In the wake of last week’s Annecy Festival, France Télévisions is fortifying its commitment to fund animated content for young audiences as part of a new three-year deal signed with animation producers association ANIM France and several other trade orgs and unions representing French TV producers and distributors (SATEV, SEDPA, SPECT, SPI and USPA).  

Terms of the deal specify that the French public broadcaster will increase its funding allocation for animation from US$34 million this year to US$37 million in 2025, US$38 million in 2026, and US$39 million in 2027. 

Finalized yesterday at the Ministry of Culture in Paris, the deal can be extended to five years by “the common will of the signatories. ” The last increase was in 2019 in a deal that fixed investment at US$34 million per year. 

Totaling US$114 million, the new three-year animation funding is part of FTV’s annual content investment of US$471 million over the next three years. 

Other terms stipulate that in return for its investment, FTV will get 360-degree rights to the projects it finances for periods ranging from 30 to 42 months, depending on the amount of funding contributed. The longer rights terms are an improvement that will help grow the broadcaster’s digital kids platform Okoo, says France Télévisions’ director of animation and young audiences, Pierre Siracusa.  

Negotiating the deal took several months and is a sign of relief in challenging times, says ANIM France board member and TeamTO SVP of development and production Corinne Kouper.

“In such a turbulent economic and political context, this agreement is a pledge for the future of our sector,” says Kouper. “The landing point is very favorable to everyone’s interests.”

The deal follows French president Emmanuel Macron’s call for a snap election last week after his rival Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally party scored a big win in the European Parliament vote.

If National Rally wins an absolute majority in July’s election, party president Jordan Bardella told France 3 on Sunday that it intends to privatize public television and radio “in order to save money,” which could be disastrous for children’s programming in the country.

Despite a growing unease about the future of French public television, the new animation funding is positive news, especially in a slow international financing environment, says Eric Garnet, co-founder of GO-N Productions (Simon Super Rabbit).   

“It’s a boost to the industry as it will help many producers access the first step of development, as well as hopefully attracting the attention of foreign investors and eventually accessing the French support system of subsidies and tax credits that will cover the costs of their budget,” says Garnet.

The funding also comes on the heels of France Télévisions signing a deal at last month’s Cannes Film Festival to finance at least 25 animated movies between 2024 and 2028—five per year on average, compared to three or four in recent years.

“The progressive investment from 2025 to 2027, and the commitment to finance 25 animation features films in the next five years are significant measures that will give more security and sustainability to producers,” says Millimages GM Adrien Moretto.

Xilam Animation founder and CEO Marc du Pontavice says what he likes most about the new deal is that it will “maintain a robust flow of investment into the kids business, which is the strongest towards independent production in Europe.”

In related news, the same trade bodies that signed this deal with France Télévisions recently ratified a similar agreement with France’s TF1 Group to increase its funding contribution to original French/European animation from 5.2% to 6% of overall production budgets.