La Première is a group of French radio and television stations operated by the state-owned France Télévisions group. The stations operate in France's overseas departments and territories, and carry around the world.
The service was first established in 1954 as the Radiodiffusion de la France Outre-Mer (RFOM). It was renamed a year later as the Société de radiodiffusion de la France d'outre-mer (SORAFOM).
This was replaced in 1964, following the creation of the Office de Radiodiffusion Télévision Française, by the Office de coopération radiophonique (OCORA).
In August 1974, OCORA became a part of the reformulated FR3: a network of regional television stations in mainland France. FR3's overseas operations were known as FR3 DOM-TOM and, unlike the arrangement in metropolitan France, were in charge of both television and radio.
In December 1982, France's overseas broadcasting operations were removed from FR3 and invested in the current organization, the Société de Radiodiffusion et de télévision Française pour l'Outre-mer (RFO).
In July 2004, Réseau France Outre-mer (RFO) was reunited with the French mainland's public broadcasters when it was merged into the France Télévisions network.
On 30 November 2010, Réseau France Outre-mer was renamed Réseau Outre-Mer 1ère. In 2018, the name was changed to La Première, prefixed with the region name, to resolve a trademark concern from Groupe M6 over possible confusion with its channel Paris Première.
La Première consists of nine radio and television services serving eleven regions, departments or communities of Overseas France. The channels carry programmes that reflect the needs of the regions, including news bulletins and programmes reflective of the region's culture and history. These include regional language programming where applicable.[1]
The network also operates Radio Outre-mer La Première as a national internet radio station, which carries a mix of music and programmes from all of the La Première stations. France Télévisions previously operated an equivalent national television channel, France Ô, but it was closed in 2020 due to declining viewership, and replaced by a digital platform.[2][3]
La Première radio is available only in overseas territories/departments and on the Internet via the website la1ere.fr. The content changes depending on what radio station you're listening to online or depending on where you live in the overseas territories/departments just like France 3 does with the regional news bulletins such as 12/13, Soir 3 or other regional shows. It also offers free streaming online for radio and TV. The television broadcast on the website is only for those who live in the overseas territories/departments.
The territory of French Southern and Antarctic Lands (TAAF) does not have a dedicated station as the population is transient and non-indigenous. Broadcasts, stories and breaking news concerning TAAF would be handled by Réunion La Première as they arise as oversight of TAAF is headquartered in the Réunionnaise commune of Saint Pierre. The other territory without a station, Clipperton Island, also has no permanent population and is actually private property of the French government.
