When you open a sports magazine in 2024, you no longer find the same sections as you did five years ago. Formats have changed, topics have expanded, and regulations have caught up with certain editorial practices. Here’s what has concretely changed in the landscape of sports journalism this year.
Regulation of Sponsored Content in Sports Journalism
A point that most readers do not see directly, but which profoundly alters what is (or is no longer) found in the pages of a sports magazine. Since 2026, a decree related to the law governing influencers requires content creators exceeding a certain subscriber threshold to register in a national registry. They must provide verified engagement metrics and clearly display the mention “advertisement” or “commercial collaboration” for any paid content.
The direct consequence for magazines: it is prohibited to promote sports betting and subscriptions to predictions through this content. Sections that relied on influencer-columnists or sponsored video clips have had to revise their model. You can find on the latest updates on 11 Le Magazine a regular follow-up of these editorial developments applied to football and team sports.
In practice, this means that “prediction” supplements have nearly disappeared from newsstands. Magazines that still maintain a betting section now do so under a strict editorial framework, without any affiliate links or displayed commercial partnerships.
Support for Pluralism and Local Sports Magazines
We often talk about major national titles, but part of the renewal of sports journalism is happening at the local level. A decision published in 2026 extends the support for pluralism in regional and local periodical press by two years, until December 31, 2027. This support concerns non-daily publications that meet criteria for periodicity and content related to political and general information.
Several local sports magazines benefit from this system when recognized as general information titles. It is a concrete lever for local multi-sport editorial teams covering trail running, cycling, or amateur team sports in their region.
For a reader, the impact is tangible: these titles can maintain a more extensive pagination, hire freelance reporters, and offer in-depth features on local sports life. Without this support, many of them would have shifted to a 100% digital format, with reduced publication frequency.
Editorial Formats in Sports and Health: What Has Changed in 2024
The intersection of sports and health is not new in magazines, but the way it is addressed has evolved. There is a clear trend towards practical, field-oriented features: programs tailored for children, protocols for recovery after injury, nutritional guides indexed to specific disciplines (trail running, cycling, swimming).
What distinguishes recent issues from previous years:
- Health features that start from a concrete sports use case (for example, managing tendinitis during trail preparation) rather than a general medical concept
- An increasing focus on children’s sports participation, with age-appropriate and discipline-specific recommendations
- Editorial partnerships with sports health professionals, named in the articles, which enhances the credibility of the content compared to unverified blogs
The sports magazine of 2024 resembles a practical guide more than a simple report on competitions. Editorial teams that have made this shift report stronger reader engagement with these formats, although feedback varies depending on the covered disciplines.
Trail Running and Cycling: Two Disciplines Driving Sales
In the landscape of sports magazines in France, trail running and cycling hold a special place. These two disciplines generate a loyal readership, willing to purchase an issue for a specific technical feature (shoe selection, routes, physical preparation).
Titles specializing in these areas have successfully capitalized on a growing community of practitioners. Their 2024 issues stand out with field content: comparative equipment tests conducted over several weeks, experiences shared by amateur runners, and maps of regional routes.
Sports Journalism and Video Games: An Editorial Convergence
One might think that sports and video games remain two separate editorial universes. Recent issues of several magazines show otherwise. Esports and sports simulations (football, cycling, motorsports) now occupy regular sections, sometimes even cover features.
The reason is simple: the readership of sports magazines also engages in sports video gaming, and editorial teams have understood this. You can find game reviews alongside tactical analyses of real matches, interviews with professional esports players in the same pages as profiles of athletes.
The French video game sector has also relaunched several projects related to sports, which feeds the news pages of magazines. This convergence is not a marketing gimmick: it responds to measurable demand from the readership, particularly among those under 35.
What Sports Magazines Cover Differently in 2024
Beyond major competitions and transfers, sports editorial teams have broadened their scope. Some recurring themes in recent issues include:
- The economy of sports (revenue models of clubs, media rights, hospitality) addressed in an accessible way for a non-specialist audience
- Sports life in the city, with features on urban infrastructure, running routes in dense environments, and neighborhood gyms
- Profiles of amateur or semi-professional athletes, gradually replacing formatted interviews with international stars
- Environmental issues related to sports events, treated from a logistical rather than activist perspective
The sports magazine of 2024 is aimed at a practicing reader, not just a spectator. This editorial repositioning partly explains why some titles maintain their sales at newsstands while general press is declining. The upcoming editorial season will confirm whether this trend becomes a sustainable standard for the sector.
