Press Distribution

The Bichet Act ^[1] entrusts Arcep with setting the terms of newsagents’ remuneration, with the goal ensuring vast and balanced coverage for the point of sale network. Following the public consultation held from 13 December 2024 to 22 January 2025^[2], today Arcep is publishing a Decision introducing two measures for updating newsagents’ terms of remuneration. It is also publishing the stakeholders’ contributions to the consultation.

To protect newsagents from having to assume not only a decrease in their income resulting from the trend of steadily decreasing single-issue sales, but also the additional decrease in their rate of commission, Arcep has chosen to index revenue-based premium tiers. They will be updated automatically according to the national change in single-issue press sales. This measure will come into effect upon payment of the premium on sales in the first half of 2025.

The increase in some newsagents’ rate of commission is based on their reaching press sales revenue thresholds in their point of sale (PoS). In 2024, this system of revenue-based premiums concerned around 15% of PoS for magazine sales and around 9% for daily newspaper sales.

In light of the ongoing trend of decreasing single issue sales, the stability of these thresholds is forcing newsagents to assume not only a decrease in their volume-based revenue, but also an additional decrease resulting from a lowered rate of commission.

This situation is making the business of newsagent less attractive, and proving likely to undermine the breadth of the point of sale network’s coverage and, ultimately, regional continuity for press distribution which Arcep is responsible for ensuring.

To take the downward trend in single issue press sales into account when determining the rate of commission for points of sale, the Decision introduces mechanism for automatically updating revenue tiers. For 2025, the updating formula results in a 4.31% decrease compared to 2024, reflecting market trends.

To provide newsagents with greater clarity on their remuneration, Arcep has decided that the totality of newsagents’ premiums will be paid according to the same schedule as base remuneration, with the possible exception of the revenue-based premiums. This measure will come into effect as of 1 July 2026.

The current system delays the payment of newsagents’ premiums by several months. This delay and the lack of clarity on their remuneration makes their profession less attractive.

Arcep thus considers it justified and proportionate to require that, the totality of premiums determined based on criteria that are known at the time of sale (i.e. all those with the exception of revenue-based criteria) shall be paid on the same day as base remuneration.

In addition, current business negotiations amongst the sector’s stakeholders on re-evaluating newsagents’ remuneration have been extended until the end of May 2025.