Since taking over as CEO of Groupe Le Monde in 2010, Louis Dreyfus has pursued a clear ambition: proving that high-quality journalism can be economically sustainable — primarily through digital subscriptions. At the World News Media Congress 2025 hosted by WAN-IFRA, he shared a series of concrete editorial, tech and marketing decisions that have powered the group’s consistent growth.
1. Expanding editorial mission to broaden audience
Over the past 15 years, Le Monde has significantly widened its editorial scope to cover underreported topics and attract new readerships — without lowering its standards.
Key developments include:
- Thematic supplements on feminism, sexuality, climate, and the launch of public events (Le Festival du Monde)
- The launch of weekly magazine M 14 years ago, modeled after the New York Times Magazine, leading to an immediate +30% boost in traffic at launch, now accountiung for 25% of advertising revenue
Le Monde also developed new editorial verticals:
- The “Intimités” section, created in 2023, exploring intimacy, housing, parenting — highly popular with readers
- A major investment in African coverage, now with 36 dedicated journalists
2. Heavily investing in the newsroom
One of the group’s key moves: hiring.
From 310 journalists in 2010 to 560 today — a +80% increase in just over a decade.
“You can’t produce great journalism without journalists.”
The ambition: offer exclusive, in-depth, international content that justifies subscription value.
3. Winning over young audiences on social platforms
Le Monde made a clear bet: meet under-18s where they already are — Snapchat, TikTok, Instagram, YouTube.
The result: native video formats led by young, identifiable journalists, with a clear, educational tone.
→ These short formats act as a gateway to subscriptions
→ Young audiences later return via desktop or the app, with strong retention potential
4. Investing in 3 distinct app products
Le Monde now offers:
- A PDF replica app (faithful to the print edition)
- A “Le Monde” app publishing more than 100 articles per day, 7 days a week
- A Tinder-like news discovery product (“La Matinale”) that delivers a curated daily briefing, with a selection of 21 articles
The goal: match mobile-first habits and improve retention through tailored experiences.
5. Subscriptions: growth, profitability and the end of the deficit
Key 2024 metrics:
- +10% digital subscription growth, +8% all kind of subs
- Average ARPU (monthly revenue per subscriber): €11.84
- Within 2 years, digital revenues alone will cover the entire newsroom costs
“We’ve entered a virtuous cycle where more subscribers = more resources to produce journalism.”
6. Fighting password sharing — and turning it into revenue
When the team found that some accounts were being used by over 5,000 people (!), Le Monde launched an upsell strategy inspired by Netflix — using an in-house tech tool called Capping:
- Pop-ups triggered by suspicious simultaneous usage
- Automated upsell to duo or family plans
→ Thousands of subscribers upgraded to more profitable plans
→ Le Monde is now offering Capping to other publishers
7. A fast-growing international edition
Two years ago, Le Monde launched Le Monde in English:
- 40 articles translated daily by native English-speaking editors and journalists
- A dedicated newsletter
- 7 full-time staff members
Results:
- 50% of new international subscribers now come from this edition
- Top countries: US, UK, Canada
→ Translations are now handled by OpenAI instead of DeepL or human translators, with only light editing by in-house journalists — lowering costs significantly.
Key numbers to remember
- In 2010, Le Monde was losing €10M per year
- In 2024, it will generate €25M in EBITDA
