France: football helps TF1, Canal+ and W9 to achieve their best TV audiences of the year

The French population watched television for 3 hours and 41 minutes on average per day (tracked via individuals aged four years and over) in 2014 (from 30/12/2013 to 28/12/2014), according to the consolidated audience measurement indicator Médiamat, and published by the audience measurement agency Médiamétrie institute on 05/01/2015. DEI (viewing time per individual) is down five minutes from 2013 (3h 46m), which had having fallen four minutes from 2012 (3h 50m).

The decline in DEI is observed all age brackets, but primarily in children aged four to 14 years (-8.5%, less than 11 minutes), in individuals aged 15 to 34 years (-7%, less than 11 minutes) and in "housewives under 50" (-5.2%, 12 minutes). Only the segment of individuals aged 50 and over remains stable, with a DEI of 5h 02m in 2014, the same as in 2013. Two main factors explain the decline in the DEI in France in 2014, according to Médiamétrie: changes in technology and weather conditions (see below).

Football (on free-TV channels) allowed TF1, Canal+ and W9 to achieve their best audiences in 2014. TF1 ended the 2014 year…