Media

The French media world is subject to all the upheavals inevitably caused by technological change. The internet has created new needs that oblige all media to reposition themselves and diversify.

Consumer habits have modified for good: in the Web 2.0 age, the individual’s relation to the media is based on participation and exchange (forums, blogs and chatrooms), which is now expected from all sources. The mainstream media have quickly adapted their content by creating participation sites (open debate column and letters in the press, personal views on radio, personalised television, etc.). At the same time, the individual’s loyalty to a newspaper, television or radio channel - the basis of media brands - has been shaken, as users consult more sources, compare news, allocate their time, and thus their choice of media, and may very well listen, watch and read at the same time.

Against this background, the major French media groups (Bouygues for television, Lagardère and NRJ for radio, etc.) have realised that “historic” brands like TF1, Europe 1 and NRJ are a strength: for their owners they are “fixed points” in the media landscape and a guarantee of long-term survival. Their future depends on their content skills and their ability to provide a whole range of communication vectors.

Source : France 2008, La Documentation française