At MipTV on Tuesday, the senior management of new public broadcaster TVMonaco revealed further details about the channel, which will launch on Sept. 1.
The channel executives present at the event at the Carlton Hotel in Cannes included its CEO Salim Zeghdar, deputy CEO Nathalie Biancolli, Marie-Pierre Gramaglia, president, and Virginie Lavagna, general secretary.
The channel will be 100% owned by the Monegasque state. Revenue will come from advertising, and from selling the shows it produces. The budget for content for the first three months will be Euros 15 million, after which there will be a budget set for 2024.
The channel will include live news and sports coverage, and then recorded shows for the rest of the time. The shows it produces will initially be all unscripted, but it has the intention to add scripted shows in about 12-18 months’ time.
There will be a particular emphasis on shows about the protection of the environment, which chimes with the interest that Prince Albert II, the head of state of Monaco, has in this subject, Biancolli said. Prince Albert II spoke about the threats to the environment when addressing the General Assembly of the United Nations on Sept. 26. Another focus of the channel will be on wildlife in Monaco.
The shows will go out on both a linear service and a digital platform. Shows will also be shown on the French public television network TV5Monde, which has global distribution.
The channel has 20 staff at present and this will grow to 40 at the end of the year, and to 80-100 at the end of 2024. The team is set to move to its studios and offices in Fontvieille in July.