Today, Arcep is publishing a Decision that lowers the thresholds used to determine the bonus rate tied to each newsagent’s revenue, along with the contributions to the public consultation on this topic that ran from 23 June to 12 July 2023 [1].
This Decision is coming into effect for remunerations paid on sales starting in the second half of 2023.
The Authority decides to lower by 6% the threshold revenue required to benefit from the different revenue-based bonus rates
A newsagent’s remuneration is currently comprised of a commission which is a predetermined percentage of their daily newspaper and magazine sales. This is composed of a base remuneration that depends on the type of point of sale, plus supplementary bonuses of which one is based on the amount of these sales: the higher the press sales’ figures, the larger the newsagent’s bonus.
The general and lasting decline in single-issue press sales (-6% a year on average between 2017 and 2021) is translating into an automatic decrease in newsagents’ remuneration. Added to which, as the revenue thresholds used to determine each newsagent’s bonus rate have not been revised to factor in the overall decrease in single-issue sales, this situation has resulted in newsagents (ipso facto suffering from a decreasing revenue threshold) shouldering not only a decline in their revenue due to decreased sales volumes, but also an additional decrease due to a lowered bonus rate.
This decrease is making the profession of newsagent less attractive. Which could in turn be determinantal to the PoS network’s coverage and, ultimately, regional continuity of press distribution, which Arcep is responsible for ensuring.
As a result, on 18 July 2023 Arcep adopted a Decision lowering the applicable bonus thresholds based on newsagents’ revenue by 6%.
As an added measure, Arcep is asking the sector for feedback on changes to newsagents’ remuneration in the medium term.
The ongoing public consultation, launched on 23 June 2023 and running until mid-October, seeks to obtain stakeholders’ assessment of the current terms governing newsagents’ remuneration, and the changes they believe need to occur in the medium term.
Associated documents:
- Regulatory Authority for Electronic Communications, Postal Affairs and Print Media Distribution (Arcep) Decision No. 2023-1558 of 18 July 2023 modifying the applicable bonus thresholds, based on newsagents’ revenue
- Contributions to the public consultation on reviewing the applicable bonus thresholds, based on newsagents’ revenue
[1] Arcep press release of 23 June 2023