🌈 In the ever-evolving world of animated series, 2023 saw a challenging landscape with sales dropping by 11.2% to €51.2 million ($56.3 million). However, the genre remained France’s second most exported genre with a 25.2% market share!
French TV international programming sales last year remained high despite worsening market conditions, slipping just 5.3% year on year to €203.4 million ($224.7 million), according to the annual report on audiovisual exports by France’s National Center of Cinema (CNC) and film and TV promotional org Unifrance.
2023 was only the third time in the past 30 years that sales surpassed €200 million, after 2017 (€205.2 million or approximately $225.7 million) and a record-breaking year in 2022 (€214.8 million or about $236.3 million).
At the recent Unifrance Gathering in Le Havre, Cécile Lacoue and Sarah Hemar from Unifrance reported that the export success of French TV shows has remained strong despite a challenging global market scenario. Budgets for content acquisitions are decreasing worldwide, and the North American market is shrinking particularly rapidly, leading to cautious spending by buyers and extended negotiations between partners.
In a difficult business landscape, the President of Unifrance, Gilles Pélisson, emphasized that achieving €200 million in total sales is an impressive feat.
“It’s important to remember that this number signifies the challenging nature of competing in a densely populated market. Essentially, you’re up against a limited but powerful group of dominant players who are consistently growing larger. This implies that the market is incredibly competitive, and merely making a sale is an impressive accomplishment of significant proportions.”
The overall export of French programs decreased by 3.3%, amounting to €309.2 million (equivalent to $340.1 million) this year, aligning with an average annual decrease of 1.7% over the past decade.
As a follower of global entertainment trends, I’d say the impressive export performance of French audiovisual programs can be attributed to the exceptional quality and wide variety of content they produce. In all genres, whether it’s drama, comedy, or documentaries, the appeal of French productions remains strong in the international market. It’s no wonder that France ranks as the second most represented European nation on digital streaming platforms (VOD) and foreign TV channels’ programming.
Even though French program sales to foreign platforms decreased by 11.8%, they still represent a significant source of income, bringing in 31.3% of total revenue last year. Linear channels were the primary purchasers of these programs, making up about 54.2% of all program sales in 2023, an increase from 2022’s figure of 49.1%.
2021 saw the scripted drama continue to shine, earning an impressive €74.5 million ($82.0 million), a 7.7% drop compared to last year but still marking its second-best performance ever and significantly surpassing the average of €54.9 million over the past decade. Once again taking the lead, this genre accounted for 36.6% of all sales, making it the top export category for the second consecutive year.
The successful international acclaim of French dramatic fiction is attributed to a collection of ambitious, innovative shows like “The Brigade,” “HPI,” “Marie Antoinette,” “Bardot,” and “B.R.I.”, as well as procedural series such as “Deadly Tropics” and “Astrid: Murder in Paris.” This claim was made by the CNC and Unifrance.
According to the report, documentaries continued to show strong international sales, raking in €47.2 million ($51.9 million), which is only a 3% decrease compared to the previous exceptional year. Particularly successful were programs focusing on current events and hybrid works blending multiple genres, such as science and history. Notable examples from last year include “Hunting the Russian Oligarchs,” “The Hidden Mysteries of Iznik’s Basilica,” and “Cobalt Rush: Navigating the Path to Green.”
As a movie critic, I must admit that this year’s animation sales took a significant hit, dropping by a staggering 11.2% to reach €51.2 million ($56.3 million). Despite the ongoing success of French animations on global screens, it seems that the animation industry as a whole faced challenges due to a shift in buyer investments. The genre experienced a steep decline, with a 69.7% drop in North American sales alone, amounting to €4.3 million ($4.7 million). Moreover, the total value of worldwide rights fell by 6.6%, contributing significantly to the downward trend. However, it’s worth noting that animation still holds the second-largest market share for French exports, making up 25.2% of the total.
In Western Europe, sales significantly increased, making it the largest market globally for French products, accounting for approximately 46.8% of total global income, up by 6.1 percentage points year-on-year, and generating €95.1 million ($104.6 million) in revenue. North America followed closely behind with €22.3 million ($24.5 million), representing a market share of 10.9%. Asia/Oceania took the third spot with €14 million ($15.4 million) and a market share of 6.9%. Sales from Central and Eastern Europe amounted to €13.1 million ($14.4 million) and accounted for 6.9% of the total market share.
In terms of purchases, Belgium emerged as the top consumer of French dramas, spending approximately €17.1 million ($18.8 million). The United Kingdom and Ireland came in second place with a total sales figure of around €12.9 million ($14.2 million), outranking Germany and Austria who spent €12.1 million ($13.4 million) collectively.
As a fervent admirer, I was taken aback to find out that in the year 2023, my beloved United States, previously leading globally in 2022, had slipped to fifth place among buyers of French programs, spending only €9.5 million ($10.5 million), a significant decrease from the impressive €19.2 million ($21.1 million) they spent the previous year.
Last year, after hitting an all-time peak in 2022, worldwide movie rights sales plummeted by about 20.1%, landing at roughly €46.3 million ($50.9 million). This figure is reminiscent of the numbers we saw back in 2021. As a cinephile, it’s fascinating to watch these trends unfold.
The amount of foreign pre-financing remained steady at €105.8 million ($116.4 million) in contrast to 2022. Contributions towards co-production increased by 34.5%, reaching €73.2 million ($80.5 million), whereas the pre-sales from foreign sources dropped by 35.6% to €32.6 million ($35.9 million). This impacted all genres, though the decrease in pre-sale figures could be due to the opening of an automatic support fund for delegated production meant for global Streaming Video on Demand services last year, as suggested by the report.
Investment in co-productions increased significantly, with a 54% jump to €36.3 million ($40.0 million) in animation and a 50.8% rise to €20.2 million ($22.2 million) in dramatic fiction. However, investments for documentaries saw a decrease of 8.4%, amounting to €14.3 million ($15.7 million). Notably, Western Europe continued to be the primary partner in co-productions, contributing 84.3% of the total funding.
In the future, Raphaëlle Mathieu, a key figure at SEDPA (French Television Distribution Association), expressed that Asia presents potential for more possibilities. She acknowledged that “we are currently experiencing one of the most significant crises in the industry, and it’s challenging,” but Mathieu appeared hopeful regarding the East’s future prospects.
“It’s my opinion that the development of Asia, whether it’s Japan, South Korea, Indonesia, or the Philippines, China included, is an expanding trend. French companies might find it beneficial to focus on this region, she suggested. I believe that with enough effort, this part of the world could become a fascinating perspective within a few months and years.”
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2024-09-03 21:27