In total, 59% of the French population followed at least one minute of the 15 matches of the competition, which constitutes a record for a tournament of the six nations, since the coverage data is available, i.e. since 2006, indicates France Télévisions .
"These are very strong audience scores linked to a set of things, first of all to the exceptional course of the XV of France which achieved a Grand Slam that we had been waiting for 12 years", added to the victory against the All Blacks this fall, commented to AFP Laurent Le Lay, director of Sports for France Televisions.
In addition to the sporting performance, this audience success benefited from "a rather exceptional tournament program", with two meetings of the French team in the first part of the evening, including the last decisive match, and "a very ambitious editorial system which contributed to increasing the attractiveness" of the tournament, analyzes Laurent Le Lay.
For the first time since 2010, the French team remained undefeated in the tournament this year, ending with a victory at home on Saturday against England, followed by nearly 9 million viewers on average for an audience share of 38.9%, the best historical audience for a match of the six nations.
France's XV scrum-half Antoine Dupont scores a try against England in the Six Nations Tournament on March 19, 2002 at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis FRANCK FIFE AFP
The Blues have thus recorded their tenth Grand Slam in the competition, the fourth since the entry of Italy in 2000.
France 2 had deployed prior to this meeting a special program from 2 p.m. to 11:15 p.m., with the broadcast of the other two matches of the day and a 52-minute documentary entitled "XV of France, such a long wait" behind the scenes bruises.
In detail, the five matches of the XV of France attracted an average of 6.6 million viewers for a 38.1% audience share, while the non-French team matches attracted an average of 2.1 million viewers ( 18.3% audience share).
© 2022 AFP