Leading French free to air TV channel TF1 wants to break with tradition and copy the US, and introduce retransmission fees for pay TV networks to carry its channels. The US developed very differently from most of Europe in allowing a negotiation for retransmission fees of free to air networks, but parts of Europe have something similar and TF1 cites retransmission deals in Germany, Belgium, Spain, Portugal and Poland, although even in those countries it is the exception, not the rule, to pay for FTA channels. And TF1, which is owned by conglomerate Bouygues, says it will pull the channels from pay TV networks including Orange, SFR and Vivendi. It also says that close rival M6, ultimately owned by Bertelsmann,…