French Audiovisual Export Value Reaches Record High

The total export value of French audiovisual programs, across sales, presales and co-pros, rose almost 30 percent to €401.2 million in 2024, according to the annual report from the CNC and Unifrance.

Unveiled at the 31st edition of the Unifrance Rendez-Vous in Le Havre, the annual report showed that the sale of French audiovisual programs reached €209.6 million, a 3 percent increase on 2023. Co-production contributions rose to €116.2 million, a gain of almost 60 percent, while presales more than doubled to €75.4 million.

Fiction exports remain lucrative for France, bringing in €75.2 million and accounting for 35.9 percent of total sales. Demand was driven by light crime series as well as event productions. Docs generated revenues of €44.3 million, a 6 percent decline on the previous year amid reduced linear slots and increased preference for local topics. Animation also took a hit, sliding by almost 10 percent to €46.1 million in 2024. While properties like Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir, Mystery Lane, Grizzy and the Lemmings and Molang fared well, “the genre suffered from buyers’ reluctance to take risks on new projects and from the rationalization of investments,” CNC said. North America saw the biggest decline for animation, down by almost 37 percent to €2.7 million, the lowest level since 2008. However, animation remained the second most exported genre with a 22 percent market share.

Western Europe remains the biggest market for French fare, accounting for 43.2 percent of revenues at €90.5 million. CEE showed gains, rising to €16.6 million for a share of almost 8 percent. North America accounted for a 7.9 percent share at €16.5 million. The Asia/Oceania region stood at €13 million, a 6.2 percent market share. In terms of individual markets, Belgium is the biggest buyer, followed by Germany/Austria and Italy. The U.S., the top buyer in 2022, fell to sixth place.

CNC recorded €57.9 million in multi-territory rights, a gain of more than 25 percent, driven by fiction with almost 31 percent of revenues, followed by animation at 29 percent and docs at 13.3 percent. Growth in multi-territory was driven by AVOD. Multi-zone revenues in SVOD grew, but worldwide rights became scarcer as platforms shifted to targeted local buys.