

---

France 3 brought back Friday its old break bumpers to promote a special documentary, L’âge d’or de la pub, produced by Thierry Ardisson and Philippe Thuillier (ADLTV), which aired that same night. The normal daytime ad breaks aired these bumpers in its original length and 4:3 format (not cropped, although with the France 3 logo placed over), with the free space filled with a promotional avail with the show's logo. The documentary per-se aired commercial-free (as customary with France Télévisions' shows after 20h).

The examples below showcase the original break bumper aired in 1983 (when the network, then France Régions 3 or FR3, was allowed to air commercial breaks, as part of a new Charter), as well as the 1987 one (the Le relief de la vie era, when the channel was culturally-oriented, by then, advertising time was handled by Espace 3, after FR3 left the former monopolist ad sales company, Régie française de publicité).