Télévisuelles

Télévisuelles is a French adjective used to describe objects, services or concepts that are related to television or broadcast media. The term is derived from televisuel, which comes from television as a compound of the French word télé (from the Greek *tèle*, meaning “far”) and the English‑derived component “visuel” (visual). In everyday usage, télévisuel or télévisuelles may refer to television channels, programs, advertising, and technologies that involve visual transmissions over the airwaves or cable networks.

Historically, the first appearance of the term dates back to the late 1940s when French broadcasting was becoming a distinct media sphere. It entered the public lexicon as radio television (radiotélévision) was replaced by télévisuelle; the adjective was employed by journalists, advertisers, and the French Ministry of Culture in official documents to differentiate between print or radio media and the new audiovisual medium. During the 1970s, the law on audiovisual communication introduced the notion of télévisuelle to regulate ownership, distribution, and advertising. The word gained particular prominence in the 1980s when satellite and cable television began to proliferate, and new programs such as télévisuelles d’information (television news) and télévisuelles de divertissement (television entertainment) were coined.

In contemporary French media, télévisuelles is used to label various aspects: télévisuelles publicitaires refers to TV advertising; télévisuelles spécialisées can denote niche or theme‑based channels; and télévisuelles de formation is used for educational programming. The term also appears in academic literature dealing with media studies and policy formation. Additionally, the adjective is found in corporate logos and branding for networks—e.g. “Télévisuelles Culturelles” for cultural programming channels.

The use of télévisuelles underscores the distinction between various media modalities. It indicates that a product or service is primarily or exclusively meant for consumption through the television platform, whether for entertainment, instruction, or public broadcasting. As television remains a pervasive medium in France, the adjective continues to appear in legal documents, press releases, and everyday speech, highlighting the medium’s ongoing cultural and socio‑economic influence.

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