The radio market - France (2024)

1.2. Global market trends and analysis

Radio, which emerged in Italy in the **ᵉ century, very quickly spread to the whole world. It is one of the most listened-to media worldwide, with a few billion listeners every day. It is estimated that there are between **,*** and **,*** radio stations worldwide.

By ****, the radio market in terms of advertising revenues (***) is estimated at between ** and ** billion dollars.

Despite the emergence of new platforms, radio manages to retain a loyal audience thanks to its ability to adapt to new technologies and integrate them directly into its operations.

This ability to adapt can be seen in the segmentation of the global market with the different categories below:

Traditional AM/FM radios: still dominant, especially in rural and underdeveloped areas. Digital radio/ DAB+: growing in developed countries, particularly in Europe and North America. Online streaming and podcasts: growing fast, reaching a younger, urban audience.

Different consumer markets Roughly speaking, and without taking into account the exceptions of each continent, we can attempt to segment the main consumer markets as follows:

North America: is a major audience hub, with the United States accounting for nearly $** billion in ****. Europe: the continent is known for its many public radio stations. Asia Pacific and Latin America: these ...

1.3. National market analysis and trends

France's radio offer is very extensive. Nearly *** radio services are currently authorized to broadcast on FM in mainland France, and more than *** in the French overseas territories. What's more, the number of applications submitted for FM or DAB+ licences continues to rise, demonstrating the continuing appeal of this medium.

According to Arcom's White Paper on Radio, the radio market in France will be worth some *** million euros by ****, and is on a downward trend, with net revenues falling by an average of *% a year between **** and ****.

The sector's decline is also reflected in cumulative radio audiences, which have been falling steadily since ****, as shown in the graph below, dropping from **.*% in **** to around **.*% in ****, a decline of almost **%. Here, cumulative audiences correspond to the total number of people exposed at least once to this medium over a period during which there were several insertions of the message in this medium.

cumulative audience trends for radio since **** ****, France, in ARCOM

National players

In France, the radio market is dominated by major media groups, both private and public.

Groupe Radio France: a public player, it includes channels such as France Inter, France Info, France Culture, France Musique, FIP and Mouv', with a daily ...

2.1. Auditors' analysis

On average, nearly seven out of ten people listen to the radio every day, i.e. nearly **.* million listeners in ****-****, according to Médiamétrie.

Similarly, more than * out of ** people (***) listen to Radio over the course of a month, i.e. **.* million people aged ** and over.

So how do we explain the success of this medium?

Almost **.*% of French households [***] are equipped to listen to the radio, making it one of the most accessible media for the French. Accessibility is further enhanced by the fact that radio is free for listeners.

What's more, radio is enjoying success thanks to its near-perfect reputation. Indeed, according to ARCOM's White Paper on Radio, it is considered an extremely trusted medium. It is used by almost **% of the population for information, second only to television as shown in the graph below.

Information access modes: How often do you usually get information? ****, France, in ARCOM

Radio is an integral part of everyday life.when we look at the distribution of audio listening volume over the course of a day for a French person, we can see that live radio occupies a very dominant place with almost **%, far ahead of audio streaming and personal video ...

2.2. Listening preferences and behavior

In France, radio consumption preferences are very marked.

First of all, we can observe that the radio medium in France presents local and regional specificities, taking into account the traditions, history and socio-demographic structure of the population.

Among all French regions, the map below shows that Brittany is the region with the largest audience, with almost **.*% of daily listeners, followed by Pays de la Loire.

Source: ****

While radio listening habits vary according to the region in which you live, they also depend on other factors such as age, socio-economic status and so on.

The graph below shows that, according to Médiamétrie, the habit of listening to the radio is particularly entrenched in the **-** age bracket , with almost **%.

French people listening to the radio daily, by age France, ****, in Médiamétrie

Similarly, this habit also depends on the socio-professional bracket to which they belong.

For example, according to Médiamétrie, **% of senior executives listen to the radio every day, which is well above the national average (***), and can be explained by the need for them to be informed by their professions and levels of responsibility.

Listening preferences

Secondly, the French have defined times for listening to the ...

2.3. demand trends

Today, as we saw earlier, the French remain extremely attached to listening to the radio, with a very high number of listeners every day.s high level of trust, even as the media offer continues to grow.

The trend towards digitalization

Radio must continue to embrace the digital transition and incorporate technological innovations to keep pace with consumer demand.as Julie Terrade, national radio director at Médiamétrie, points out: "As a medium of mobility and proximity, radio has been able to integrate connected objects to stay as close as possible to its listeners.

Indeed, consumers are adapting to the times, and tend to want to consume digitally. This trend in demand is merely a reflection of the digital life in which they live. Indeed, digital radio audiences are growing, with an average of * hours ** minutes of listening per day. What's more, no less than *.* million French people listen to the radio every day on digital media, i.e. **% more than * years ago.

These new forms of media consumption are giving rise to the emergence and re-modeling of many media. For several years now, podcasts, for example, have been part of French viewing habits. In less than four years, between ...

3.1. radio value chain

The radio sector brings together several types of players and professions involved in one or more stages of the value chain. The value chain comprises * main phases :

Content creation: starting with editorial production, where journalists create programs, reports... Programming phase: to fit the content created into the programming schedule, with the aim of maximizing the audience. Broadcasting: choice of broadcast technologies (***) and use of infrastructure Monetization: implementation of advertising, sponsorship and other ancillary events to diversify revenue sources...

Source: ****

Radio professions

Radio professions are very diverse. They cover a wide range of sectors, from sales to engineering.

Content creation: hosts, presenters, journalists... Programming: programmer, etc. Technical: sound engineer... Marketing and advertising...

3.2. Radio companies and employees

In France, according toURSSAF, in **** there were almost **** companies in the radio program publishing and broadcasting sector, with total sales (***) of almost *.*** billion euros, according to INSEE.

Number of companies and employees in the radio publishing and broadcasting sector ****, France, in units URSSAF

Below, we show the evolution of sales for radio publishing and broadcasting between **** and ****.

Evolution of sales for radio publishing and broadcasting France, ****-****, in billions of euros Source: ****

3.3. Types of distribution

Radio relies on all technological advances, particularly those in the telecommunications sector.

For several years now, we have been witnessing a multiplication of radio broadcasting modes: FM, DAB+ and IP (***).

The table below shows the different types of waves:

Let's take a closer look at the FM network, DAB+ and IP.

The FM networkDistributed by ARCOM, this network is the oldest, most traditional and still the most widespread. It comprises almost *,*** frequencies in mainland France, distributed according to the relief of the French landscape. They are distributed between the **.* and *** MHz bands.However, for several years now, it has been reaching saturation point and is no longer able to satisfy the frequency demands of all broadcasters, despite ARCOM's optimization efforts.

DAB+ (***)

This network is growing and developing. It covers more and more listeners in France. In March ****, nearly **.*% of the French metropolitan population was covered by DAB+, according to Médiamétrie. Its technology enables ** radio services to be broadcast on the same frequency, compared with just one per FM frequency. However, frequency distribution is not yet fully developed, and the French overseas territories currently have no DAB+。

Awareness of DAB+ according to age ****, France, in

Internet Protocol

This method corresponds ...

3.4. focus on Radio France

Radio France is a radio group in a class of its own in the French radio landscape.

According to Médiamétrie, in ****, Radio France is the *ᵉʳ radio group on all indicators. It includes radio stations such as: France Inter, FranceInfo, France Bleu, France culture, France musique, Fip, Le Mouv'... It represents nearly **.* million listeners per day, or **.*% of audience share in ****. Every month, nearly */* of the French population comes into contact with Radio France content.

Radio France's most distinctive feature is the way it is financed.

Every year, the public service gives Radio France ***.* million euros in funding, which represents almost **% of its revenue.

radio France funding ****, France, in M€ Radio France

However, Radio France, like all other radio stations in France, has its own advertising revenues, which are analyzed below. Digital advertising accounts for a large part of its revenues, with nearly €**.** million, confirming once again the French public's demand for digital.

In addition, general interest messages, generally transmitted by the relevant Ministries, account for nearly *.** million, demonstrating the channel's focus on the general interest.

Breakdown of Radio France advertising revenues France, ****, in M€ Radio France

3.5. Conseil National des Greffiers

Utilisons le code NAF radio ****Z qui correspond à l'édition et à la diffusion de programmes radios. 

Créations d'entreprises :

Analysons ci-dessous, les chiffres clés sur les créations d'entreprises de la radio en France en analysant l'évolution du nombre d'immatriculations au registre du commerce et des sociétés. 

Ainsi, analysons le nombre d'entreprises créées par forme juridique:  

Répartition de la création d'entreprises de radio depuis **** par forme juridique France, ****, en nombre d'entreprises créées Source: ****

Radiations d'entreprises 

Ci-dessous analysons les caractéristiques des radiations d'entreprises de radio : celles qui sont radiées du registre du commerce et des sociétés, faisant suite à une cessation d'activité, une dissolution, une fusion... 

Analysons le type et la forme juridique d'entreprises radiées : 

Répartition des entreprises radiées de radio en **** selon leur forme juridique France, ****, en nombre d'entreprises Source: ****

Analysons, le capital moyen des entreprises radiées:  

Répartition du capital moyen des entreprises de radio radiées du registre du commerce en **** France, ****, en nombre d'entreprises Source: ****

Analysons le profil des dirigeants dont les entreprises ont été radiées. 

Répartition genrée des dirigeants dont les entreprises de radio ont été radiées France, ...

4.1. Radio in France

The French radio landscape is highly developed, with almost *** radio stations listened to by the French. Of these ***, nearly ***, according to ARCOM, are local, whether associative, commercial, independent or affiliated to the national network. This local dimension is very specific to France. In addition, there are some thirty national radio stations, both thematic and general-interest, and * road safety information stations .

The range of radio stations in France is very diverse. We can already classify them into different categories:

Private radio stations Public radio stations Temporary radio stations Radio stations broadcast by other networks

Private radio stations Nearly *,*** frequencies can be used on the FM band, which extends from **.* MHz to *** MHz. Arcom, in liaison with the regional delegations, issues the authorizations allowing private operators to broadcast, representing some *** radios.

Arcom has defined five categories of radio station, according to whether they are local or national, and whether their content is thematic or general. Each category is designated by a letter (***):

Category A - associative radio services fulfilling a local social communication mission. Category B - independent local or regional radio services not broadcasting national programs. Category C - local or regional radio services broadcasting the program of a national theme network. Category ...

4.2. The radio business model in France

Radio stations in France follow a very specific business model. They are financed almost entirely by the advertising they broadcast, and not directly by the consumers they serve.

As a result, there are several very distinct sources of revenue:

Advertising revenues Grants and subsidies Offer diversification

Advertising revenues The main source of revenue for commercial radio stations is the sale of advertising space. These are broadcast between different radio programs, or within certain programs. By ****, excluding France TV, Radio France and Canal+, advertising revenues will account for **% of radio players' financing, according to PMP Strategy.

Radio's advertising revenues will see a slight annual decline of -*.*% between **** and ****. In reality, this steady decline conceals a number of differences, as the various players in the sector are not all in the same boat (***).

Advertising rates vary according to a number of criteria, such as the time of the advert (***).

The chart below shows France Info's advertising rates by day, and shows that the broadcast schedule inevitably has an impact on the price. The most expensive times are of course those with the highest audience figures (***).

Rates for France Info commercials ****, France, in € Radio France

One of the major obstacles to the development ...

4.3. radio equipment

In France, almost **.*% of households are equipped to listen to the radio, demonstrating the potential use and consumption of this medium, as shown in the graph below.

Percentage of households equipped to listen to the radio in France ****, France, in ARCOM

Every day, *.* million people listen to the radio on digital media, i.e. **.*% of the population aged ** and over

This growth in radio listening on digital media is driven in particular by cell phones, with *.* million consumers. Followed by voice-activated speakers, which attract *.* million listeners every day, neck-and-neck with computers, chosen by *.* million listeners.

Daily radio listeners on digital media ****, France, in M people Médiamétrie

The share of digital media in radio listening continues to grow: it now stands at **.*% of total listening volume, compared with **.*% last year.

Contribution of digital media to radio listening volume Médiamétrie

Radio listening on digital media is particularly appealing to a certain age group: **-** year-olds (***).

However, it is beginning to appeal to an increasingly broad audience, with growth in the CSP- target group (***). Listening time averages * h ** per day per listener on digital media.

4.4. Radio offering trends

Towards new forms of content: more digital

In radio, we are already seeing a fork in the road towards dedicated digital platforms for distributing delinearized formats such as podcasts or webradios, which are beginning to win over more and more listeners. The podcast market is showing strong growth rates (***).

This trend can also be seen in the chart below, which illustrates the breakdown of advertising revenues in France between digital, local and national. It can be seen that digital is increasingly taking market share (***).

Breakdown of radio advertising revenues ****, France, in ARCOM

This shift towards digital is also driving the rise ofso-called catch-up radio, i.e. radio that is listened to by listeners on a delayed basis, which has grown by almost *%, from *.* to *.*% between **** and ****.

catch-up radio audience trends ****-**** ****, France, in %, in min ARCOM

5.1. Current regulations

Regulations concerning radio broadcasting in France are generally issued and implemented by ARCOM (***).

The rules put in place aim to regulate the content sometimes broadcast live, and to keep an eye on freedom of the press, as well as freedom of expression.

Here are a few key ones

Frequency authorization and regulation

After a call for candidates, radio stations must obtain an authorization to broadcast, issued by Arcom. This authorization is governed by article ** of the law of September **, **** on freedom of communication."Subject to the provisions of article ** of this law, the use of frequencies for the broadcasting of terrestrial radio services is authorized by the Autorité de Régulation de la Communication Audiovisuelle et Numérique under the conditions set out in this article." The article specifies the allocation criteria, which include program diversity, contribution to cultural diversity, and impact on competition in the area concerned.

French-language music broadcast quotas

Radio stations must respect certain quotas for the broadcast of French-language music. These obligations are defined by article ** of the law of September **, ****, and reinforced by decree no. **-*** of November *, ****. The rule for radio stations is to broadcast at least **% of songs in the French language, of which ...

5.2. Future regulations

The radio industry is constantly evolving, and this means constant changes to its regulations. So, let's take a look at where this legislation is likely to change.

Frequency regulations

as the new DAB+ technology rolls out at lightning speed across France, this development could lead to a reorganization of FM stations, potentially freeing them up for new stations, for example. In addition, as digital progresses, ARCOM could force some stations to go digital rather than traditional.

Advertising regulations

With digitization and the rise of digital technology, targeted advertising is an increasingly popular tool. So, in order to protect and frame users' personal data in the targeting of radio ads, new standards could be put in place so as to follow the RGPD (***).

6.1. Player segmentation

Below is a segmentation of radio players in France by major media group and type of radio station (***). It should be noted that the sales figures for major groups such as Groupe M*, France Télévision and Groupe Lagardère include both radio sales and audiovisual sales, such as the W* and M* channels for Groupe M*, for example.

• Next Radio TV (RMC et BFM Business)
• ISA Media Development
• NovaPress
• Europe 1 (Lagardère Groupe)
• Espace Group
• RTL
• Radio France
• TF1 Groupe