From left to right: Jean-Luc Cronel (TV5 Monde), Eszter Kantor (Duna TV) and
Giovanni Celsi (Rai World) (EBU/Christel Goossens)

TV5 Monde Sales, Distribution and Marketing Director Jean-Luc Cronel is the newly elected chair of the Bruges Group, which represents European public television stations that broadcast internationally.

The announcement was made as representatives of European public television stations convene in Turin for the Prix Italia.

Jean-Luc Cronel replaces RTPi (Portugal) Head of International Relations José Lopes de Araujo, who had chaired the group since 2007. The Bruges Group also elected Duna TV (Hungary) Head of International Relations Eszter Kantor and Rai World (Italy) Sales and Marketing Director Giovanni Celsi as new vice-chairs.

Jean-Luc Cronel said: “I would first of all like to warmly thank my predecessor José Lopes de Araujo and I aim to pursue the reinforcement of the relationship between the EBU and the Bruges Group he initiated. I also intend to build a strategic plan with fellow Bruges Group members to help international public television respond to new viewing patterns and distribution technologies.”

Jean-Luc Cronel joined TV5 Monde – a global television network broadcasting French programmes in over 200 countries – as a high-level advisor in 1996, and has occupied his current function as Sales, Distribution and Marketing Director since 2000. He began his career in 1976 as a diplomat promoting French culture in Vietnam, China, Switzerland and Hungary before playing a key role in developing television and radio networks in Eastern and Central Europe in the mid-nineties.

EBU Director General Ingrid Deltenre said: “Jean-Luc will bring all his experience in international television distribution to the Group and can build on his predecessor’s accomplishments. I look forward to working further with the Bruges Group: its members broadcast high quality news, documentaries and fiction at a global level, bringing the benefits of public service media to global audiences and helping European diasporas stay in touch with homelands.”

The Bruges Group is a non-profit organization of European public television stations which broadcast internationally. It was founded in July 1991 in Bruges, Belgium. In the past 20 years, the Bruges Group has expanded from its six founding broadcasters: BBC, Deutsche Welle, 3sat, RAI, RTPi and TV5 to now more than 20 member stations from all of Europe along with some of their international partners. 

The Bruges Group provides its member stations with a platform not only to share information and to exchange experiences on the world media markets, but also to develop joint media political strategies.

Moreover, the Bruges Group has established an international network of personal and professional contacts among members as well as broadcasting and distribution companies, which is extremely useful in finding solutions to the many challenges that currently face international broadcasters.