December 1935 : Radiovision-PTT Broadcasts France’s First Television Program

After a series of highly technical experimental broadcasts, the first official trials of French television date back to April 26, 1935. However, the first public broadcast aired several months later, in December, featuring a large variety show…

What was this first French television service ?

Under the initiative of Georges Mandel, Minister of Posts, Telegraphs and Telephones (PTT), France began setting up its television service in September 1935. The transmitter was installed beneath the northern pillar of the Eiffel Tower. From there, a cable over 300 meters long and 10 cm in diameter ran up to the top of the tower, where small antennas transmitted the signal across Paris.

Broadcasts were produced at the PTT studio at 103 rue de Grenelle, and the signal was transmitted via telephone lines. The image was five times sharper than during the April tests. Radiovision-PTT was broadcast in 180 lines, and technicians already hoped to upgrade to 240 lines the following spring. As for sound, audio was broadcast from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. by Paris-PTT (and its regional stations), and from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. from the Eiffel Tower.

Who could watch it?

In December 1935, only ten television sets were operational. For this first step in French television, six reception centers equipped with receivers were set up in Paris: at the PTT studio, the tourist office, the Maison de la Chimie, the Maison des Ingénieurs Civils, the town hall of the 5th arrondissement, and the Conservatoire des Arts et Métiers.

Since the screens of the first televisions were very small (about 20 cm), viewers were admitted into each reception center in groups of around fifty and were ushered past the screen for a few minutes in small groups of about 15 people. At the town hall of the 5th arrondissement, hundreds waited patiently outside in the rain; at the tourist office on the Champs-Élysées, several thousand people were turned away. Registration was required in advance. In total, 10,000 Parisians applied, but only 3,000 were lucky enough to attend this first broadcast.

What was the program of the first broadcast ?

This was a historic broadcast, and here is its full program:

A scene from The Fairy Tale of the Three Little Pigs and the Big Bad Wolf, performed by the young actors Redon, Berjac, Cazenave, and Manès from the Théâtre du Petit-Monde. Dances by Nikitina.

Roger Bourdin of the Opéra-Comique performed Les Vieilles de chez nous by Ch. Levadé and Paysage by Reynaldo Hahn. A sketch by Tristan Bernard, Révélation, performed by Georges Colin and Jane Lory. Poetry recited by Jane Provost. Germaine Lubin of the Opéra sang D’amour, l’ardente flamme by Hector Berlioz. Theatre performance by Béatrice Bretty and Georges Lafon of the Comédie-Française in a scene from Le Bourgeois gentilhomme. Dance by Suzanne Lorcia, étoile dancer of the Académie Nationale de Musique. Gilles and Julien performed from their repertoire.

Lys Gauty and Noël-Noël also performed. Pauiley appeared in Un homme heureux, a sketch by Dorin and Saint-Granier, with Pierre Blancart and Suzy Leroy. Theatre performances included Fernand Gravey, Germaine Dermoz, and Jacques Erwin in a scene from Elizabeth, the Woman Without a Man ; Elvire Popesco and André Lefaur in a scene from Vive le roi ; Gaby Morlay and Victor Boucher in a fragment from Le Billet de loterie by Francis de Croisset; and Sacha Guitry with Jacqueline Delubac in a short piece by Guitry. Additional dances were performed by Suzanne Lorcia, accompanied on piano by Maurice Faure of the Opéra, with dance interludes by Mlle Zoula de Boncza.

What happened next ?

Following the success of this first public broadcast, another airing was organized on Sunday, December 15, with the same schedule and an equally eclectic program titled Reflet de la saison parisienne. Its audio portion was broadcast by Paris-PTT (and its regional stations) and the Eiffel Tower. There were already plans for four to five broadcasts per week during 1936. However, regular broadcasts of Radiovision-PTT, the first French television channel, did not begin until January 4, 1937.

April 1935 : the first words of French television

At the beginning of 1935, the system developed by René Barthélemy was ready for testing. Minister Georges Mandel wanted rapid progress. A large lecture hall in the PTT building on rue de Grenelle was converted into a television studio in about ten days. On April 26 at 8:30 p.m., the first official public test broadcast was presented to national and international press. Béatrice Betty of the Comédie-Française spoke for about twenty minutes about her recent trip to Italy, opening with a line from Ciboulette, the operetta by Reynaldo Hahn: “We had a wonderful journey.”