Direct and replay solve different tasks
France Télévisions presents live and on-demand material through france.tv. In French menus, direct indicates live viewing, while replay refers to previously broadcast material. Searching for an episode may open a programme page rather than a live channel. Decide which mode you need before diagnosing a missing item.
A replay listing can have its own availability period and programme conditions. An old bookmark does not prove that an episode remains available. Keep the series name, episode title and original broadcast date when comparing results across apps.
Do not merge all French-language feeds
A French-language family in Canada may want Radio-Canada, a programme produced in France or international French-language news. Those are distinct editorial needs. Choose by programme and broadcaster, not just by the label FR or French.
Regional output is another reason to keep a complete feed name. A national channel, a regional edition and an international version may have different schedules and access conditions. Shared branding is useful for recognition but cannot establish that the streams are interchangeable.
Use Paris time for metropolitan schedules
Europe/Paris is a useful clock identifier for a schedule explicitly referring to metropolitan France. It is not a single clock for every French overseas area. If the programme or local-news edition concerns an overseas territory, use that area's date and named time zone.
For a live event, preserve the published French time and convert the full date to the Canadian viewer's city. Seasonal transitions do not always coincide across Europe and Canada. A one-hour mismatch near a clock change should be checked against both time-zone databases before changing the player offset.
Verify the television path separately
France Télévisions provides official guidance about viewing france.tv on connected televisions and boxes. Use that guidance to identify supported app routes, but check the exact device and region before relying on it. A browser result and a television-store listing are different observations.
Open a short programme to inspect French captions, original audio and any alternate version needed by the household. Record whether the item is live, replay or a clip. If access is restricted in Canada, seek the publisher's authorized distribution route; do not assume an IPTV player changes the programme's territorial conditions.
Related questions
Does replay mean live television?
No. It identifies on-demand viewing of previously broadcast material.
Are French and French-Canadian services interchangeable?
No. Language overlaps, but broadcaster identities, programmes and access conditions differ.
Does Paris time cover all French territories?
No. Overseas areas can use different time zones and local dates.
Sources and scope
Scope notes distinguish published documentation, supplied information and editorial methods. They do not report a hands-on service test.
