The podcast market - France (2023)

1.2 A booming global market

In ****, the global podcast market was estimated at over $** billion, and is expected to grow at a CAGR of +**.*% between **** and ****.

Estimated evolution of the worldwide podcast market World, **** - ****, in $ billions Source: ****

With a market share of **.*% in ****, the North American market represented the world's leading podcast market. This market, driven by the strong rise in popularity of podcasting in Canada, should continue to dominate the global market over the period **** - ****. The South American market is booming, and is expected to post the strongest growth over the next few years, with a forecast CAGR of over **%. Indeed, the proliferation of listening media and the growing popularity of podcasts, coupled with strong demand from the Latin American population, has helped to kick-start strong growth in the South American market. [***]

The number of podcast listeners worldwide is also growing steadily, standing at ***.* million in ****, and is set to continue growing strongly.

Number of podcast listeners worldwide World, **** - ****, in millions Source: ****

However, the number of podcasts created worldwide is declining significantly: it is estimated to have fallen by **% between **** and ****, from *.** million to ***,***[***]. However, the number of active podcasts (***) began producing podcasts at the end of the previous decade, but for ...

1.3 French podcast market follows global trend

In ****, **.* million French people will be listening to podcasts, representing an increase of ** percentage points on last year[***]. In addition, FM radio stations have lost *.* million listeners since ****, illustrating a shift from traditional audio consumption channels to new digital tools.

Podcast growth in France France, **** - ****, in millions Source: ****

Podcasts may have been the talk of the town in ****, with promises of a bright future. However, this previously highly atomized market is beginning to concentrate and lose listeners. There are several reasons for this:

Firstly, the plethora of offerings does not encourage consumers to develop listening habits. Indeed, podcast production costs are particularly low, which encourages the multiplication of new programs. However, it generally takes ** months for a podcast to become known and attract a loyal audience. As a result, many podcasts don't even reach the lifespan needed to develop an audience: **% of podcasts last no more than a year, and **% no more than two months[***].

Secondly, it's very difficult for podcast creators to monetize their content. Indeed, competition is extremely tough, due to a very unconcentrated and unstructured market, and advertising revenues are insufficient, cf. *.*. As a result, most independent producers choose to sell podcasts to brands in order to ...

2.1 Auditor profile

Listener profiles vary from one type of podcast to another.

Audience differences between replay and native podcasts France, ****, in Source: ****

The trends are opposite. While men account for almost two-thirds of the audience for replay podcasts, they represent only **% of the audience for native podcasts. With a median age of **, **% of replay podcast listeners have no higher education, while only **% of native podcast listeners have a median age of **.

The native podcast:

In ****, for the first time in several years, there was a decline in the number of native podcast listeners, regardless of listening frequency.

Passive podcast audience France, **** - ****, in Source: ****

Native podcasts continue to appeal. In fact, **% of weekly listeners say they have increased their consumption of native podcasts, and **% say they plan to increase their consumption in the next * months[***]. For **% of these listeners, native podcasting is an established habit in their daily or weekly lives.

Younger listeners

Regular podcast listeners share a number of common characteristics, enabling us to draw up a portrait of the target audience. First of all, podcast listeners tend to be young: the average age of regular podcast listeners is **, compared to the national average of **. The median age for native podcasts is ...

2.2 Listening preferences and behaviors

As far as podcast listening preferences and habits are concerned, there is a strong preference for the smartphone (***).

Devices used to listen to podcasts France, ****, in Source: ****

The preferred time of day for podcast listeners is the morning (***), the second most popular time.

Podcast listening times France, ****, in Source: ****

Weekly podcast listeners mainly listen to podcasts at home (***). Another **% listen at work.

Listening locations of weekly listeners France, ****, in Source: ****

Listeners often do something else while they're listening to a podcast, even at home. Indeed, **% of weekly native podcast listeners claim to be doing something else at the same time as listening to a podcast.

Simultaneous activities France, ****, in Source: ****

The majority of listeners therefore perform tasks that require very little concentration. As a result, podcasts usually fade into the background.

TheFrench clearly prefer short podcasts: **% of French people listen to podcasts lasting less than ** minutes. conversely, more and more listeners remain interested in content lasting over an hour (***). The most listened-to format is podcasts lasting between ** and ** minutes.

Listening preference by podcast length France, ****, in Source: ****

When it comes to podcast type, the French show a strong interest in content anchored in reality, such as documentaries (***).

Preference for podcast type France, ...

2.3 A successful audience, possibly driving expansion

In an increasingly brutal and stressful world, **% of French people think that everything moves too fast[***]. In this context, podcasts are particularly appreciated, as they are seen as a medium that allows people to take their time, as **% of weekly listeners of native podcasts believe. What's more, **% see them as a way of taking stock of oneself.

Native podcasts also enjoy a very positive perception among their weekly listeners: they see it as the medium that most embodies tolerance, change, progress, gentleness, trust and honesty. **% of them even believe that podcasts are a way of opening up to others, and **% of them talk about the podcasts they've listened to with at least one close friend.

Weekly listeners talk about podcasts they've listened to with their... France, ****, in % Source: ****

Furthermore, **% of weekly podcast listeners claim that listening to native podcasts has enabled them to broach new topics of conversation with their loved ones, and **% have even been able to broach subjects considered taboo.

So the tendency of regular listeners of native podcasts to share their interests and discoveries can result in a wider audience.

3.1 Market structure overview

While the podcast market includes many different types of player, the division of tasks and the chronology of intervention along the value chain are not strictly defined. As a result, many players are likely to be involved at different stages in the creation and distribution of podcasts. The typology of players is similar to that seen in other media markets: production, publishing, distribution, including streaming platforms, hosts, advertising agencies, etc. We can thus delineate the following stages in the value chain:

Source: ****

However, it should also be noted that the boundaries between these stages are porous, and that the same market player can sometimes cover several of these activities: for example, podcast production companies can launch their own creations.

The podcast market, which was highly fragmented a few years ago, is now undergoing a gradual process of concentration, a sign of the emergence of an increasingly structured market. By ****, there will be over *** players in this market, *** more than in ****, a sign of the sector's professionalization[***]. Indeed, more and more tools are being developed to support creators and set up a business model to monetize this kind of content. Six main categories can be identified:

production ; post-production ; distribution ; curation ; growth ; measurement ...

3.2 Production and distribution

Production:

French podcast producers are numerous, with many producing very few episodes. The market is dominated by Radio France, which offers replay of all its programs, achieving extraordinary performance with over a billion listens by ****. The table below summarizes the main podcast producers in France.

Producer Offer Distribution method Main productions Arte Radio Creating podcasts since ****. Over **** episodes available, ** shows. * million monthly listenings Own application Main platforms Your own podcast Fenêtre sur cour Radio France Creating podcasts since ****. More than *.* million episodes online. Over a billion listens by **** Own application Main platforms A story and... Oli Eco flash Binge Audio Created in ****, ** series and shows. * million listens per month Main platforms Own site Balls on the table Program B New Listening Created in ****, nearly ** existing shows. *.* million monthly downloads Main platforms Own website La Poudre Mortel Louie Media Created in ****, ** podcasts, over *** episodes. Nearly ***,*** monthly downloads Main platforms Own site Transfer Or maybe one night Majelan Created in ****. Masterclasses and podcasts led by experts, oriented professional and personal development, other various programs Own platform Fabien Olicard, Marie-Claude Pietragalla

It's important to note that the podcast market is tending to concentrate, cf. *.*.

Distribution:

As we saw earlier, the podcast distribution ecosystem ...

3.3 Main forces at work

In August ****, the NRJ network was the leading French podcast producer group, with over * million downloads in France. Next came the Slate group (***).

Ranking of most downloaded podcast groups and networks France, August ****, in millions Source: ****

In the ranking of podcast brands recording the most downloads, we find many different types of player: online (***).

Ranking of most downloaded podcast brands France, August ****, in millions Source: ****

Of the eight most downloaded French podcasts worldwide and in France, five are native podcasts and the remaining three are replays, a sign of the diversity of popular podcasts. Two of the eight podcasts come from brands that don't even feature in the above rankings (***).

Ranking of most downloaded podcasts France, August ****, in millions Source: ****

An increasingly concentrated market:

The podcast market has emerged as a highly unconcentrated market. Indeed, many independent creators launched their podcasts out of passion, and did not always seek profitability, which is not conducive to the development of a sustainable market. In recent years, however, the market has become increasingly concentrated, with native producers joining forces with media groups. For example, CMI France acquired a **% stake in Louie Media in December ****, Majelan was bought by ETX Studio in June **** and Binge ...

3.4 Interview with Xavier Seux, co-founder of Echoes

Cantiane:Hello and welcome to vue d'ensemble, the podcast that lets you decipher market issues in ** minutes. My name is Cantiane and I'm an analyst at Businesscoot, a startup specializing in market research. Today, I'm talking to Xavier Seux, co-founder of Echoes, about the podcast market. Thank you, Xavier, for joining us.

Xavier:Thank you for having me.

Cantiane:To begin with. I'll let you introduce yourself and tell us how you got into the podcast business.

Xavier:I went to business school, specializing in finance. After that, I worked for * years in industry, first in glass manufacturing. After that, I spent three years as an entrepreneur with Excelrise, helping them to develop an industrial plastics recycling business. Echoes is a story of first confinement. My partner Jérémie and I were both very fond of podcasts, and we wanted to be able to listen to blog articles we liked, and have them available in audio rather than written form, when we didn't necessarily have the time or our hands were tied. It's content that's not necessarily available immediately.

So we created Echoes essentially to unlock this content, in audio version. And then we realized that the market wasn't there ...

4.1 Offer typology

The existing range of podcasts is vast, and can be segmented according to different reading grids.

*. Native podcast vs. podcast replay

Native podcast: a native podcast is a podcast created for broadcast on platforms and via the Internet, without having been previously broadcast on the radio. There are many such podcasts today, as native podcasts enjoy greater creative freedom: anyone can create a podcast and broadcast it on the Internet. Podcast replay: in contrast, a podcast replay is a podcast taken from a program that was first broadcast on the radio and then converted into a podcast. This is the case, for example, with news podcasts from France's leading radio stations.

*. By content type

Fiction. Examples in this category include "Projet Orloff", produced and directed by France Culture, centered on a story of espionage in France in the a story of espionage in France in the **s; "Le Nuage", commissioned by Spotify and produced by Nouvelles écoutes. Documentary series, for example on criminal cases. Youth Information and news. News podcasts in particular help to diversify media activity, with replay podcasts being much more present in this category than native podcasts Business and tech Health, well-being, lifestyle, fitness Culture and ...

4.2 Podcast business models

Monetization and revenue generation are key issues in the podcast market. Today, a very large proportion of podcasts are accessible free of charge (***), and there are few directly paid podcasts. in this respect, French start-up Majelan is one of the exceptions in this landscape: Majelan offers a platform solely dedicated to its own podcasts and masterclasses, positioned in the personal and professional coaching/development segment, but which have greatly diversified since its creation. It is largely due to the difficulty of monetizing their activity that many independent players have joined forces with large groups, as mentioned in *.*.

A podcast can be monetized from **,*** listens per month, which is perfectly feasible given the number of French listeners. As a result, a number of players are emerging to develop the business model for this market:

labels, which support companies and brands in their content production (***); monetization tools, offering the possibility of monetizing the content created (***); media, providing information and advice on podcasts (***); competitions and events, promoting the most popular podcasts (***).

Source: ****

In practical terms, podcast creators have the following tools at their disposal to monetize their content:

produce podcasts for companies; advertising; have a sponsor; create diversification products and derivatives of podcasts: this ...

5 Unclear regulations

The podcast sector is still largely unregulated, and the market is now facing a gradual solidification of the legal framework. However, some forms of podcasting are more regulated than others[***].

This is the case for native podcasts, as digital audio content with a still image uploaded to an online video platform. These are subject to three complementary bodies of legislation:

the **** Audiovisual Media Services Directive, which includes video-on-demand services, and its national transposition text, the **** Léotard law, amended by a **** ordinance, which impose obligations similar to those for traditional audiovisual media. The Autorité de régulation de la communication audiovisuelle et numérique (***) monitors compliance with obligations to protect minors and commercial communications accompanying digital content broadcast; article ** of the "DAMUN" directive, which regulates the actions of online content-sharing service providers with regard to copyright-protected content; the Digital Services Act (***), which confers on them a principle of unconditional non-responsibility in the event of illicit stored content, and requires them to meet a series of obligations of diligence, including the establishment of clear general conditions of use, the implementation of a notification mechanism and actions to remove illicit content.

By contrast, native podcasts as digital audio content stored by a publisher ...

6 Player segmentation

• Radio France
• Arte Radio
• Binge Audio
• Louie Media
• Majelan
• Anchor Spotify
• Cosa Vostra
• Castbox
• Earwolf
• Audioboom
• Tuneln
• Podbean
• Bababam
• Nouvelles Ecoutes
• Deezer
• Apple
• Google
• Spotify
• NRJ Group
• Rire et Chansons (NRJ group)