Streaming Meets Publishing
In A Frenchie Bundle
What happens when iconic French publishers partner with a US streamer? Le Monde, Télérama, and WBD’s Max are teaming up to bring a new kind of bundle. They're chasing ambitious goals and banking on audience crossover but will subscribers bite?
Today at a glance:
Meet The Trio
The Partnership
The Ambitions
The Reality Check
The Industry Impact
Meet The Trio
Le Monde
French daily Newspaper
Subscribers: 660K (incl. 540K digital only)
Télérama
French Culture Magazine
Subscribers: 400K (incl. 42K digital only)
Both companies are part of the same media group.
Max
WBD and Max need no introduction for long-standing readers of Streaming Made Easy.
Subscribers: WBD doesn’t disclose country specific data but an IPSOS survey puts Max at 5% of market-share in France.
The Partnership
Starting April 3rd 2025, new subscribers to Le Monde or Télérama’s digital subscriptions will get access to WBD's streaming service, Max.
Le Monde Essentiel + Max Basic (with ads): €14.99/month;
It represents a 3.99€ discount (bundle value: 18.99€)
Télérama Digital + Max Basic (with ads): €6.99/month (first year), then €11.99/month.
It represents a 8.99€ discount in year 1, 3.99€ onwards (bundle value: 15.99€)
From this summer, existing subscribers to Le Monde Essentiel will benefit from the bundle provided they upgrade their subscription by 2€ (so 16.99€/month). As for Télérama, it was not detailed but a standard digital subscription is priced at 9.99€ (outside of special promotions) so I expect existing subscribers would get the same deal (so 11.99€/month).
My key takeaways: