French minister of culture Catherine Tasca has asked David Kessler, who heads TV and film support body CNC, to lead discussions aimed at determining what constitutes an "audiovisual work."

The move follows a controversy sparked by a decision made by French broadcast watchdog Conseil Superieur de l'Audiovisuel (CSA), to grant the 'audiovisual creation' label to reality show Popstars, which was broadcast on private channel M6.

Although this may seem a rather futile subject matter, the decision will have an impact on the broadcasting quotas and, even more importantly, the genre of programmes which will benefit from CNC's financial support.

According to the European Television Without Frontiers directive, on European broadcasting quotas are based, newscasts, sport events, game shows, advertising and tele-shopping are excluded from the definition of an audiovisual work.

But according for the purposes of access to the CNC's TV subsidies (known as the COSIP) drama and animated programming, short films, documentaries, entertainment shows (not live performances), cultural magazines and music videos are defined as audiovisual works, according to regulations dating back to the 1995 broadcasting law.