Gallic TV faces threat of boycott in Turkey

Variety
Oct 19 2006

Law on murder of Armenians prompts attack on French biz
By ALISON JAMESPARIS

The Turkish broadcasting authority called for a boycott of French
TV programs Thursday as a heated political row between the countries
over the mass killing of Armenians nearly a century ago spilled over
into the TV biz.

The authority "recommended" that Gallic shows stay off the air in
Turkey until France drops draft legislation that would make it a crime
to deny that the deaths of 1.5 million Armenians in 1915-17 amounted
to genocide.

Turkey has accused France and its sizable Armenian-origin population
of trying to scupper Turkey’s bid to join the European Union and
attacking free speech.

If the new law takes effect — it has passed the lower house but must
be voted on by the senate — someone denying the Armenian genocide
would face a one-year prison term and a fine of up to $56,000.

France already has a similar law regarding the Holocaust.

Turkey is not one of French TV exporters’ biggest clients in monetary
terms — the market was worth around E1.8 million ($2.25 million) in
2005 — but Turkish TV channels do air a lot of Gallic programming,
especially cartoons.

Michele Massonat, head of international sales and marketing at
youth programming specialist Dargaud Distribution, said Thursday,
"The prices aren’t very high, but almost everything we produce
or distribute sells to Turkey, which makes it a not insignificant
territory for us. Hopefully this will all settle down soon."