Marie-Agnès Bruneau reports about the French television content industry in international trade publications, such as TBI and Realscreen, through features or the coverage of events and festivals. Below the links to her latest stories.
Group M6 tops formats buyer chart in France but total new commissions decline
26th April 2024
Group M6 distinguished itself as the biggest formats player in France last year, according to La Fabrique des Formats’ annual research, while the number of entertainment launches dropped back from a peak in 2022. By Marie-Agnès Bruneau.
France’s M6 lands Prime Video show, spins ‘The Traitors’ for soon-to-launch streamer
7th March 2024
French broadcaster M6 has lined up Amazon’s The Marvelous Mrs Maisel, an original MMA contest format and an additional version of The Traitors for its soon-to-launch streaming service, M6+. By Marie-Agnès Bruneau.
International Outlook: France’s Fipadoc shines spotlight on Euro doc trends
February 6, 2024
The annual French documentary festival and conference Fipadoc, held in Biarritz, wrapped on January 27, with 2,400 delegates taking part. Paris-based journalist Marie-Agnès Bruneau was on the scene reporting for Realscreen. This year’s edition of the Fipadoc festival reflected some new creative approaches, perhaps reflective of the ongoing shift towards digital platforms, as documentary moves beyond the linear dictates of the strand.
Fipadoc ’24: France Télévisions unveils new international partnerships
January 24, 2024
French public broadcaster France Télévisions is embarking upon some new international partnerships, which were unveiled Tuesday (January 23) during the French documentary festival Fipadoc, currently taking place in Biarritz.
How La Rochelle illuminated France’s burgeoning drama industry
20th September 2023
The 25th edition of La Rochelle’s Festival de la Fiction highlighted the expanding scope of French drama on all fronts, writes Marie-Agnès Bruneau.
How Rendez-Vous in Biarritz marked a time of transition
11th September 2023
Rendez-Vous in Biarritz attracted hundreds of European buyers to the French coast last week for an event that felt like it was marking a time of transition for the industry, writes Marie-Agnès Bruneau.
French scripted deals fuel record $231m int’l sales, as streamer deals power growth
5th September 2023
French programming enjoyed strong sales last year driven by scripted although pre-sales and international coproductions were down, according to the annual Unifrance-CNC French export figures, revealed at Rendez-vous in Biarritz yesterday.
Exclusive: ZED acquires ‘l’Affaire d’Outreau’ producer Point du Jour–Les Films du Balibari
31st July 2023
French producer and distributor ZED has acquired long-established factual indie Point du Jour – Les Films du Balibari, the firm behind France 2’s recent true crime primetime hit l’Affaire d’Outreau, TBI has learned.
Exclusive: Arte & France TV reveal best-rated docs across 2022-23 season
13th July 2023
France Télévisions and Arte have revealed their most popular documentaries, with exclusive data highlighting the growing interest in true crime programming on the networks.
France Télévisions reveals Autumn line-up as focus shifts to brand rather than channels
13th July 2023
France Télévisions has outlined plans to develop its sports, young adult (YA), drama and entertainment offerings – including launching an original adventure gameshow – as it looks to build the broadcaster’s brand among younger audiences, rather than focusing on a single channel.
France’s M6 buys from HBO Max, preps original drama & eyes “novelty” competition shows
6th July 2023
The group’s top priorities were revealed at a press briefing yesterday in Paris by content and channels director Guillaume Charles, who pointed to the development of M6’s primetime line-up and upgrading its 6Play offering as key focuses, while also strengthening the group’s smaller channels.
TBI Weekly: Six takeaways from Sunny Side of the Doc
23rd June 2023
International coproductions lay at the centre of many of the panel talks. Another concern is to address climate change issues with docs showing solutions. On the domestic front, pubcaster France Télévisions had to face worries from French producers. The number of docs including the ones commissioned by the public broadcaster, has gone down last year. Private players are getting more involved.
Netflix eyes broader documentary offering to build on true crime success
22nd June 2023
Netflix in France wants to broaden its offering across documentaries while building on its true crime output, its execs have told delegates at Sunny Side of the Doc in La Rochelle.
M6 details documentary shift & highlights international coproduction appeal
21st June 2023
French broadcaster M6 is making bigger moves into the documentary genre, unveiling its first projects and revealing its interest in international coproductions.
France TV & M6 fuel unscripted format surge, with key suppliers revealed
17th May 2023
New launches of unscripted formats reached a peak of 50 in France last year, according to La Fabrique des Formats’ annual survey, an increase of 15 on 2021 and on former years when figures were in the 30-35 bracket.
Exclusive: Three projects that underline France’s forward-facing scripted sector
French drama is evolving rapidly, as subject matter and new business models perk the attention of international buyers. Marie-Agnès Bruneau talks to the key figures behind three recent projects to find out about this latest evolution
France Télévisions’ documentary chief Catherine Alvaresse exits, as producer concerns rise
30th March 2023
France TV’ Catherine Alvaresse has stepped down as director of documentaries, with the move prompting concern from producers over what it means for the public broadcaster’s doc strategy.
France Télévisions names digital & marketing exec Antonio Grigolini as documentary chief
11th April 2023
France Télévisions has appointed the former chief of its young adult digital service Slash and of its francetv.fr platform to lead its documentary output.
Documentaries TBI Weekly: Nine factual takeaways from Fipadoc in Biarritz
3rd February 2023
French broadcasters were out in force at Fipadoc last week in Biarritz, with true crime, miniseries, impact docs and history shows emerging as the major trends. The troubles of the world also invited themselves, writes Marie-Agnès Bruneau.
Export TBI Weekly: Why French film & TV are getting into bed together
20th January 2023
French audiovisual body Unifrance marked its 25th Rendez-Vous in Paris by broadening out the traditionally cinema-centric event to include TV content. Marie-Agnès Bruneau reports back on what she saw, the key trends & what it means for the future.
Unscripted How Amazon & Netflix are supercharging France’s format market
18th October 2022
Amazon Prime Video and Netflix have both enjoyed huge recent success with unscripted formats in France. Marie-Agnès Bruneau reports on what’s next and where opportunities lie.
Exclusive: What the future holds for Europe’s public broadcasters
18th October 2022
Public broadcasters face pressure like never before, with squeezed budgets and their very funding models under intense scrutiny. Marie-Agnès Bruneau takes a trip around Europe to find out what’s happening across the continent.
Five key takeaways from Festival de la Rochelle
20th September 2022
French drama is booming and the Festival de la Rochelle has clearly benefitted, with this year’s event reporting attendance up nearly 20% to 2,600 professionals, plus a general audience of 15,000.
TBI Weekly: What’s next for France’s public broadcasters?
22nd July 2022
Public broadcasters across Europe are facing an existential crisis, as politicians look to scrap licence fee models. Marie-Agnes Bruneau reports on the latest developments in France and reveals how the alternatives stack up.
Japan’s NHK looks to diversify co-pro partners with independent filmmakers
23rd June 2022
NHK wants to further diversify its international co-production partners to more independent filmmakers, it revealed at Sunny Side of the Doc in France.
Arte France looks for environmental docs, renews PBS agreement
24th June 2022
Arte France and PBS in the US have renewed their co-production agreement, the former’s head of society and culture unit, Fabrice Puchault, told TBI at Sunny Side of the Doc.
France TV, C4, ZDF, CBC & others link to co-fund science projects
20th June 2022
France Télévisions and some of the fellow pubcasters that make up the Global Doc commissioning group have launched a major call for ambitious science documentaries as they seek new projects to back.
Sunny Side of The Doc, La Rochelle, juin 2022
France’s RMC Story looking for mystery documentaries
23rd June 2022
French factual broadcaster RMC Story, part of the Altice Group, is currently looking to co-produce mystery documentaries through the group’s production and content arm RMC Production.
Exclusive : Canal+ rebuilds doc offer after deal with A+E Planète+ ends
23rd June 2022
France’s Canal+ Group is rebuilding its documentary offer following the launch of premium channel Canal+ Docs in September, the company has said here at Sunny Side of the Doc
How France is leading the world on streamer regulation
3rd April 2022
France has been at the forefront of regulating domestic content investment from global streamers such as Netflix and Amazon, with countries around the world watching developments closely. Marie-Agnès Bruneau reports on what the changes mean.
The TBI Interview: Manuel Alduy, France Télévisions
5th April 2022
France Télévisions has a new international team and a rejuvenated global scripted strategy to attract younger viewers. Marie-Agnès Bruneau speaks to Manuel Alduy, who is leading the charge.
What Fipadoc tells us about French & int’l documentaries
25th January 2022
The TV industry’s events schedule remains a challenging environment but face-to-face meetings are a vital tool for the business, writes Marie-Agnès Bruneau, who recently attended French documentary festival Fipadoc. Here are her key takeaways from the event.
Inside Canal+ Docs: “We are definitely a partner for international docs”
By Marie-Agnès Bruneau January 26, 2022
Canal+ Group has been on a shopping spree for its new Canal+ Docs channel, and also has strong ambitions regarding originals.
TBI Weekly: What next for France’s scripted industry?
16th July 2021
French drama festival Série Series returned to the Fontainebleau recently, marking for many execs their first physical event for more than a year. Marie-Agnès Bruneau reports on what for some…
