PARIS: The market share garnered by the French version of Goosebumps, entitled Chair de poule, on France 2 is revealing that French children have as great a penchant for scares as their English-speaking counterparts. When the show premiered in September, it garnered a 28.3 percent market share for the 11- to 14-year-old target. That number rose to 50 percent a month later. The show went daily in November from its original schedule of twice a week.

While the show hasn’t hurt licensing initiatives, Jean-Michel Biard of licensor VIP credits the books as the driving force for the planned licensing program. ‘The Goosebumps phenomenon in France is not pulled by TV broadcasting, but by the huge success of the books. To date, more than three million books have been sold by [the French publisher] Bayard. It’s the reason why we are working on a long-term strategy.’ The first products will be released to the market this spring.