Laura Carollo
Research expert covering cinema and film
Magazines in France - statistics & facts
Print media has been fighting an uphill battle for the better part of a decade, and magazines are no exception. Data on the magazine industry in Europe highlighted that print media consumption has declined for several years, culminating in dwindling circulation numbers and revenues. This downward trend can also be observed in France, a country that is home to some of the oldest print titles worldwide. Even though many French consumers picked up reading as a pastime amid nationwide lockdowns and over 30 percent of surveyed adults spent money on magazine purchases in 2022, this share might not keep smaller publishers afloat in the future. Overall, the magazine industry in France continues to undergo fundamental changes to combat readership losses and tap into the mounting demand for digital media.
Magazine consumption trends
In 2022, Diverto was the largest paid magazine title in France, with a daily circulation volume of around 3.3 million copies. Looking at other popular titles, Version Femina, Merci pour l'info, and Famille et Education stand out among their respective genres. A recent survey investigating magazine and newspaper readers’ consumption habits further found that a majority of readers purchased their favorite print titles as single issues. Only 40 percent of respondents received newspapers or magazines as part of a paid subscription. With that said, many readers also decide to supplement or substitute their fee-based magazines with free-to-use digital editions, and most established publishing houses have introduced web editions by now in hopes of retaining readers.Digital is leaving an imprint on the magazine landscape
French audiences are consuming much more press content online these days, whether it be news, literature, or magazines. According to a recent survey, nearly 60 percent of consumers read digital newspapers or magazines in 2021, up from around 40 percent in 2013. Industry forecasts also suggested that the publishing revenue of e-magazines in France will surpass 360 million U.S. dollars in 2024, compared with roughly 400 million generated via e-book sales. But which titles and genres draw magazine readers to their screens? Based on a recent survey, more adults preferred to browse through sports, cooking and people magazines online as opposed to their paper counterparts. On the other hand, leisure and TV magazines were some of the formats that were more popular as print versions. Looking at paid online press content in France, fashion platforms such as Cosmopolitan and Elle stood among the five leading paid e-magazines in France in 2022.
