France TV Exports Plummet Amid Ad Decline, Broadcaster Budget Cuts, ‘Deteriorating Economic Environment’

France's TV content exports fell sharply in 2025, with the French National Film Board (CNC) and Unifrance reporting a 21.6% drop in international sales of French audiovisual programmes, to €164.3 million (£150.6 million) — the lowest level in a decade. The two organisations blamed "a deteriorating economic environment and numerous uncertainties," a stark reversal from 2024, when exports had risen 3% to reach their second-highest level in 30 years. The decline highlights growing pressure on French broadcasters and producers from a saturated global market and softer international demand.

Scripted fiction remained the top-selling genre, accounting for 33.4% of sales, though it suffered its first double-digit fall since 2018, dropping 27% to €54.9 million. Documentary overtook animation for the first time, holding a 26.2% share with a more modest 2.7% decline to €43.1 million, while animation slumped to an all-time low of 19.6%, down 30.3% to €32.2 million, worsened by the liquidation of major studios Cyber Group and TeamTO. Buyers were reported to increasingly favour established intellectual property, with genre diversity narrowing overall, while documentaries proved more resilient thanks to demand for high-impact, exclusive event programming; Belgium remained France's leading export market.