La Une

La Une is the principal French-language television channel of Belgium’s public-service broadcaster, RTBF. It serves the French-speaking Community of Belgium and is the French-language counterpart to the Flemish public broadcaster’s principal general-interest channel. Based in Brussels and distributed widely through terrestrial, cable, satellite and IPTV systems, La Une combines national news, current affairs, documentaries, cultural programming, entertainment, sport and general-interest series. The channel’s roots date to the establishment of Belgian television in 1953. Experimental broadcasts began in June that year, including coverage of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, and regular French-language television was formally inaugurated on 31 October from the INR studios at Le Flagey in Brussels. In its first years, the service broadcast for only a few evenings each week. Much of its schedule consisted of theatre, drama and programs relayed from French broadcaster RTF, while the Belgian service gradually developed its own production capacity. News, weather, sports and live-event coverage became important early components of the channel’s identity. The 1958 Brussels World’s Fair accelerated the development of Belgian television. The broadcaster expanded its outside-broadcast capabilities and produced daily coverage of the exposition, including interviews, reports and debates. Transmission infrastructure also grew rapidly: transmitters in Liège and Wavre progressively extended the service beyond Brussels and enabled coverage of most of the French-speaking territory. Cable distribution, introduced in the 1960s and expanded nationally during the following decade, eventually ended the practical exclusivity of terrestrial public television while greatly increasing household access. Institutionally, the service changed as Belgium’s broadcasting system was reorganized. The National Institute of Belgian Radio became Radio-Télévision Belge, or RTB, in 1960. In 1977, following the creation of Belgium’s linguistic communities, the French-language broadcaster became RTBF and its first television channel was branded RTBF 1. A second channel was launched as RTbis in 1977 and later developed into the service known as La Deux, leaving the first channel as RTBF’s principal generalist outlet. The channel’s operating environment also changed during the 1980s and 1990s. The launch and authorization of commercial competitors, especially RTL Television and RTL-TVI, ended the public broadcaster’s long-standing broadcasting monopoly. RTBF was permitted limited commercial advertising in stages, including arrangements administered through the TVB advertising venture, although that system was later discontinued. In 1997, RTBF became an autonomous public company under the French Community, and the first channel was renamed RTBF La 1 before adopting the shorter name La Une in January 2004. La Une’s programming remains centered on public-service content with broad national reach. Its news output, including the main Journal Télévisé, is supported by political coverage, elections, investigative and regional reporting, cultural programs, documentaries, magazine shows, sport and entertainment. The channel has also been used for major shared events, including extensive coverage of the FIFA World Cup and other live sports. Although its principal audience is in Wallonia and Brussels, it is available in Flanders through several pay-TV and distribution platforms, and it can be received in Luxembourg through neighboring terrestrial coverage and television providers. The brand has undergone repeated visual and on-air redesigns. Earlier identities used a yellow numeral one, geometric graphics and imagery associated with the Reyers Tower, while later identities adopted increasingly abstract forms. The current La Une logo was introduced in 2004. News presentation was subsequently refreshed in 2011, 2016 and 2018, with the 2018 update introducing a new studio and revised opening graphics. Analog terrestrial transmission ended in March 2011, after which the channel continued through digital terrestrial and subscription distribution networks.

Belgian television began experimentally in 1953 under the National Institute of Belgian Radio, known by its French initials INR. A live transmission of Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation on 2 June provided an early demonstration of the medium. The regular service was inaugurated on 31 October from Studio 5 at Le Flagey in Brussels. Early schedules were limited, generally consisting of a few evenings per week, and combined locally produced theatre, drama, news and variety with programs relayed from French broadcaster RTF. The service was introduced by announcer Janine Lambotte after an opening presentation by Andrée Rolin. The channel’s early development was closely linked to improvements in production and transmission. Sports coverage began with the 1954 FIFA World Cup and expanded with regular sports programming from 1955. A fully Belgian-produced television newscast began in 1956. Weather presentation also became a recognizable feature, initially using live cartoon-style illustrations created in connection with the Royal Meteorological Institute. The 1958 Brussels World’s Fair was a major institutional and technical turning point. INR acquired outside-broadcast vehicles, produced daily Expo Magazine coverage and expanded its reporting, interview and debate output. The event helped television become a more prominent national medium. Transmission coverage widened through new facilities in Liège and Wavre. By the late 1950s, the network reached most of the French-speaking territory, while the number of television sets in Belgian homes increased sharply. Cable distribution arrived in Liège and Namur in 1962 and spread across the country by 1975. This expansion gave the public service a much broader audience and gradually shifted television from a limited terrestrial service to a nationally distributed medium. The Harmel Act of 1960 reorganized the INR as Radio-Télévision Belge. RTB operated as the French-language public broadcaster alongside the Dutch-language BRT, with common services but separate cultural and editorial responsibilities. Color broadcasting began in the early 1970s. In 1977, Belgium’s community-based institutional structure led to the formation of RTBF, the French Community’s radio and television broadcaster. The first channel became RTBF 1, while RTbis was established as a second television service. Production was also decentralized through regional centers in Liège and Charleroi, followed by a new Brussels production center. From the 1980s onward, competition and regulation changed the channel’s role. The arrival of RTL Television and later RTL-TVI weakened RTBF’s former monopoly. RTBF received limited authorization to carry commercial advertising, first in exceptional circumstances and later through a joint advertising arrangement involving public and private channels. This arrangement was criticized and was discontinued in 1996. The competitive environment encouraged clearer channel differentiation while RTBF continued to emphasize public information, culture and broad national coverage. In 1997, the Parliament of the French Community transformed RTBF into an autonomous public company. RTBF 1 was renamed RTBF La 1, and it became the first Belgian television channel to broadcast continuously around the clock. During the 1998 FIFA World Cup, RTBF used its two principal channels to provide complete match coverage and expanded distribution so that audiences across Wallonia could receive the broadcasts. The current brand was introduced in January 2004, when RTBF La 1 became La Une. The channel continued as RTBF’s flagship general-interest service, carrying news, documentaries, entertainment, sport and major live events. Its distribution evolved further as analog terrestrial transmission ended in March 2011. La Une remains available through digital terrestrial transmission in relevant areas and through cable, satellite and IPTV providers in Belgium. It also reaches audiences in parts of Flanders and Luxembourg through pay-TV platforms and terrestrial spillover. Brand presentation has changed repeatedly. A yellow numeral one was introduced in 1985, followed by variations using a blue ring, geometric elements, photographic imagery and later abstract graphics. RTBF’s chip-style identity appeared in the late 1990s. The La Une logo introduced in 2004 was followed by several news and studio redesigns, including updates in 2011, 2016 and 2018. These changes modernized the channel’s presentation while retaining its position as a principal French-language public-service broadcaster.

• 2018

  News studio and graphics redesigned

  [1]La Uneen.wikipedia.org

  La Une introduces a new news studio, opening sequence and updated presentation for several current-affairs and sports programs.

• 2011

  Analog terrestrial transmission ends

  [1]La Uneen.wikipedia.org

  La Une ends analog transmission as digital and pay-TV distribution become the principal delivery methods.

• 2004

  Current La Une name introduced

  [1]La Uneen.wikipedia.org

  RTBF La 1 is renamed La Une and adopts a new visual identity.

• 1997

  RTBF becomes an autonomous public company

  [1]La Uneen.wikipedia.org

  The French Community reorganizes RTBF, and the first channel becomes RTBF La 1.

• 1977

  RTBF and a second television channel are established

  [1]La Uneen.wikipedia.org

  RTB becomes RTBF and its first channel is branded RTBF 1; RTbis is created as a second service.

• 1971

  Color transmission begins

  [1]La Uneen.wikipedia.org

  RTB starts introducing color broadcasts, initially including Le Jardin Extraordinaire.

• 1960

  Creation of RTB

  [1]La Uneen.wikipedia.org

  The INR is reorganized as Radio-Télévision Belge, separating French- and Dutch-language public broadcasting structures.

• 1958

  Brussels World’s Fair expands television production

  [1]La Uneen.wikipedia.org

  INR strengthens its outside-broadcast resources and produces daily coverage of Expo 58.

• 1954

  First major live sports coverage

  [1]La Uneen.wikipedia.org

  The service broadcasts coverage of the FIFA World Cup, helping establish live sport as part of its programming mix.

• 1953

  Regular Belgian television begins

  [1]La Uneen.wikipedia.org

  The INR formally inaugurates Belgium’s French-language television service on 31 October from Brussels.

A broad-reach French-language public-service television channel combining national news, civic information, culture, entertainment, sport and live events for audiences in Brussels, Wallonia and the wider French-speaking Belgian market.

• National public-service television channel · 1953

  La Une general television service

  La Une is RTBF’s principal French-language generalist television service. Its schedule combines national and regional news, current affairs, documentaries, cultural programs, entertainment, magazine shows, sport and live national or international events. The service is primarily intended for audiences in Brussels and Wallonia, while distribution platforms also make it available elsewhere in Belgium and in parts of Luxembourg.

• Television news · 1956

  Journal Télévisé

  Journal Télévisé is La Une’s principal television news offering. It developed from the channel’s first fully Belgian-produced newscast, launched in 1956, and forms a central part of the broadcaster’s public-information role. Its presentation and studio design have been revised several times, including major visual updates in 2011, 2016 and 2018.

• Nature and documentary programming · 1965

  Le Jardin Extraordinaire

  Le Jardin Extraordinaire is a long-running nature and documentary program associated with Belgian public television. It was among the programs used to introduce color broadcasting on RTB in the early 1970s and reflects La Une’s continuing role in cultural, educational and documentary programming.

• Consumer and magazine programming

  On n'est pas des pigeons!

  On n'est pas des pigeons! is a consumer-focused magazine program carried by La Une. It fits the channel’s public-service approach by combining practical information and consumer-oriented subjects with accessible studio and field reporting.

• Sports programming

  Studio Foot

  Studio Foot is a football-oriented program associated with La Une’s sports coverage. It is part of the channel’s broader tradition of live sport, analysis and event programming, which dates back to the 1954 FIFA World Cup broadcasts and regular sports output introduced in the 1950s.

• 2011

  Transition away from analog terrestrial broadcastingStrategy

  Background

  Belgian television distribution was moving toward digital terrestrial, cable, satellite and IPTV delivery.

  Action taken

  La Une ended analog terrestrial transmission in March while remaining available through digital and subscription distribution networks.

  Aftermath

  The channel continued to reach audiences across Belgium through a more diversified distribution infrastructure.

  Source

• 2004

  The La Une brand is introducedGeneration change

  Background

  RTBF sought a more concise and unified identity for its principal television channel after the RTBF La 1 period.

  Action taken

  RTBF La 1 was renamed La Une and received a new logo and on-air presentation.

  Aftermath

  La Une became the enduring public-facing brand for RTBF’s primary French-language television service.

  Source

• 1997

  RTBF becomes an autonomous public companyStrategy

  Background

  The French Community restructured its public broadcaster amid a more competitive television market and a broader redefinition of public-service broadcasting.

  Action taken

  RTBF was granted autonomous public-company status, while its first television service was renamed RTBF La 1.

  Aftermath

  The change preceded the adoption of the shorter La Une brand in 2004 and reinforced the channel’s role as RTBF’s flagship generalist service.

  Source

• 1984

  Limited commercial advertising is authorizedStrategy

  Background

  The arrival of commercial competition, including RTL Television, altered the former public-broadcasting monopoly in Belgium’s French-language television market.

  Action taken

  RTBF received access to limited non-commercial advertising, followed by exceptional sponsorship and later broader advertising arrangements under French Community regulations.

  Aftermath

  Advertising arrangements became a continuing point of institutional debate and were eventually discontinued in 1996 after criticism from multiple sides.

  Source

1. 1La Uneen.wikipedia.org
2. 2RTBF official websitertbf.be
3. 3La Une official websitela1.be