The dramatic drop in 2025 French TV export figures may have cast a shadow over this year’s Unifrance Rendez-Vous TV market in Le Havre. Yet, like the skies over the Normandy coast, the gloom proved fleeting. Local sellers, rather than disheartened, are already navigating the current challenges and discovering new opportunities in the process.
Indeed, some even view the market downturn as a natural return to a more balanced field following the high-flying peak TV buying sprees of global streamers. Fabien Saillant, Wild Bunch head of TV, attributes France’s falling export figures in part to declining acquisitions among international SVOD services, whose numbers grew to unprecedented heights during COVID with multiple platform launches and a massive appetite for programming. Compounding the problem for both linear broadcasters and streamers alike is the tough advertising market, which is further reducing budgets.
At the same time, “people have never watched so much content and so many videos as they are now,” Saillant points out. While the impression may be that the market is suffering, Saillant argues that “things are becoming maybe a bit more rational now” and stresses that “there’s still a lot of appetite for audiovisual content.” Historical fiction remains very much in demand, as illustrated by such lavish new productions as Wild Bunch’s “The Red and the Black” and, from France TV Distribution, “Swapped,” both set in 19th-century France. And a four-part series like “The Red and the Black,” an adaption of Stendhal’s classic tome, could easily go to a broadcaster or a streamer, Saillant adds.
What is becoming more important is to have a brand, an IP — like “The Red and the Black” — that immediately resonates both with buyers and viewers, he stresses. Such series remain very much in focus at Wild Bunch, where another historical drama based on a well-known French literary work is currently in development. The main challenge is making historical dramas relevant and exciting for broader audiences on both linear broadcasters and digital platforms, says Julia Schulte, head of international sales at France TV Distribution.
France TV Distribution is also seeing established shows expand their reach abroad thanks to their growing popularity. Its long-running hit series “Bright Minds,” already an international success, has become such a huge hit in Japan, where it airs on NHK, that producers decided to shoot part of Season 7 on location in the country. Such successful collaborations open “up discussions for other possibilities, for other shows and maybe even co-productions between France and Japan,” Schulte says.
Indeed, the success of long-running French shows abroad is in line with the recent findings of PlumResearch, which analyzed viewer engagement on HBO Max in the U.K. and noted that older titles accounted for 82% of viewer retention when looking at the streamer’s full catalogue. Niche and foreign-language series — the consumption of which continues to grow — prove particularly strong in creating audience loyalty, the research shows. France TV Distribution’s other notable deals include the recent acquisition by MHz Choice of “Zorro,” starring Jean Dujardin, for the U.S. and Canada.
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