Money’s the key

Papeete tussle on TV ads: Money’s the key

The French Polynesian Gov ernment Council wants to im pose a 25 per cent tax on television advertising which, they say, could produce some 140 million CFP (more than $100,000) in revenue.

The decision, made late in March, and still to be approved by the Territorial Assembly, is seen as the latest round in a current somewhat drawn-out battle between the territorial administrators and the French government over television advertising.

Advertising on Tahiti’s single television station, the French state-owned and operated RFC, began on February 1, despite vociferous objections from the territorial government, with vice-president Gaston Flosse at the forefront of the outcry.

A new company known as 0.F.R.E.5., which is in charge

of selling commercial air time,fi gures prominently in the affair.

Prior to its entry into the Tahi tian electronic media scene it worked with Papeete Mayor Jean Juventin, leader of the biggest opposition party in the territorial assembly, in the set ting up of public bus shelters throughout the city.

The bus shelters have large surfaces for advertising and are the closest thing Tahiti has to billboards. However, the public seems to make little use of them for their ostensible purpose and the Government Council has ruled that they and their advertising panels are illegal.

An order has been issued for their removal but, so far, no work in that direction has started.

The territorial government says it is not opposed to televi sion advertising as such but wants to see set up the audio

visual communications commit tee provided under a 1982 French law, extended to French overseas territories, such as Tahiti, last July. It has made efforts, legal, political and procedural to have the T.V. ads banned, but has not succeeded.

Commercials are limited to five minutes after the nightly news at 7 pm, a 30-minute interlude in the average daily five hours of television broad casting, most of it in color.

Locally-produced ads run an average of 15 seconds each and cost about $2O per second.

Imported ads, mostly from France, cost about $25 per second. The local ads run four days a week, and are aired before the news. The imported variety run seven days, and are aired after the news.

If all allotted commercial time is sold under contract (the rates quoted above are contract prices), total revenue is 566 million CFP (about $4 million).

This does not include calcula tion for surcharges for preferred spots. AI Prince in Papeete.