France Ô (pronounced [fʁɑ̃s o]) was a French free-to-air television channel featuring programming from the French overseas departments and collectivities in Metropolitan France. It was part of the France Télévisions group. It was a national counterpart of the local Outre-Mer 1ère networks.[1]
 Final logo, used from 2018 until 2020. | |
| Country | France |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | France |
| Headquarters | 3–4, rue Danton 92299 Malakoff, Hauts-de-Seine |
| Programming | |
| Picture format | 1080i HDTV (16:9) |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | France Télévisions |
| Sister channels | France 2 France 3 France 4 France 5 France Info |
| History | |
| Launched | 25 February 2005 |
| Replaced | RFO Sat (1998–2005) |
| Closed | 24 August 2020 |
| Availability | |
| Terrestrial | |
| Digital terrestrial television | Channel 19 |
| Digital terrestrial television in Overseas France | Channel 6 or 7 or 8 |
History
editThe channel was launched in 1998 as RFO Sat by Jean-Marie Cavada, then-president of RFO, and initially broadcast for only 9 hours per day. It was re-branded as France Ô on 25 February 2005 after the reunification of RFO with France Télévisions. The "O" stands for Outre-mer (overseas); the circumflex, which is considered an accent in French grammar, was used to emphasize that the channel was open to diverse accents and dialects, as well as to ensure that the name was not read as France 0 ("France zero").[2]
The channel became available in overseas territories in November 2010, replacing the RFO-operated Tempo, and was launched in DTT nationally the same year.
Closure
editIn July 2018 the French government announced the closure of France Ô due to declining viewership. The ceasing of broadcast was scheduled for 9 August 2020, in time for the climax of the 2020 Summer Olympics, but was later pushed to 24 August due to scheduling issues caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, which resulted in the games being initially delayed to 2021. The last programme broadcast on the channel was a repeat of the concert L'Outre-mer fait son Olympia 2019. After this, the channel only broadcast a loop of commercials promoting a new France Télévisions portal for overseas territories, known as "Portail des Outre-mer La 1ère", in addition to other overseas-themed programs on other France Télévisions channels. Its signal was permanently cut off on 2 September.[3][4]
Logos
edit-
Logo of France Ô from 7 April 2008 till 29 January 2018. -
Logo of France Ô from 29 January 2018 till 24 August 2020. -
On-screen logo of France Ô from 29 January 2018 till 24 August 2020.
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "En Polynésie, la suppression annoncée de France Ô ne passe pas". Le Monde (in French). 18 February 2019. Retrieved 18 February 2019.
- ^ Desroses, Sandrine (1 March 2005). "France Ô remplace RFO Sat". Retrieved 9 April 2008.
- ^ "France Ô a fait ses adieux". ozap.com (in French). Retrieved 2 September 2020.
- ^ "Franceinfo passera en HD dès le 1er septembre après la fermeture de France Ô". ozap.com (in French). 19 August 2020. Retrieved 23 March 2021.