- Margaux, Paul, Renaud ... TV game candidates are talking about them and breaking records.
- These records are favored in programs with recurring champions, which retain spectators.
- The chains encourage the craze around one or a candidate, who brings them beautiful audiences.
Her fine journey in Don't forget the lyrics brought her into the history of the show. Margaux, 24, finally left the television game presented by Nagui last week after winning 530,000 euros in his 59 victories. The “maestra” thus broke a double record for the France 2 program: record of gain, and record of participation.
In early January, after spending just over a week on the show, the young woman entered the top 7 “maestros”, that is to say the best players in the game. On January 22, she became the queen of the program by accumulating 424,000 euros in earnings. She thus exceeded the record of 410,000 euros established by Kevin in 2018. Then, on January 30, the champion beat the record of victories (55) held so far by Renaud, present on the show from December 2018 to January 2019. If this resident of Saint-Malo was finally eliminated on February 3, her impressive journey did not fail to be relayed by many media - including 20 Minutes .
Margaux, Paul, Marie-Christine and the others
Margaux is not the only TV game champion to have made headlines in recent months. There was Paul, the champion of the 12 Coups de midi on TF1, eliminated on October 10. Public darling, this 19-year-old Grenoble history student with Asperger's syndrome spent more than five months on the Jean-Luc Reichman show, becoming the show's youngest champion. With 153 participations, and 691,500 euros of gain, he however failed to beat the record (193 participations and 809,392 euros of gains) of Christian Quesada, the former candidate, who has since hit the headlines - he has been imprisoned in March 2019 for possession and dissemination of child pornography images.
Quesada himself, who held the French record for participation in a televised game, was surpassed by a candidate ... from Everyone wants to take his place , on France 2. It is Marie-Christine, who beat in November 2018 the world record for solo participations in a TV game. Between April and December of that year, she accumulated 213 victories, pocketed 196,900 euros and won a car and four trips.
Prepare to break records
You don't become a game show recordman or recordwoman by chance. We know the story of Margaux, who had tried the first time, without going very far, to participate in Don't forget the words . By trying her luck again, the young woman learned more than 750 songs by heart, those which she considered "essential", in order to make sure to stay as long as possible on the show.
Marie-Christine, from Tout le monde wants take his place , had explained in Ouest-France in 2018 that his impressive general culture came from his father, "a learned worker [whose house] was filled with books". The candidate, who studied literature, English and management, prepared for each program with a notebook in which she wrote down the themes on which she had been questioned and notes on the subjects she was less familiar with.
André, who left Questions for a champion in June 2015, holds the show's winning record, ie 75,500 euros - remember that participation is limited to five. Shortly afterwards, he explained to Télé 7 Jours : “I studied a total of thirty books, I filled eight large format notebooks with what I did not know. I made graphics, a sort of genealogy of the ancient Greek gods… (…) I also made a notebook with lists to learn by heart, like the main Nobel prizes since 1915. ”
Recurring Champions
All these games have in common a principle, that of the champion or the recurring champion, which remains several days weeks, and even months. The game therefore works like a soap opera, with twists and turns and suspense. Viewers are waiting to know how long the champion will last. "The recurring candidate is a fairly recent idea" in France, says Dominique Bernard, one of the most prolific TV game players, who has published since 2015 the Guide for the TV candidate , and runs the blog jeuxteleactu.com. “The first modern recurring champion game is Everyone Wants to Take Their Place [launched in 2006]. "
“Having a recurring candidate who breaks records increases audiences. People watch the show more, whether they like and support the champion or hate him and wait for his downfall, "decrypts this game specialist, who has participated in more than fifty of them since Astro Match in 1988.
Audience records
Don't forget the lyrics thus broke audience records with the end of Margaux's journey. The effects of the "Margaux wave" are still being felt. "Since [his] departure (...) Monday evening, the dynamics have continued," Nagui wrote on Saturday on Instagram. “ Don't forget the lyrics remain number 1 every night this week, on both shows. "And the presenter to communicate the results of the week, which saw Séverine replace Margaux as" maestra ":" The first issue brings together an average of 2,768,000 viewers and 18.4% of PDA [audience share] each evening at 6:40 p.m., then 3,769,000 and 19.3% at 7:20 p.m. ”
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since the departure of @margauxnoplp on Monday evening, the momentum continues @noplpoff remains number 1 every evening this week, and this on both programs. Yesterday #noplp gathered 2,478,000 viewers and 17.2% of PDA at 6:40 p.m. At 7:20 p.m. 3,590,000 viewers for 19.5% of audience share. Summary of the week: The first issue thus brings together an average of 2,768,000 viewers and 18.4% of PDA each evening at 6:40 p.m., then 3,769,000 and 19.3% at 7:20 p.m. Tombeuse de Margaux, Séverine now peaks at 10 wins and 54,000 euros. Could it in turn get closer to the Masters? See you Monday @ france2 @noplpoff 🎤🌈
A post shared by Nagui (@naguiiiiiii) on Feb 8, 2020 at 12:45 am PST
As for the 12 noon shots , Paul's elimination last October was followed by 3.89 million viewers on average between 11:55 am and 12:48 pm, according to Médiamétrie. This is the best historic performance in terms of market share for the program, which attracted 43.9% of PDAs.
"A real attachment"
"There is a leafy side, there is a real attachment," said Nagui on France Inter on February 3 about the course of Margaux. Sonia Devillers pointed out to him in L'Instant M that Everyone wants to take their place is in direct rivalry with Les 12 Coups de midi . "When [Jean-Luc Reichmann] has superchampions you suffer from it, you immediately feel the difference in the audiences? Asked the journalist. Nagui replied in the affirmative: "When we beat Attention à la marche [broadcast from 2001 to 2010 at noon on TF1], there was no champion. Then they changed the show and they put on a show with a champion who reinstalled that flip side. There is no secret. "
It is therefore in the chains' interest to build an eye-catching storytelling around the story of a candidate. An "impressive journey" attracts the interest of journalists, who follow it over time, and spectators, who comment on it on social networks. In September, Jean-Luc Reichman was questioned by the C'Cauet team on NRJ about rumors of Paul's upcoming defeat. He then declares: "I must admit that since the start of the school year, the more we talk about it, the better the audience. So keep talking about it, don't hesitate to say that it is falling, since I can't wait until tomorrow noon to find out if it will still stay. "
Paul has, for several months, left the adventure. However TF1 does not wince. Since November 21, Eric, a 46-year-old Breton candidate, has been winning the 12 Coups de midi . This Wednesday, his overall prize pool amounted to 463,880 euros in winnings and gifts as described on the Télé Loisirs site . The faithful of the show are already pawing at the idea that a new record should be set.
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