France will not host the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2026, after the board of the public broadcaster France Télévisions approved a sharply constrained budget for the coming year, The WP Times reports.
The decision was taken at a meeting of the broadcaster’s board on 18 December 2025, which approved a balanced budget for 2026 despite what it described as an exceptionally tight funding environment. According to the board, projected public funding for France Télévisions will fall by €65.2 million compared with 2025 and by more than €200 million compared with the financial trajectory originally set out in the broadcaster’s 2024–2028 objectives and funding framework.
In addition, France Télévisions must absorb a forecast deficit for 2025, following in-year reductions in public funding of more than €20 million, alongside the impact of inflation and structurally rising operating costs. Taken together, the total consolidation effort required amounts to €140 million, which the broadcaster described as an unprecedented level of savings in its history.
To restore balance to its operating accounts, France Télévisions plans a broad package of measures in 2026. These include a further reduction in programme spending, a higher proportion of repeat broadcasts, the cancellation of certain shows, and the possible sale of broadcasting rights to one or more major sporting events traditionally associated with public service television. Within this framework, the broadcaster confirmed it would not proceed with organising Junior Eurovision 2026 on French territory.
The savings plan also предусматривает staff reductions. The 2026 budget includes a cut of 112 full-time equivalent positions, bringing the total number of jobs eliminated since 2015 to 1,277. France Télévisions also plans to sell property assets and to reassess the terrestrial digital television (DTT) coverage of its channels, in coordination with the media regulator Arcom and in line with its legal obligations.
At the same time, the broadcaster aims to increase commercial revenues by €27 million, driven primarily by higher advertising income from its digital platforms. Investments linked to the group’s technological transformation are expected to be maintained, which management considers essential to adapting to changing viewing habits and production methods.
France had earned the right to host Junior Eurovision 2026 following the victory of Lou Deloze at the 2025 contest in Tbilisi. This is not the first time France Télévisions has stepped back from hosting the event. In 2024, the broadcaster also declined to organise the competition, citing its focus on coverage of the Paris Summer Olympic Games, with Spain taking over hosting duties.
In its concluding remarks, the board of France Télévisions acknowledged the scale of the savings effort and reiterated the need for a credible, multi-year funding framework for public service broadcasting. The company has been operating without a formal long-term objectives and funding contract for nearly two years, a situation the board said continues to complicate strategic and financial planning.
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