France24, soon in Spanish?

The French all-news intends to increase its audience by expanding its services in Arabic and Spanish, with an eye on Latin America.

The Audiovisual Exterior de France (AEF) company, a public entity that coordinates and supervises the activities of television and radio channels abroad, has requested the French Government to include in its contract-program the creation of the France 24 channel in Spanish.

In its origins, back in 2006, France24 was conceived as a channel in French, Spanish, English and Arabic. However, for budgetary reasons, the Spanish version was ultimately shelved.

Now this project is being resumed, which could initially involve launching a window of several hours in Spanish, to finally launch a dedicated channel in 2015.

France24 has an audience of around 45 million viewers, a figure that could grow considerably with the expansion of its services in Arabic and Spanish, with an eye on Latin America.