The podcast market - France

A podcast is audio content distributed via RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feeds. Podcasts can be either native, i.e. created with the intention of being a podcast in the first place, or replay, i.e. taken from a program broadcast on the radio, for example, and transformed into replay content. The word podcast comes from the contraction of the words "iPod" and "broadcast", a word coined in 2004 to refer to the rise in popularity of this type of content in the United States since the early 2000s. Podcasting arrived in France a few years later via Arte Radio, then became very popular in the 2010s with the arrival of numerous non-podcast audiovisual media in this segment, including RTL and Europe 1. Finally, in 2016, podcast studios such as Binge Audio and Louie Media began to appear. The global podcast market is booming, with estimated sales of over $18 billion by 2022. Although the number of listeners is growing significantly around the world, due to the development of this market in new countries, particularly in South America, it is starting to decline in certain regions such as the USA and France. Indeed, the phenomenon that once enjoyed great popularity in the confines is losing its craze. The number of podcasts produced has been falling significantly for several years (-80% between 2020 and 2022), while the number of active podcasts (i.e. those containing more than 10 episodes) has remained stable. In France, a typical profile is emerging among regular listeners of native podcasts, who are extremely loyal and embrace this booming medium. The market, which was extremely fragmented at the outset, is beginning to concentrate, and by 2023 there will be over 400 players spread across all stages of the podcast value chain. Different business models are beginning to emerge, and regulations are gradually being adapted to this medium, which has long been shrouded in legal uncertainty.

This market study includes an interview with a market player: Xavier Seux, co-founder of Echoes