A public service broadcaster with a mission to promote Francophone productions and the French language, TV5 Monde consists of eight generalist cultural channels and two thematic channels (focused on children and the art of living).
Media assets
Television: TV5 Monde
State Media Matrix Typology: Independent State-Funded and State-Managed/Owned (ISFM)
Ownership and governance
TV5 was founded in 1984 by five public television channels: TF1, Antenne 2, and FR3 from France, Télévision Suisse Romande from Switzerland, and the Belgian RTBF. TF1 withdrew in 1987 after its privatization, and later, additional media companies joined TV5.
TV5 Monde is owned 51% by a consortium of state-owned public broadcasters, including France Télévisions, Radio télévision suisse (RTS), RTBF, CBC/Radio-Canada (SRC), Télé-Québec, and ARTE France. France Médias Monde, the company responsible for’s international broadcasting services, holds the remaining ownership managing France.
The overseeing authority at TV5 Monde is the so-called ministers’ conference, where ministers in charge of TV5 Monde from the countries that fund the station meet every two years to make strategic decisions for the network.
TV5 Monde has a board of directors comprising representatives of the national public broadcasters who co-own the station. The President-CEO of France Télévisions serves as the chair of this board.
Source of funding and budget
TV5 Monde is primarily funded by the governments of the five founding parties. France contributes 6/9 of the funding, while the Wallonia-Brussels Federation, Switzerland, and Canada (with Quebec accounting for 40% of the Canadian contribution) contribute the remaining 3/9 (1/9 each).
Since 2015, the French government has used funds from the citizens’ license fees to cover its contribution to TV5 Monde. In 2019, France’s contribution to TV5 Monde was €76.2m out of the station’s total budget of €110.8m. By 2022, TV 5 Monde budget reached €116.4m, according to data from the European Audiovisual Observatory in Strasbourg.
Editorial independence
There is no evidence of government control over TV5 Monde’s editorial output.
The TV5 television network is managed by two companies: TV5MONDE and TV5 Québec Canada. Each has full control over its programming, which strongly guarantees its editorial independence.
TV5 Monde has a programming committee presided over by the station’s programming director. It consists of representatives from the programming divisions of TV5 Québec Canada, France Télévisions, Arte France, RTBF, RTS, Radio-Canada, Télé-Québec, and CIRTEF (an association of francophone public media).
August 2024