20 minutes
20 Minutes is a French private digital news company operating 20minutes.fr, mobile apps, and 20 Minutes TV to deliver free, ad-supported news, sports, entertainment, and lifestyle coverage to French-speaking consumers across France.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2001
- HeadquartersParis, France
- Headcount101–250
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingDigital Commerce or Content
What 20 minutes does
20 Minutes is a French private digital news media company operating a multi-platform free, advertising-supported news network centered on the 20minutes.fr website. The company serves the general French-speaking public with continuous coverage across politics, society, world and economy news, sports, high-tech, entertainment, and lifestyle, including nine regional/local French editions. Its product surface spans a website, iOS and Android mobile applications, 20 Minutes TV (live and replay video streaming with original programming), a podcast network (including Minute Papillon, Sixième science, Tout Sexplique), browser-based games (a French Wordle, Sudoku, Mots Fléchés, Solitaire), and adjacent utility services (horoscopes, traffic info, product manuals, legal notices). The company operates an ecosystem of eight wholly-owned specialized sub-brands — Sportune, Minutes Maison, Bébés et Mamans, Journal des Seniors, Cuisine d'Annie, Mes Notices, 20 Minutes TV, and the Podcast Network — that target distinct audience segments, plus a dedicated 20 Minutes Média advertising division that commercializes its inventory across web, mobile, video, and social channels. Distribution relies on a self-serve consumer model combined with broad social-media presence (Facebook, X, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube, Dailymotion, Flipboard, WhatsApp) and newsletter/email channels. Revenue mechanics are not publicly disclosed but the model is advertising-led, supplemented by affiliate commerce via Guide d'achat and service-style traffic from utility verticals. No parent company, PE sponsor, or institutional investor is identified in the source data; ownership and financial details (revenue, headcount, funding) are not disclosed.
20 minutes firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- 20 minutes
- Legal name
- 20 Minutes
- Website
- https://20minutes.fr
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2001
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 101–250 employees
- Short description
- 20 Minutes is a French private digital news company operating 20minutes.fr, mobile apps, and 20 Minutes TV to deliver free, ad-supported news, sports, entertainment, and lifestyle coverage to French-speaking consumers across France.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Where 20 minutes is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Paris
- HQ country
- France
- HQ region
- Europe
Markets served
20 minutes business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Digital Commerce or Content
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels4 records
20 minutes product offering
Product offeringCore offering
20 Minutes is a French-language free digital news platform that delivers real-time news coverage across general news, sports, entertainment, lifestyle, and practical information. The company distributes content through its 20minutes.fr website, mobile applications (iOS/Android), 20 Minutes TV live streaming, a podcast network, and vertical sub-brands such as Sportune (sports) and Minutes Maison (lifestyle/home).
Product overview
20 Minutes is a French news media company operating a multi-platform news network. The core product is the 20minutes.fr news website offering comprehensive coverage across 15+ content categories including politics, world news, society, economy, sports, high-tech, and entertainment. The platform extends through 20 Minutes TV (live streaming and replays), a podcasts vertical (including Minute Papillon, Sixième science, Tout Sexplique), and an online games section (Sudoku, Mots Fléchés, Solitaire, etc.). Additional services include a shopping guide, horoscopes, TV program listings, and 8 specialized sub-brands covering verticals such as home decoration (Minutes Maison), sports business (Sportune), parenting (Bébé(s) et Mamans), seniors (Journal des Seniors), and cooking (Cuisine d'Annie). The company also offers mobile applications for iOS and Android, plus utility services like legal notices, traffic info, and product manuals.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- 20 Minutes TV: Video streaming platform with live TV, replays, and original programming including shows like On vous en dit +, 20' Arena, Plein les poches, Story, and other original content
- Sportune
- Minutes Maison
- Bébes et Mamans
- Journal des Seniors
- Cuisine d'Annie
- 20 Minutes Podcast Network
- 20 Minutes Guide d'achat
- 20 Minutes Games
- 20 Minutes Média
Products and services
- 20minutes.fr News Website
Companies that use 20 minutes
Customer profileSegments1 record
Ideal customer profiles1 record
20 minutes technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature1 record
20 minutes partnerships and signals
Strategic signalRecent moves5 records
Expansion highlights4 records
20 minutes competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Franceinfo: Public broadcaster France Télévisions' continuous news platform, combining web, mobile, and live TV. Directly comparable to 20 Minutes' free, ad-free (publicly funded), multi-platform continuous news offering.
- Le Monde: France's flagship national daily with a major digital subscription business. Directly comparable as a leading French digital news destination with national/local coverage, multimedia extensions, and competing for the same advertising and reader attention.
- Le Figaro: Historic French national newspaper with a large digital audience and subscription plus advertising model. Closely comparable to 20 Minutes in offering broad-topic French news coverage with digital-first extensions.
- Le Parisien: Major French regional/national daily (now Le Parisien-Aujourd'hui en France) with strong digital reach. Directly comparable to 20 Minutes as a free-access digital news platform serving general French audiences across national and regional topics.
- BFMTV: Leading French continuous news TV channel with a large digital news site. Comparable to 20 Minutes TV + 20minutes.fr as an integrated live-TV and digital news destination targeting general French audiences.
- L'Express: Major French news weekly with a substantial digital footprint covering politics, economy, and society. Comparable to 20 Minutes as a French digital news outlet serving generalist audiences with advertising and subscription offerings.
- HuffPost France: French edition of HuffPost, a digital-native general news and lifestyle platform. Closely comparable to 20 Minutes as a free, ad-supported, multi-vertical digital news outlet targeting mass French audiences.
- Slate.fr: French edition of the digital news magazine covering news, culture, and lifestyle. Comparable to 20 Minutes as a free, ad-supported French-language digital news outlet with broad-topic coverage and multimedia extensions.
Emerging players
- Brut: Digital-native French media company focused on social-first video journalism. Comparable to 20 Minutes' 20 Minutes TV and social-heavy strategy as a digital-first French news brand monetized via social platforms and advertising.
- Konbini: French digital-native media brand covering pop culture, entertainment, and viral content. Comparable to 20 Minutes' lifestyle/entertainment verticals as a free, ad-supported, social-distributed French digital publisher.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
20 minutes social profiles
Digital presence20 minutes financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
20 minutes leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
20 minutes subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries8 records
20 minutes funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
20 minutes M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about 20 minutes
What does 20 minutes do?
20 Minutes is a French-language free digital news platform that delivers real-time news coverage across general news, sports, entertainment, lifestyle, and practical information. The company distributes content through its 20minutes.fr website, mobile applications (iOS/Android), 20 Minutes TV live streaming, a podcast network, and vertical sub-brands such as Sportune (sports) and Minutes Maison (lifestyle/home).
Is 20 minutes a public or private company?
20 minutes is a private company. It is classified as unknown and is currently operating.
When was 20 minutes founded?
20 minutes was founded in 2001. It employs 101 to 250 people.
Where is 20 minutes based?
20 minutes is headquartered in Paris, France, in the Europe region.
Who are 20 minutes's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Franceinfo, Le Monde, Le Figaro, Le Parisien, BFMTV, L'Express, HuffPost France and Slate.fr. Emerging players are Brut and Konbini.
Does 20 minutes have an API?
No public API is recorded for 20 minutes.