Laura Carollo
Research expert covering cinema and film
Podcast industry in France - statistics and facts
France is tuning in! In just a few years, podcasts have completely changed the way people consume audio content. Defined as the consumption of audio or video broadcasts via immediate listening or downloading for later listening, podcasting is experiencing a real boom in France with the arrival of more and more creators. While 22 percent of French people listened to podcasts in 2019, that number jumped to reach 42 percent in 2024. Why has podcast consumption doubled in the span of five years?
What are French people listening to?
Hosted by Slate Audio, the podcast "Transfert" accounted for the highest number of downloads in France with over two million downloaded episodes of September 2024. The general knowledge podcast brand “Choses à savoir” was the most popular brand over that same period, seconded by Slate. While “Transfert” specialized in the retelling of true stories, “Choses à savoir” offers short episodes centered around science, history or health issues. These topics ranked high among French listeners’ favorite podcast genres, with news-focused podcasts topping the ranking.How are they listening to podcasts?
According to a survey led in 2024, more than half of French podcast listeners listened to four to five different podcasts, while three percent of respondents consumed more than ten different podcasts. That same year, about 45 percent of French podcast listeners discovered new podcasts through podcast or music streaming apps. Less than 40 percent learned about new podcasts through recommendations on social media, making them the second most popular channel. Among the apps used to listen to podcasts, Apple Podcasts came in first position before Spotify.A lucrative market
The growth of the podcast market in France represents a very attractive market for a growing number of advertisers. In Europe alone, the value of advertising investments in the podcast format was expected to reach more than 200 million euros in 2023, a significant jump from a few years before. In France, the number of online radio and music advertisers experienced a similar growth over that same period. As for consumers, most considered advertising acceptable if it allowed them to listen to their content for free. According to the same survey, more than 70 percent of respondents accepted ads so long as they helped remunerate content creators.
