The radio market - France

"The advantage of radio over cinema is that on the radio the screen is wider," said Orson Welles. This quote clearly shows the power of radio, which is celebrating its centenary. The medium we listen to for information, entertainment and culture, the one that accompanies almost every other French person every morning. The radio industry is constantly evolving in response to new technologies and consumer trends. Radio tries to adapt as best it can to its audience. Radio was born towards the end of the 19ᵉ century thanks to theItalian Guglielmo Marconi and his first wireless transmissions. In France, it really began in the 20s with the launch of the first public radio broadcast by the stations Radio-Luxembourg and Radio-Paris. It quickly became a popular medium with the French. By the end of the Second World War, sound quality was improving with FM radio. In 1981, liberalization of the sector led to the creation of numerous private stations. Finally, since the 2000s, radio has been transforming and adapting with the arrival of DTT (Digital Terrestrial Radio), the emergence of podcasts... Today, with the growing adoption of digital platforms, the radio market is rapidly transforming on a global scale. All over the world, technological innovations and the growing, indeed ubiquitous, accessibility of the Internet are leading to new forms of consumption, such as podcasts, which will have almost 420 million listeners by 2023. In France, the radio market is a dynamic sector. According to Médiamétrie, there will be almost 40 million daily listeners in France in 2023, i.e. almost 79% of the population aged 13 and over. The French radio market, like that of the media in general, is highly concentrated around major media magnates such as NRJ Group, RTL, Largadère and Radio France (public sector). Nevertheless, for several years now, we've been seeing a parallel rise in small independent players: podcasts, webradios and local radio stations that are trying to make their mark on the French audio landscape by offering content that differs from traditional radio. The sheer number of different radio stations in France covers a wide range of content, from music to general interest, humor to culture...