Christine Marchal-Ortiz

Christine Marchal-Ortiz (born 1 September 1963) is a French television executive who served as the European Broadcasting Union's Executive Supervisor of the Eurovision Song Contest for six contests between 1996 and 2002.

During her tenure, she oversaw significant changes to the contest's rules and presentation, including the introduction of televoting, the discontinuation of the live orchestra, relaxation of language rules, and early steps in official marketing such as the launch of the official CD.

Early life Marchal-Ortiz studied for a Master of Business Administration at the NEOMA Business School in Rouen from 1983, before specialising in a Master of Broadcast Management at Boston University until 1989.

Career Originally from France, Marchal-Ortiz worked for TF1, joining in 1989, initially as a researcher before rising to their mission manager. Marchal-Ortiz duties included the day-to-day supervision of the live event and liaising with host broadcasters as well as the long-term development of the contest's rules and format.

Key developments implemented or advanced during her period included the piloting and rolling out televoting;

In the years after, Marchal-Ortiz signalled a rethink, agreeing to change the qualification approach for the following year so that major TV markets would not be excluded again. From 1997 the contest reverted to a relegation-based cap on participants (rather than a universal pre-qualifier). As pressure on capacity persisted, an exemption from relegation was next created for the four largest contributing EBU members, France, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom, granting them automatic participation. This “Big Four” status took effect for the 2000 contest (the exemption was introduced the previous year), and later became the “Big Five” on Italy's return in 2011.

In 2002, she decided to step down from her role to spend more time with her family.