Monday interview. Ronan Dubois unveils the strategic ambitions of a media in full change marked by the stop of the paper newspaper in 2024. With a model now 100 % digital, 20 minutes wants to establish itself as a key player in information and entertainment. The objective? Conjugate audience and innovation to reach the financial balance from 2025 after having entrusted part of the marketing of its inventories to 366. For this, the media will put the package on the video by approaching 20 minutes TV which Ronan Dubois will be appointed Managing Director. In this interview with The Media Leader, he details the ambitions and the new 20 -minute identity.
The Media Leader: You announce a new strategic phase for 20 minutes, with a rebranding and a refocusing on digital. Why these decisions now?
Ronan Dubois: These decisions are part of a context of deep transformation for 20 minutes. The paper stop in 2024 marked the end of an era, but it was a necessary choice to guarantee the sustainability of the media. For almost 20 years, our model was based on free and proximity to readers via a distribution in transport. However, the COVID-19 has turned our ecosystem upset: successive confinements stopped distribution, and paper manufacturing costs have become unbearable.
We therefore made a major strategic decision: refocus 20 minutes on digital, an area where we were already well established (16 million unique visitors per month, 100 million videos seen according to Médiamétrie) thanks to early investments, especially in our application. Rebranding is a way of marking this transition and modernizing our image to reflect our ambitions: to become a key player in digital, by offering reliable, innovative content adapted to new uses.
Our goal is to maximize the monetization of each content by adapting it to the different supports.
TML: The video seems to play a central role in this transformation. Why this choice, and how is this strategy unfold?
RD: The video has become essential in the consumption habits of hearings, in particular young urban workers, which constitute an important part of our readership. We have therefore decided to structure our strategy around this format with a clear ambition: to make 20 minutes a global digital platform (written, audio, video, social, TV) of leading information and entertainment.
We now produce between 3 and 4 hours of video content each day. This includes weekly programs from 26 to 52 minutes, centered on our editorial verticals such as planet, life life or lifestyle. These emissions are designed to be fragmented in short capsules, adapted to a broadcast on the site, the application, the social networks, youtube and even on our 20-minute TV channel, available in Île-de-France via TNT and on TV box.
Our goal is to maximize the monetization of each content by adapting it to the different supports. For example, a program can give birth to several capsules, integrated into enriched items, Instagram stories or long replay formats. This approach allows us not only to reach a wider audience, but also to offer a premium context to advertisers.
We recorded between 80 and 100 million streams on average per month in 2024 on the Desktop and Mobile site alone, and we aim to quadruple this figure by the end of 2025, thanks to a new distribution strategy on social networks . But it is not only a question of volume: we also want to strengthen our positioning as a reliable, innovative, creative and essential media for brands that are looking for quality communication contexts.
Today, 20 minutes have 120 employees, including 55 journalists.
TML: How did this transition impacted your teams and your internal organization?
RD: We have completely redesigned our organization and overthrow our production model to adapt it to the requirements of digital. We end the tyranny of the support. It is the content that reigns. We think news, consumption, culture, high tech, planet, lifestyle … And it is the supports that feed on it, the contents dripping on all channels.
Today, 20 minutes have 120 employees, including 55 journalists. We have muscled and created a dedicated digital pole, which brings together social media, SEO experts, content publishers and data analysts. This pole is responsible for the content distribution strategy on platforms and works hand in hand with the editorial staff to optimize the impact of our publications.
In parallel, we have strengthened our teams dedicated to special operations (OPS): strategic, creative gliders, production leaders. This activity represents 20 % of our income today and the objective is to triple this figure within three years. These teams work on innovative activations, often designed in connection with our editorial verticals.
-Finally, we will soon inaugurate two studios, including a TV tray, concomitantly with the launch of our new program grid. This strategic choice allows us to produce Broadcast quality content while mastering costs and guaranteeing perfect consistency with the editorial line.
TML: You have entrusted the marketing of your classic advertising spaces at 366. Why this choice and what assessment do you draw from this collaboration?
RD: entrusting the classic advertising management to 366 was obvious as part of our transformation. 366 has recognized expertise on the market. Their complementarity with our national positioning, particularly strong with young urban workers, played a decisive role.
Concretely, this collaboration allows us to benefit from a running commercial structure, capable of massifying sales of spaces by over -the -counter and programmatic (Open Auction). This releases our internal teams to focus on special operations (OPS) and tailor -made activations.
In terms of assessment, the first months of collaboration with 366 are encouraging. The commercial objectives are online with our expectations, even if the market remains very competitive. Finally, this partnership guarantees 20 minutes to preserve its identity as a strong and independent brand. Our spaces are marketed both on a stand-alone and in packs.
The shareholders have clearly indicated that they would no longer bail out the losses of the company.
TML: What was the role of your shareholders in this transformation?
RD: Our shareholders, Ouest-France and Rossel, played a decisive role. They supported this transformation by funding the necessary investments for digital and video. That said, this involvement is accompanied by a strong expectation: reaching financial balance from 2025. The shareholders have clearly indicated that they would no longer bail out the losses of the company. It is additional pressure, but also an opportunity to prove that we are able to build a sustainable economic model, based on innovation and diversification.
TML: What does rebranding mean for the identity of 20 minutes?
RD: Rebranding symbolizes our entry into a new phase. The logo reflects modernity, speed and modularity. We have kept the historic blue, but added colors to differentiate our editorial verticals and structure our offer.
Beyond the visual identity, this rebranding marks our desire to be a real daily companion for our readers. We want to accompany them with their first news in the morning to their evening activities, whether it is a good cultural plan, practical advice or a news that concerns them.
TML: What are your economic and editorial objectives for the years to come?
RD: Our goal is to grow our revenues by 15 % in 2025, with a diversification focused on three pillars: video, special operations and brand content.
On the editorial level, we want to continue to innovate by enriching our verticals and developing new formats. The objective is clear: to strengthen our role as a hybrid player, at the crossroads of information and entertainment, while remaining faithful to our DNA of free information, reliable and accessible to the greatest number.
