When a streaming platform must direct an increasing share of its investments towards creative documentaries or French animation, independent producers adapt their projects within a few months. This regulatory constraint, coming into effect at the end of 2025, is reshaping the order books and programming schedules of the audiovisual sector in France.
SVOD platform investment obligations: what the December 2025 decree changes on the ground
Decree No. 2025-1421, published on December 30, 2025, modifies the SMAD decree of 2021. It targets three specific genres: animation, creative documentary, and live performance recordings. SVOD platforms operating in France must now allocate an increasing share of their investment budget to these genres, with thresholds staggered over three years.
For platforms generating more than 50 million euros in annual revenue in France, 75% of the funds allocated to these genres must finance original, unreleased works, not from the catalog. This shifts the focus from a volume-based logic to a creation-based logic, directly influencing the editorial decisions of the production services associated with these platforms.
In practice, a documentary producer who primarily worked with public television channels now has additional contacts on the SVOD side, but with different format and narrative requirements. Feedback on this point varies: some see it as an opening, while others view it as a complication of financial arrangements. All these dynamics are analyzed on the Euromedia Television site, which regularly covers regulatory developments and their repercussions for industry professionals.
Combating audiovisual piracy in France: real-time blocking of sports streams
The illegal streaming of football matches remains a major operational problem for rights holders. France has implemented a real-time automated blocking system for pirate streams during sports broadcasts. This mechanism, led by Arcom, allows intervention during the broadcast itself, not afterward.
For legal operators (channels, sports platforms), this system changes the game: it reduces audience hemorrhage during live events, where the damage is most immediate. Internet service providers are involved in the blocking chain, which speeds up the response time compared to previous traditional judicial procedures.
Pornographic sites and age verification
Arcom has also blocked 31 pornographic sites in France for failing to comply with age verification obligations. This action illustrates an expansion of the scope of intervention of the French audiovisual regulator, which is no longer limited to television or radio channels but now covers all online media services.
Political pluralism and regulation of public audiovisual: Arcom’s new rules
Arcom has tightened its rules on political speech time on television. Channels can no longer use nighttime hours to rebalance the representation of political parties. This decision aims to ensure real equity in high-audience slots, not just on paper.
The Lasserre report on the impartiality of public audiovisual, published in September 2026, fuels the debate. It raises the question of objective criteria for measuring pluralism, beyond simple counting of speaking time. The editorial teams of France Télévisions and Radio France are directly concerned.
- The broadcast times of political interventions now count as much as their total duration
- Continuous news channels are subject to increased monitoring by Arcom
- The recruitment of certain editorialists (such as Charles Sapin, who came from Valeurs Actuelles, on franceinfo TV) has caused internal tensions and a strike notice at France Télévisions
This last case shows that regulation is not only played out in texts. The editorial choices of the editorial management become subjects of public debate, with consequences for the social climate within audiovisual groups.
Broadcasting Ligue 1 at points of sale: a new channel for audiovisual sports
ParionsSport, the sports betting brand of FDJ UNITED, has partnered with Ligue 1 to broadcast all matches of the French championship in its 29,000 points of sale. This is not a gimmick: out-of-home broadcasting is becoming a full-fledged audiovisual distribution channel.
For sports rights holders, this type of partnership opens a complementary revenue source, distinct from individual subscriptions or television advertising. For the bars and newsstands involved, it is a lever for attendance directly linked to sports news.
Freed FM frequencies and reallocation: the case of Mouv’
The end of FM broadcasting for Mouv’ frees up frequencies that Arcom can reallocate to private radios. This reallocation process concerns several geographical areas and changes the landscape of French radio.
For local or community radios, these frequencies represent a concrete opportunity to expand their coverage. The reallocation schedule depends on the calls for applications launched by Arcom, and each area is subject to a distinct procedure.
The French audiovisual sector is going through a phase where the rules of the game are changing simultaneously on several fronts: platform investment obligations, real-time piracy combat, pluralism regulation, new sports broadcasting channels, redistribution of radio frequencies. Each of these projects produces immediate operational effects for professionals in production, broadcasting, and media regulation in France.
