This Wednesday evening, following the France Télévisions conference, a real thunderclap fell on the PAF. After fifty years of daily broadcasting, Numbers and lettersthe cult game broadcast on France 3, will disappear from the TV schedules of the week at the start of the next school year.
Launched in 1965 under the name The longest wordthe show, which sees two candidates compete in vocabulary and arithmetic tests, has not however said its last word following 57 years of existence since it will now be broadcast on Saturdays and Sundays, always on the same channel.
As Numbers and letters, other shows have spanned the decades on the PAF and are still airing today. The oldest French television program still present on the small screen, apart from television news, is none other than The day of the Lord. The program intended to transmit the Gospel was launched on December 24, 1948. On that day, France was the first country in the world to broadcast the Christmas Mass live on television from Notre-Dame de Paris. Who would have thought that 74 years later, the religious program would still be on the air every Sunday morning?
Behind these two “dinosaurs” of the PAF programs, we find Automotive, a magazine dedicated to automobiles and motorsports, launched in 1975 on TF1. Presented by Denis Brogniart from 2012 to 2020, the show has since been carried by Jean-Pierre Gagick.
Also in 1975, but later and with the competition, started Thalassa. For 37 years, the magazine of the sea was embodied by Georges Pernoud on France 3. Fanny Agostini then took control of the ship to finally leave them to Sabine Quindou since 2020.
Sport has also always been popular on the small screen. The proof with the longevity of Stade 2dedicated to sports news which has been broadcast since 1975 on France Télévisions, first on Antenne 2, then on France 2 and finally, since 2019, on France 3. Arrived two years later, Telefoot is still, 45 years later, part of the Sunday television rituals of football fans.
And on the Belgian small screen?
The Extraordinary Garden will celebrate its 60th anniversary in 2025.
Although they are rarer, certain Belgian programs have also managed to survive on the small screen. The one breaking all records is none other than Le Extraordinary garden, a magazine giving pride of place to nature and the environment presented for the first time in 1965 by Arlette Vincent on the RTB. Almost sixty years later, the show, entrusted to Tanguy Dumortier since 2014, is still there. During its long existence, it has also been able to withstand the health crisis temporarily retitling itself. Our extraordinary garden before returning to its original name.
Behind this jewel of the public service, we find I Like and its 38 years of existence on RTL-TVI. The unusual news magazine presented by Jacques van den Biggelaar has succeeded in modernizing itself over the years, welcoming new faces such as Ludovic Daxhelet and Jill Vandermeulen.
The years go by but the adventures of the crowned heads always arouse a certain interest among Belgian viewers. Reason why RTL-TVI still broadcasts today – even if only in the form of special issues – the magazine Royal Square which was created in 1994 with Anne Quevrin at the helm. In 2010, however, Thomas de Bergeyck took over and now co-presents the magazine with Laura Beyne.
In terms of game shows, you can’t miss septuagint oneJean-Michel Zecca’s flagship entertainment on RTL-TVI, which will celebrate its 20th anniversary next year.
New out of old
Sometimes, instead of racking their brains to find the new concept that might work on television, the channels prefer to go rummaging through their old drawers and dusting off shows that were popular a while ago. In this area, TF1 seems to break all records in recent years. A few weeks ago, the first channel announced the big return in 2022 of the Star Academy following 14 years of absence. Broadcast from 2001 to 2008, reality TV revealed stars such as Jenifer and Nolwenn Leroy. Same castle, same concept, same presenter (Nikos Aliagas), the card of nostalgia is played to revive the memories of a whole generation and to try to conquer others. Earlier, in 2018, it was Burger Quiz which was reborn from its ashes following 16 years of absence. Always presented by Alain Chabat, the quirky questions game has moved from Canal + to TMC, a channel of the TF1 group, for the occasion. Arriving on the private channel four years ago, Camille Combal, former columnist for Do not touch My TVhas also given a second life to programs that were thought to be extinct forever, namely A gold familywhich first aired in 1986, and Who Wants to Be a Millionaire ?which kept millions of viewers spellbound from 2000 to 2016.
On the side of France Television, we note the recovery of La treasure map, treasure hunt highlighting French heritage. First broadcast in 1996, the show made a comeback in 2018 following a 9-year absence.
