The Blockbuster That Is Television

Michael Hedges February 28, 2011 Follow on Twitter

Most everyone in the television world is just pleased as punch with the Great Recovery of 2010. Swept away are the spider webs of recession, depression, viewer confusion, advertising dearth and austerity budgets. Bigger is back; audiences, advertisers, screens and shows. What’s not to like?

TV viewers in France watched more TV per day in 2010 than any other year in recorded memory, reported measurement institute Médiamétrie. Of course, winters were dreadful and kept people inside. Plus, there was lots of football. Be that as it may, French viewers watched the regular “classic” television three hours and thirty-two minutes each day, seven minutes more on average than in 2009. No more “to the barricades” for French people. They’re watching TV, more than just for the weather forecasts.

There may be something, though, to that connection with weather. Flat screen TV sales jumped in 2010, one indicator of being homebound… or football crazy. The number of French households with flat screen TVs jumped to 69.9% from 54.1% one year on. HDTV households increased to 63.8% from 43.1%. December viewing topped four hours a day. “Ho, ho, ho,” said St. Nicolas.

But that big jump in HDTV households also means more – many more – eyeballs for digital TV channels, which did not exist before 2005. In 2010, nearly one in five (19.7%) TV minutes were digital TV minutes. The number of digital TV programs with viewers more than one million nearly doubled in one year.

Catch-up viewing is catching on. About half of French TV watchers see their favorite shows at times other than those scheduled by television channels. Most viewed on delay: Grey’s Anatomy.

Médiamétrie breaks down the big winners into three unsurprising categories. Sports always draws huge audiences in France and 2010 did not disappoint. Two World Cup matches – France v. Mexico and France v. Uruguay – drew at least 15 million viewers.  The Six Nations rugby championships gave France 2 its highest rated hours during the entire year. And there was plenty of European and local league football to attract viewers to digital channels.

Dramatic serials pulled about one-quarter of all television viewing. And much of that was for popular American series. Police procedural The Mentalist, shown on TF1, drew more than 10 viewers and medical drama Dr. House, also known as House M.D., remained a big draw. On France 2, episodes of Without A Trace (FBI: portés disparu), Cold Case and Castle attracted 6 million viewers. Without A Trace and Cold Case are police procedurals originally produced by Jerry Bruckheimer for the US network CBS. Castle, a police procedural with a comedic hook, is a production of ABC Studios. Another police procedural, NCIS, drew about 7 million viewers for M6.

French productions were hardly left behind and, notably, several displayed a real knack for that “transmedia” experience. Clem, a comedy about a pregnant 16 year old produced by Merlin Productions for TF1, drew nearly 10 million viewers for an episode last February. Fans can interact with the characters through Clem’s blog (Blog de Clem), which includes web-only short episodes. Of course, there’s a Facebook page. The critically acclaimed ARTE production Addicts goes a step further into the multi-media netherworld, inviting viewers to create episodes, virtually, of course.

French viewers might be enticed by US produced procedural drama but they prefer comedy home-grown. The romantic comedy Une famille formidable (A Wonderful Family), also on TF1, drew more than 8 million viewers.

Movies are the third pillar of French television, blockbusters scoring very well. Star Wars was a big hit for W9. The French blockbuster comedy Bienvenue chez les Ch’tie (Welcome to The Sticks) drew more than 14 million viewers.

All this big viewing has benefited French television companies. TF1’s 2010 net profit nearly doubled, according to its year-end financial report (February 17).  Ad revenue rose 8% to €1.55 billion and total revenue rose 11% to €2.6 billion. Full year ad revenue for rival TV broadcaster M6 rose 12.5% in 2010 to €725 million.

Once upon a time, the rule for television programming was “you’re only as good as your lead-in.” Transmedia and catch-up TV may make that obsolete eventually. But with 2010 audience and revenue figures as a lead-in, 2011 could be a blockbuster year for television.

See also in ftm Knowledge

Media in France

French audiences are moving fast to every new platform. Mobile and Web media challenges the old guard while rule makers seek new directions. Media life in France... and a few secrets. includes updated Resources 140 pages PDF (November 2011)

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