Lidl to drop broadcast TV ads in France

The move comes half a year following a costly court loss, when a French appeals court judged the supermarket chain's advertisements were deceptive.

"We won’t invest in linear TV as long as the regulatory risks are too high, as they are today,” said Jassine Ouali, chief customer officer at Lidl France, in an interview with the trade magazine Strategies.

Linear television refers to traditional broadcast TV channels that adhere to a schedule compared to streaming platforms like Netflix, where viewers watch content on demand.

Last July the Paris appeals court ordered Lidl to pay French supermarket chain Intermarche 43 million euros ($50 million) after finding hundreds of the television spots that Lidl ran between 2017 and 2023 were likely to deceive consumers and amounted to unfair competition.

Lidl, France’s sixth-largest food retailer by market share, is appealing that ruling.

French consumer laws require products promoted to be available at that price for at least 15 weeks.

Ouali criticized the regulations as antiquated and intended to benefit traditional media.

"You just need to know Lidl TV footprint to understand that if we stop advertising in French media in favour of players like Google, Meta, Netflix, or Amazon, it will create a problem for media funding," he warned.

Lidl is France’s second-biggest advertiser, across all sectors and media, according to Kantar Media.

Linear television accounted for 22 percent of Lidl's total advertising spending last year, compared with "zero" planned in 2026, a spokeswoman told AFP.