Hogeschool Zeeland, Vlissingen (Niederlande)

Focusing on the example: ARTE

January 2002:

Carine Fernandez
Virginie Gauthier
Denis Couvreur
Antonia Havadi-Nagy
Andreas Lorek
Bettina Schulte zu Berge

I. WHY ARTE?  3

II. TV WITHOUT LIMITS!  4

III. ARTE-A HISTORY!  5

IV. THEORETICAL FRAME  7
1) RIGHT OF EXISTENCE  7
2) THE STRUCTURE  7
3) LIVEABILITY  8
4) MANAGEMENT  8

V. THE ANALYSIS  13
1) THE RIGHT OF EXISTENCE  13
2) STRUCTURE  16
3) LIVEABILITY  20
4) MANAGERS AND DECISIONS  23

VI. CONCLUSION  25

I. WHY ARTE?

Foreword:

Due to our group members, we were not only searching for an organisation, which is present in France and Germany, no – we were searching for an organisation with a Franco German identity. Besides, ARTE, as a European Cultural Channel, does not only focus on crosscultural communication and management within France and Germany, but also within the whole of Europe.

But choosing ARTE made us deal with quite a few challenges, as ARTE is an organisation consisting of complexity and sophisticated structures. Therefore we divided our work in four parts in order to make it as understandable as possible: First, we will introduce the organisation by giving a comprehensive overview, particularly focusing on the history and the different steps of development. After the second part, the theoretical frame, we will use the third detailed part to analyse the organisation ARTE using the knowledge of the given theory. The fourth part will deal with several problems ARTE has to face with and possible advices connected with the conclusion.

II. TV WITHOUT LIMITS!

A short overview on ARTE:

ARTE, meaning Association Relative à la Télévision Européenne, is a consortium of European economic interests called ARTE G.E.I.E. It was founded on the 30th April 1991 by its two shareholders and equal members ARTE Deutschland TV GmbH (limited company) and La SEPT (later called ARTE France). Besides, ARTE G.E.I.E. has contracts with other European countries, such as Belgium, Switzerland, Spain, Poland, Austria, Finland and Italy broadcasting from 19.00 to 3.00 o’clock in 200 languages and dialects all over Europe (with satellite or digital TV even 24 hours all around the world); having a weekly audience of more than 30 million viewers.¹

“The objective of this consortium”, so ARTE’s mission, “is to create and produce television programmes of a cultural and international nature in the broadcast sense (…) which should aim to promote mutual understanding and unity among the peoples of Europe.”²

III. ARTE-A HISTORY!

Historical introduction:

In March 1998, the set up of a German working party was the first step of developing a Franco German Cultural Channel. The same year in November, the French government and the German states (each state is responsible individually for TV and radio matters) prove the conditions for creating a Franco German Cultural Channel with its Head office in Strasbourg. In addition, Helmut Kohl and Francois Mitterand underline their support for this project by signing an “interstate treaty” establishing the foundation of the European Cultural Channel in 1990. The foundation of ARTE, as a consortium of European Economic Interests (G.E.I.E.), was in April 1991 consisting of the two equal film production firms LA SEPT and the ARTE Deutschland TV GmbH.

Time went by and ARTE kept on broadcasting, extending the “interest contract” with the new German states after the reunification and other countries all over Europe. Slowly but surely, ARTE became a European Cultural Channel with several seats in France and Germany, broadcasting mainly documentaries, topical evenings and TV dramas. In the year of 2001, ARTE won more than 170 international famous awards for their productions.³ In order to finance the productions, ARTE is dependant on the support on the television license fees, sponsorships, donations and subsidizations by the governments, as advertising is permitted. ARTE’s programming budget for 2001 was 194 million euros out of the total 2001budget of 311 million euros.

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1 www.ARTE-tv.com introduction

2 www.ARTE-tv.com mission

3 www.ARTE-tv.com awards