The youth press market - France (2024)

1.2 A general decline in print media consumption in Europe

According to a survey conducted by the European Commission on media habits in the European Union (***) in ****, **% of Europeans claim to read the written press on a daily basis, down * percentage points on ****. [***]

This is part of a gradual decline in the consumption of written press in Europe: according to the same survey, the penetration of daily consumption of written press varied from **% to **% between **** and ****, showing a drop of **% over the period.

Share of population reading print media every day or almost every day UE, ****-****, % Source: ****

There are major differences between countries. The graph below shows the results of an EU survey carried out in **** on the proportion of the national population reading the written press on a daily basis. It can be seen that France is below the European average, with **% of the population reading daily newspapers, compared with a European average of **%, far behind Finland's **%.

Share of the population reading the written press every day or almost every day, by country EU, ****, in Source: ****

Nevertheless, every year France hosts the Salon du livre et de la presse jeunesse, Europe's biggest event dedicated to young people and open to the public, which has been held in Seine-Saint-Denis since ...

1.3 The children's press, a "French cultural exception

The children's press in France is as powerful as ever

In ****, **% of *-** year-olds claimed to be readers[***]. More specifically, according to the Syndicat des Éditeurs de la Presse Magazine, in ****, of the **.* million children aged *-** in France, **% of them read children's magazines, i.e. over ** million readers.

This is one of the richest and most varied markets in the world, with a vast array of magazines. In terms of value, children's magazines are the second largest publishing category in France, behind literature. [***]

According to a Gfk study, * in * French people buy at least one children's book a year, making a total of **.* million children's books sold by October ****.the children's book segment is an essential part of the book market, with sales of *** million euros in **** (***).

Paid circulation of children's and teen magazines in France France, ****-****, in millions of copies ACPM archives

The children's press is visibly resilient to the potential shifts that are shaking up the press world in general. Indeed, between **** and ****, the children's press recorded growth of **% , and moreover benefited from two major peaks of over ** million copies circulated in **** and ****.

The children's press, the medium of attention, continues to attract digital addicts

Digital developments ...

2.1 A readership segmented by age group

There are over ** million readers of children's magazines, or **% of children aged * to **.

Young people regularly read children's magazines, especially children aged * to *. According to Ipsos MediaCT's Junior Connect' **** barometric study, a benchmark survey of young people under ** and their relationship with the media, nearlydias, nearly **% of children aged *-* regularly read a children's magazine, as shown in the following graph.

Percentage of children and teenagers who regularly read children's magazines France, ****, in Source: ****

In an article entitled "Lire et grandir en s'amusant, ou la grande aventure de la presse des jeunes" published in Études de linguistique appliquée (***), French sociologist Jean-Marie Charon explains that the family context and school jointly intervene in the practice of the youth press. Sociological factors clearly come into play in the *-* age bracket: **% of children aged *-* whose parents are in the "executive and business" category read children's magazines, compared with **% of working-class children. School enrolment later largely attenuates this difference, bringing it down from **% to **%. [***]

2.2 Young people continue to read regularly, despite hyperconnection

Conducted online among *,*** children and young people under the age of **, the Junior Connect' study by Ipsos MediaCT shows that young people's hyperconnectedness does not prevent them from continuing to read.

The study shows that **-** year-olds spend an average of ** hours a week on their screens, compared with * hours for *-** year-olds and * hours for *-* year-olds. However, they continue to engage in other activities and to read: **% of teenagers read the children's press, a rate that remains at **% among heavy screen users .

However, screens are a far more important activity for young people than reading, since they spend ** times more time on screens than reading (***).

Reading an average of *.* books in the last * months in **** as part of their leisure time (***) has risen the most, by ** points compared to the **** study.

Moreover, reading tastes are becoming more concentrated. Comics (***) now represent the majority of the types of books most often read. On averagen average, comic books are the most widely read by young people, and the most popular genre for the *-** age group. As mentioned above, the **-** age group favors manga, and the **-** age group novels[***].

Little children's favorite stories remain :

Little Brown Bear Popi J'aime ...

2.3 Young children and teenagers maintain a high average reading time

On the one hand, the time spent reading children's magazines according to age shows a particular attraction for early childhood, and a solid interest in young people in general.

Long reading times for all youth segments France, ****, in minutes Source: ****

On average, a child spends more than * hours a week reading a book , and **% of those surveyed say they read as part of their leisure time for personal taste, representing a *-point increase in value compared to ****.

Percentage of young people who say they read as part of their leisure activities France, **** and ****, in National Book Center

2.4 The children's press maintains strong ties with its readers

Young people discover the children's press at an early age: **% of *-* year -olds and **% of *-** year -olds read at least one children's magazine a year. And they often attach great importance to it: **% of young people look forward to reading their magazine, and **% of them read it in one go. [***]

The children's press also plays a key role in the development of children and teenagers. The **** edition of the Junior Connect'study by Ipsos MediaCT points out, for example, that children's magazines help develop the attention and concentration of **% of readers; they help **% of readers acquire new knowledge; they help **% of readers gain self-confidence; and they help **% of readers cultivate their passions.

The reasons why children and teenagers read the children's press are many and varied:

Why do you read children's magazines (***) France, ****, as % of total *For *-* year-olds, parents answered Source: ****

Why do you read children's magazines? (***) France, ****, in Source: La Presse Jeunesse Why do you read children's magazines? (***) France, ****, in Source: ****

3.1 A relatively concentrated market

The children's publishing sector is no exception to the phenomenon of concentration affecting the entire publishing industry. While the Ricochet-Jeunes website lists *** children's publishers, * main groups account for over **% of market sales[***]:

The Hachette group (***) ; Editis group (***) ; Madrigall group (***) ; Bayard group (***)

Added to these are medium-sized publishers such as Fleurus Presse, L'École des loisirs, Panini, Play Bac and Albin Michel, each accounting for around *% of the market, as well as a host of smaller publishers such as Thierry Magnier, Hélilum, Sarbacane and Rue du monde.

Another indicator of market concentration is the existence of the La Presse Jeunesse (***) since ****. Today, it comprises fourteen publishers representing ** magazines.

Comprising the former SPJ (***) and SEPM, it aims to act as a link between publishers of children's magazines, enabling them to address all the common issues specific to children's publishing.issues specific to children's publishing, such as advertising, newsstand visibility, the relationship with schools, education, etc. The aim is to implement joint operations with public authorities, industry players and the general public. It also gives institutional and political visibility to the youth press.

The thirteen youth press groups that are members of LPJ are :

Bayard Jeunesse Audiovisuel Éditions Fleurus Presse Scrineo Milan Presse Éditions ...

3.2 Production in paper format

There has been a general decline in sales of print media in France, as shown by the graph below on the evolution of non-digital Diffusion France Payée (***) for the mainstream press.

Evolution of paid circulation in France for mainstream print media France, ****-****, in % Source: ****

Between **** and ****, circulation of the paid press will fall by **%. This decline can be explained by two joint phenomena: the first is readers' less interest in the paid press in general(***), and a consequent change in readers' consumption habits , as they turn away from the print press in favor of the digital press.

Similarly, the number of companies in the newspaper printing industry in France has fallen sharply between **** and ****. To study these companies, we used the NAF code **.**Z corresponding to "Newspaper printing". There are ** companies involved in newspaper printing in France in ****, more than **% fewer than in ****. This number is gradually declining, as the public turns away from this type of reading medium in favor of the digital press.

Number of companies in the newspaper printing industry France, ****-**** Source: ****

3.3 Digital support replaces paper format

Share of online newspaper and magazine readers France, ****-****, in % Source: ****

This graph shows that, while its growth is unstable, the share of children and teenagers reading their magazine via its digital version is growing strongly . While the digital version of children's magazines represented just *.**% and *.**% respectively of total paid circulation in France in ****, this percentage is set to rise to between *.*% and *% in ****, with record statistics in **** for children's reading (***). The health crisis has undeniably prompted parents to subscribe to the digital version of their child's favorite newspaper. It would seem that a certain ecological awareness is also at play, especially for daily subscriptions - such as Mon Petit Quotidien - which generate a lot of waste.

However, it's important to qualify this digital embellishment: more and more studies show the harmful effects of reading on a screen - for children as well as adults - and some parents will certainly never switch to a digital subscription for their child.

The ePaper, a digital replica of a printed daily or weekly newspaper, is gaining in popularity worldwide. As the chart below shows, its sales are set to rise steadily (***) between **** and ****.

Sales and growth forecasts for ePaper France, ****-****, US$ ...

3.4 Traditional distribution suffering

Until July ****, there were two major companies sharing the press distribution market in France:

Source: ****

Presstalis recorded an operating deficit of ** million euros in ****on July *, ****, the Paris Commercial Court placed the distribution company in compulsory liquidation. France Messagerie was then created and took over part of its assets[***].

The judicial liquidation of Presstalis and the financial difficulties of Messageries lyonnaises de presse and France Messagerie (***) are due in particular to the reduction in the number of sales outlets. There were **,*** newsagents in the ****s, compared with **,*** in ****. [***].

4.1 A wide variety of offers from daily to monthly

Panorama of the leading children's dailies

Source: ****

Overview of the leading weekly and fortnightly children's magazines

Source: ****

Overview of the main monthly magazines or higher periodicals in the children's press

Source: ****

New titles continue to appear every year

Although some titles are very old, such as Le Journal de Mickey, first published in ****, or Le Journal de Spirou in ****, the children's press market remains highly innovative: an average of ** children's magazines are created every year, according to La Presse Jeunesse.

4.2 France's most popular children's books and magazines

Market share of different children's press segments by volume France, ****, in Source: GfK **** players in the teen press have lost relative market share, and we can see the recomposition of this market with Julie magazine overtaking Vocable Anglais. Market share of the different youth press segments in value terms France, ****, in Source: GfK **** As in the case of teen magazines, the children's press is seeing a recomposition of its market and a better distribution of market share, with the biggest successes concentrating fewer circulations than in ****, and Astrapi breaking into the top *.

4.3 Prices vary according to store type

If you look at the main headlines displayed on the sitePressedeFrance in ****, we can see that the average unit price of the few best-selling issues by age category is *.**€. Prices range from €* for Le Monde des ados to €**.** for Animeland.

Consumer prices vary significantly according to the type of distribution (***).

Source: ****

Ouest-France published an article in **** showing the breakdown of production and distribution costs for its newspaper, giving us an idea of those for the industry in general. Pmong the various players involved in the press industry,the distributor accounts for **% of costs, more than **% higher than the second-largest cost item, editorial (***).

Average breakdown of a book's selling price France, ****, in The average selling price of a book is estimated at ** euros. Source: ****

4.4 The digital trend, or how the children's press is resisting screens

The children's press, a cultural specificity

The sector can count on flagship titles and timeless bestsellers, such as J'aime lire, Petit Ours Brun and Super Picsou Géant. [***]

The strength of subscription offers

TheSyndicat des Éditeurs de la Presse Magazine indicates that **% of children's press sales are by subscription, compared with barely half of sales for the magazine press as a whole. This partly explains why the children's press has been spared in the current downturn in print media sales.

Subscriptions provide publishers with great stability. According toLa Presse Jeunesse**% of Fleurus Presse sales come from subscriptions. Play Bac now has ***,*** subscribers. Similarly, Mondadori claims to be a subscription press: Science et vie junior has ***,*** subscribers and Science et vie découvertes **,***. Two out of three subscribers to the monthly Science et vie junior are also subscribers to the six special issues (***), proof of subscribers' appetite for reading.

Schools are also a secure distribution channel for subscriptions: **% of Bayard presse subscribers go through schools; **% of Journal des enfants (***) subscribers are teachers.

Adaptation sought by publishing houses

Publishers are seeking to innovate and develop new ways of processing information, adapted to continue to capture the attention of young people. The aim is ...

5.1 Specific regulations that differ from other publishing sectors

In France, two laws regulate the distribution of children's publications.

The law of July **, **** on publications aimed at young people, amended by article ** of the decree of December **, **** and by the law of January *, ****.

Article *:" The publications referred to in Article * must not include any illustration, story, chronicle, column or insert presenting in a favorable light banditry, lies, theft, laziness, cowardice , hatred, debauchery or the like. hatred, debauchery or any acts qualified as crimes or misdemeanors or likely to demoralize children or young people, or to inspire or maintain ethnic or sexist prejudices.

They must not include any advertising or publicity for publications likely to demoralize children or young people.

Source: ****

Article *:" The director or publisher of any publication referred to in Article * is required to submit, free of charge, five copies of each issue or volume of this publication to the Ministry of Justice for inspection. le, five copies of each issue or volume of this publication as soon as it appears, without prejudice to the provisions concerning legal deposit."

Thus, any publisher of a periodical or book aimed at children and teenagers, regardless of the medium associated with the publication, whether illustrated or not, must comply, in addition to ...

6.1 Segmentation

• Bayard Presse Groupe
• Unique Heritage Media- DHP
• Alsacienne de Publications L'Alsace
• Éditions Dupuis (Media Participations)
• Éditions Faton
• Enrick B. Editions
• Les Presses d’Ile de France
• Gallimard Jeunesse (Madrigall Groupe)
• Flammarion
• Hachette Jeunesse
• Belin Education (Humensis)
• Presstalis
• Les Messageries lyonnaises de presse
• Éditions Jibéna & Cie
• Reworld Media
• Lunii
• Editis
• Editions Albert René (Hachette Groupe)
• Atelier Imaginaire
• Fleurus Presse