Don't be surprised. The financial results of the main media groups for the first six months of 2010 are good and some times very good. Much much better than 2009 when banks went bankrupt and advertising was crashing to the ground. In the US, even the Times turned a nice profit and News Corp recovered, thanks to Fox movies and broadcast. In Germany, Bertelsmann and Springer are back to the profits of 2008. Evrywhere, the mood is more optimistic. Everywhere? No, in one country, the media fail to enjoy a proper recovery. This country is France. TF1, the main TV broadcaster is lagging behind with poor audience figures. All Paris newspapers,apart from l'Equipe will lose money and most regional dailies will hardly break even. Lagardère makes more money with its publishing branch than with its magazines. The most profitable media in France are M6, RTL and Prisma Presse, 3 subsidiaries of Bertelsmann.
How can you explain that no French media group is presently thriving and able to grow in Europe, America and Asia? A big question. We'll get back to it later.
