Despite A Steep Decline, Animation Once Again Topped French TV Exports In 2021

• Despite being the largest contributor to the strong overall numbers for the French AV sector, animation sales fell 18.5% to €60.8 million ($60.14 million) in 2021. The report’s authors don’t appear too worried though, attributing the drop to the cyclical nature of animation and pointing out that the past five years have seen animation sell at a “very high level” by CNC standards. The study also suggests high exporter confidence for 2022, with sales expected to rise.
• Even with the drop in 2021, animation still accounted for 32.7% of French sales abroad. Over the past decade, animation accounted for 35.8% of French exports, leading fiction at 25.6% and documentary at 19.8%.
• Reasons for animation’s 2021 fall cited by the study include a slowdown in the acquisition of new titles as broadcasters focus on established brands, as well as constraints imposed by platforms regarding exclusivity windows. The study also points to a more general slowdown in worldwide purchases by svod platforms, particularly in North America.

• The study also points out that animation exporters reported contrasting results from 2021, with a decline among a few of the country’s larger groups as the primary driver of the overall drop.
• In 2021, exporters shifted their focus earlier in the lifespan of animated content, getting more involved during production. Over the last two years, foreign pre-financing investment has ballooned over €160 million ($158.86 million).
• Regionally, animation is the most popular French tv export category in North America (36.2%) and Asia/Oceania (55.9%), although French live-action fiction sells better in Western Europe, as seen in the chart below.

Study methodology: The report includes exporter survey data collected by the CNC and Unifrance as well as pre-sales and co-production data cataloged by the CNC.

Pictured at top: Netfix’s “Arcane,” a French tv series produced by Fortiche Production