Live, platforms, replays... The French consumed 4h37 of video per day in 2023, according to Médiamétrie

Europe 1 with AFP // Photo credit: Mohamed Hassan/Pixabay 5:28 p.m., January 18, 2024

The time spent watching video content has reached 4 hours 37 minutes per day on average for French people in 2023, with live TV remaining the majority despite the growth in on-demand consumption, Médiamétrie said on Thursday.

In detail, old-fashioned TV still represents two thirds (67%) of French people's video time, compared to a third (33%, +7 points in four years) for on-demand content on streaming platforms or social networks.

Information and fiction, popular with the French

The prerogative of live remains information, 99% of which is consumed live, with in particular 22 million daily viewers for news, and sport (98% live).

Conversely, “the predominant genre of platforms is fiction” (series and TV films), explained Isabelle Maurice, director of studies, monitoring and foresight at Médiamétrie, during a press briefing.

Fiction represents 53% of programs watched in replay on channel platforms (compared to 20% of live program consumption) and 64% of programs consumed on subscription streaming platforms such as Netflix.

Proof that video on demand is becoming established in practices, 2023 recorded the "best audiences" in this area with "6.5 million people having viewed a program" on the platforms, i.e. 2.3 million more in five years, according to Isabelle Maurice.

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Adapting to these changes, chains continue to develop their own platforms and diversify their offers.

In addition to replay, they are increasingly offering online programs as previews before their television broadcast.

A practice favored by 10.3 million viewers in November, while the number of programs (40) having exceeded half a million viewers before their TV broadcast was multiplied by 10 in 2023 compared to 2022.

From this summer, the preview audience will be integrated into the overall audience of a program, a new step in a broader reform of Médiamétrie measurement, which is a benchmark in the sector.

Since January 1, it has taken into account the 10% of households without a television and the viewing of programs at home on internet screens (smartphones, tablets, etc.).

By the end of 2024, Médiamétrie will also begin to measure the audiences of Netflix and others, aiming in the longer term for a “total video” measurement concerning both traditional channels and platforms.