Entertainment
Unifrance President Gilles Pélisson Outlines Challenges and Growth in Exporting French TV Content
Ahead of the Le Havre Rendez-Vous market, Pélisson noted that while overall sales have dipped, animation and streaming drama continue to drive international performance.
The short version
- Unifrance President Gilles Pélisson discussed the shifting dynamics of French TV distribution ahead of the Unifrance Rendez-Vous market in Le Havre.
- Despite an overall sales decline driven by streamers and broadcasters ordering fewer new projects, French animation and drama continue to find strong international audiences.
- Europe remains France's primary export market, with Poland leading linear broadcasts of French shows and Germany leading in streaming distribution.
Key facts
- The Unifrance Rendez-Vous market in Le Havre, running from September 7-10, is hosting approximately 130 buyers to showcase French TV programming.[Variety]
- French TV distribution faces challenges from global market consolidation, streaming dominance, uncertain funding models for public broadcasters, and shrinking advertising budgets for private free-to-air channels.[Variety]
- Export sales for French projects have declined over the past year due to streamers and broadcasters ordering fewer new IPs, and because global streamers bundle international value into single production figures rather than counting them as export sales.[Variety]
- Animation remains France's top export by volume, led by franchises such as 'Miraculous', 'Grizzy & the Lemmings', and the 'Totally Spies!' revival, while drama leads in value on streaming services.[Variety]
- Poland has become the leading country for linear broadcasts of French programs, while Germany is the top market for streaming of French content.[Variety]
What remains uncertain
- The long-term impact of 'hyper-distribution' remains to be seen, as Pélisson notes that while distributing content across multiple channels simultaneously expands reach, it risks making programs disappear into vast catalogs.[Variety]