French TV has six channels: three public (France 2, Arte/France 5 and France 3); one subscription (Canal Plus – with some unencrypted programmes); and two commercial open broadcasts (TF1 and M6). Of these, TF1 and France 2 are the most popular channels, showing a broad mix of programmes. In addition there are any number of cable and satellite channels, which include CNN, BBC World and BBC Prime, Eurosport, MTV, Planète, which specializes in documentaries, Ciné Première, and Canal Jimmy (Friends and the like in French). The main French-run music channel is MCM.Arte/France 5 (also known as La Cinquième) is a joint Franco-German cultural venture that transmits simultaneously in French and German: offerings include highbrow programmes, daily documentaries, art criticism, serious French and German movies and complete operas. During the day (7am–7pm), France 5 uses the frequency to broadcast educational programmes. Canal Plus is the main movie channel (and funder of the French film industry), with repeats of foreign films usually shown at least once in the original language. France 3 is strong on regional news and more heavyweight movies, including a fair number foreign, undubbed films. The main French news broadcasts are at 8pm on France 2 and TF1. If you've got a radio, you can tune into various English-language broadcasts. BBC (www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice), Radio Canada (www.rcinet.ca), and Voice of America (www.voa.gov) list all the world service frequencies around the globe. In the Paris region, you can listen to the news in English on Radio France International (RFI) at 7am, 2pm and 4.30pm on 738 kHz. For radio news in French, there's the state-run France Inter (87.8 FM), Europe 1 (104.7 FM) or round-the-clock news on France Info (105.5 FM).
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