Sales of international TV programs remained strong last year despite deteriorating market conditions, falling just 5.3% year on year to €203.4 million ($224.7 million), according to France’s annual report on audiovisual exports National Center for Film (CNC) and Film and Film. TV promotion organization Unifrance.
In 2023 it was only the third time in thirty years that turnover exceeded the €200 million mark, after 2017 with €205.2 million ($225.7 million) and 2022, a record year with €214.8 million ($236. 3 million).
Presenting the latest figures at the Unifrance Rendez-Vous TV market in Le Havre, Unifrance’s Cécile Lacoue and Sarah Hemar noted that the export performance of French programs has held up well in a difficult international environment characterized by lower acquisition budgets and a shrinkage of the North American market in particular, buyers taking fewer risks and longer negotiations between partners.
Commenting on the figures, Gilles Pélisson, president of Unifrance, emphasized that the total turnover of €200 million was a major achievement “in a very challenging environment.”
“We should all keep in mind that this figure is significant and reflects very well the complexity of fighting in such a highly concentrated market. … It means you’re dealing with some players who are really big, and they’re getting bigger. What it means is that it is a very competitive market and so selling is just a major achievement.”
Total exports of French programmes, including sales, pre-sales and co-production contributions, fell by 3.3% compared to 2022 to €309.2 million ($340.1 million), in line with the minus 1.7% average of the past ten years.
The report attributes the strong performance of French program exports to “the quality and diversity of audiovisual works across all genres, which continue to appeal to the international market. France is the second best represented European country in international VOD programs and in the programs of foreign TV channels.”
Indeed, sales of French programs to foreign platforms remained an important source of revenue, despite a decline of 11.8 percentage points to 31.3%. Linear channels remained the main buyers of French programming, with TV rights (including all media rights) accounting for 54.2% of all program sales in 2023, up from 2022 (49.1%).
The scripted drama maintained its high level, raking in €74.5 million ($82.0 million), down 7.7% year-on-year, but nevertheless the second-best year and well above the €54.9 million average of the past 10 years. It accounted for 36.6% of total sales and remained the leading export genre for the second year in a row.
Thanks to TF1
“[A]ambitious, innovative series with strong intellectual properties, such as ‘HPI’, ‘Marie Antoinette’, ‘Bardot’ and ‘BRI’ [“The Brigade”] and French expertise in procedural series such as ‘Deadly Tropics’ and ‘Astrid: Murder in Paris’” are behind the international success of French dramatic fiction,” said the CNC and Unifrance.
Documentaries also “continued their excellent international sales momentum,” the report said, reaching €47.2 million ($51.9 million), down just 3% from the previous record year. Programs that reflect current events and hybrid works that combine different genres, such as science and history, performed particularly well last year, including “Hunting the Russian Oligarchs,” “The Sunken Secrets of Iznik’s Basilica” and “Cobalt Rush: The Future of Going Green ‘. .”
Animation experienced a much tougher environment, with revenue falling 11.2% to €51.2 million ($56.3 million). While high-profile French toons continued to air around the world, “the genre suffered from the rationalization of buyers’ investments,” the report said. In particular, a 69.7% decline in North America to €4.3 million ($4.7 million) and a 6.6% decline in global rights to €12.9 million ($14.2 million) have causes a decline. However, animation remained France’s second export genre with a 25.2% market share.
Regionally, sales recovered in Western Europe, historically the most important market for French works, where it accounted for 46.8% of global sales, up 6.1 points year-on-year, with sales of €95, 1 million ($104.6 million). North America came in second with €22.3 million ($24.5 million) and a 10.9% market share, followed by Asia Pacific with €14 million ($15.4 million), a 6.9% market share %). The acquisitions from Central and Eastern Europe amounted to €13.1 million ($14.4 million) and a share of 6.9%.
With a turnover of €17.1 million ($18.8 million), Belgium became the biggest buyer of French shows, mainly dramatic fiction. Great Britain and Ireland followed with a combined turnover of €12.9 million ($14.2 million), followed by Germany and Austria with €12.1 million ($13.4 million).
The US, the leading country in 2022, fell to fifth place among French program buyers in 2023, with €9.5 million (€10.5 million), down from €19.2 million (€21.1 million).
After reaching a record high in 2022, global rights sales fell 20.1% to 46.3 million euros, returning to levels close to those of 2021.
At €105.8 million ($116.4 million), foreign pre-financing was stable compared to 2022. Co-production contributions increased by 34.5% to €73.2 million ($80.5 million), while foreign pre-sales increased by 35 fell .6% to €32.6 million ($35.9 million). ), affecting all genres. The opening of the automatic support fund for delegated production operations intended for global SVOD services last year may have affected pre-sales figures, the sources said.
Investments in co-production increased by 54% to €36.3 million ($40.0 million) in animation and by 50.8% to €20.2 million ($22.2 million) in dramatic fiction, but fell by 8.4 % to €14.3 ($15.7 million) for documentaries. Western Europe remained by far the most important co-production partner, accounting for 84.3% of the total contributions.
Looking ahead, Raphaëlle Mathieu, co-president of SEDPA, the French association of TV distribution companies, said Asia could offer more opportunities. While noting that “we are currently and probably in one of the biggest crises in the sector, and this is difficult,” Mathieu sounded optimistic about the prospects in the East.
“I believe that the rise of Asia, whether it is Japan, Korea, Indonesia, the Philippines or China, is something that is growing, is something that we have to work on.” Regardless of the genres they specialize in, documentary, fiction or animation, French companies should look to Asia, she added. “I think this is probably the global area where the prospect – if we work hard enough – could be interesting in a few months and years.”