M6

Television which is socially aware, responsible and cohesive

The M6 Group is strongly committed to promoting programming which is more socially aware, responsible and cohesive and for this reason broadcasts messages and campaigns on its channels free of charge. By doing so, the M6 Group aims to help and promote community and charitable actions and make the public aware of these actions. In 2009, numerous campaigns for humanitarian operations, non-governmental organisations and charities were broadcast free of charge on M6 and the digital channels, supporting causes relating to social cohesion. These campaign adverts made over 1,000 appearances on the Group’s channels.

Preventing, taking action and increasing awareness about public health issues
In 2006, alcohol became the principal cause of road deaths. M6 has continually supported the fight against risk behaviours in this field by broadcasting adverts and reports. This determination was rewarded at the 24th international festival du Scoop et du Journalisme in November 2009 where the Zone Interdite report, “My world turned upside down” (“La vie blessée”), which heightened awareness about road safety, won the judges special prize. For a number of years now, the Group has rolled out resources on its channels and on the internet to support the Sidaction campaign, held between 16 and 22 March 2009.

In addition, and along with the other media organisations, the Group’s channels were mobilised for the French Ministry of Health’s prevention campaign to provide information on influenza A (H1N1), make people aware of the measures to prevent contamination and the spread of the virus and encourage them to get vaccinated.

Supporting many other initiatives
The Group also supports the “Restos du Coeur” association, by each year providing reconditioned computer equipment which the association uses for its projects to get people back into jobs. The Group’s employees also supported many other causes, including breast cancer by once again this year taking part in the La Parisienne race and supporting La ligue contre le cancer by giving their old mobile phones. They helped out Haïti by making donations to Entrepreneurs du Monde to make a contribution to the country’s economic recovery through micro-lending.

Promoting equality and diversity
In 2009, as is the case every year, the M6 Group continued to enforce its policies to implement concrete initiatives and measures to ensure that the channel reflects the cultural variety and diversity (socio-professional category, sex, background and disabilities) within French society. The Group’s commitment to ensure that it is representative of the diversity within French society is now set forth in its Agreement with the CSA. However, further to its obligations, M6 for many years has been aware of its responsibility to increase awareness and understanding about diversity and to respect differences. As a broadcaster, the Group has a duty to reflect the image of a multicultural France on its channel by promoting inclusion and social cohesion and by ensuring that people of different origins are can be seen on the channel. W9 applies the same policy. The CSA checks that the channels comply with their undertakings, in particular by taking account of the diversity ratings, the initial results of which are satisfactory for M6 and W9.

Promoting inclusion and diversity
Zone Interdite (“Starting up your company: a project for life”), Enquête Exclusive (“Youth on the estates: hope v. malcontent”) and Capital (“Food caravans”) all took an in-depth look at the careers of young entrepreneurs from diverse backgrounds and without dealing in stereotypes, followed the trail of their efforts to succeed in society and realise their dreams, which included opening a beauty salon, creating a clothes brand and innovating in mobile catering. Trusting in its expertise to make sense of what is going on in the world around us, M6 covered issues relating to diversity, presenting different profi les and different approaches to success, so that viewers got a better grasp of the challenges facing the modern world and society in which we live. The channel also partnered the project “Living together to combat ordinary racism” by airing 10 2-minute short broadcasts on diversity, presented by celebrities, in conjunction with SOS Racisme. Furthermore, diversity can be seen across many of the programmes on the Group’s channels, be it entertainment magazines and programmes such as Belle toute nue, D&CO, Un Dîner presque parfait and Nouvelle Star, dramas such as Scènes de Ménages, L’internat, Déformations professionnelles and Les Bleus premiers pas dans la police, as well as short programmes like Ça a commence comme ça, which gives writers and singers with very diverse origins such as Alain Mabanckou, Corneille, Abha Dawesar and Tran Huy the chance to reveal what motivated them to become artists and to go over how their careers developed. The news magazine 66 Minutes took action to mark the week for the employment of people with disabilities (16 to 22 November) by broadcasting a report “Disabled and getting by nonetheless”, which looked at the daily lives of two people with disabilities who have overcome the things which make them different from other people and made successful careers for themselves.
The success of the M6 Group’s channels is largely due to the fact that, among all the diversity, people can identify with the programming content. Indeed, magazines, dramas and series provide a true reflection of French society as it is today. Cartoons like Vinz et Lou, which are part of the programme offer for young viewers serve as a platform for communicating key values, such as tolerance, sharing, solidarity and friendship.

Programmes accessible to the widest possible audience
As far as the Group sees it, accessible programming is first and foremost about factoring in the needs of all disabilities, in particular by subtitling its programmes for the deaf and hard of hearing. The Group continued to implement and further developed its policy for making its programmes accessible to the deaf and hard of hearing. 4,250 hours are now subtitled for M6, close to 60% of its programmes. W9 has also significantly increased the amount of its programming which is subtitled; over 4,000 hours are now subtitled, which has enabled the channel to significantly exceed its obligation for 40% of its programmes to be subtitled in 2010. Since February 2010, M6 has made the channel 100% accessible (with the exception of advertisements, slots for sponsors, film trailers, songs performed live and distance shopping, among others) to people with hearing impairments. In addition, the new broadcasting control room enables all the Group’s channels to use this specific type of subtitling, thereby ensuring that programmes on Paris Première, Téva and the three music channels can be accessed by the widest possible audience.