It’s barely 10 o’clock this Sunday morning and, yet, there are 15 and a half million viewers tuned into the same TF1 program. This October 23, 2011, in Auckland, New Zealand, the All Blacks face the French XV in the World Cup final. A dream poster resulting in a record audience, despite the time difference. At the end of the meeting, around 11:45 a.m., there will be almost 18 million viewers.
How many will be in front of TF1, Friday, September 8 at the start of the evening, on the occasion of this France – New Zealand at the opening of the World Cup organized in France? Around 15 million? Possible, because, if there remains a major asset in classic, “linear” television – the one whose end is announced – it is that of high-level live sport.
And when it comes to a Rugby World Cup, in other words the third most popular televised sporting event in France (behind the Summer Olympics and the Football World Cup), it makes sense that the broadcasters expect high audiences. Especially since the competition (48 matches between September 8 and October 28) is organized at home, therefore without time difference, and above all fully visible on free-to-air channels.
Twenty First-Party Encounters
The TF1 group, holder of the rights to the competition, has sublicensed twenty-eight of the forty-eight matches: 10 to France Télévisions, 18 to M6. As usual, TF1, whose 20 matches are scheduled at 9 p.m., reserves the most prestigious posters and the national team matches – apart from France-Namibia, broadcast on France 2.
Paradoxically, Canal, the usual rugby channel with the Top 14, is absent from this World Cup, whereas, during previous editions, the pay channel was one of the broadcasters.
In 2007, during a World Cup organized jointly in France, Wales and Scotland, the France-England semi-final, in Saint-Denis (Seine-Saint-Denis), brought together, on TF1, 18 .3 million viewers. In the previous round, the France – New Zealand clash was watched by 16.6 million fans.
In 2011, during the tournament played in New Zealand, the six matches of the French XV brought together an average of 8.9 million fans, despite the time difference. In 2015, the World Cup in England also delighted broadcasters with, in particular, a France – New Zealand quarter-final at 12.2 million.
Lower due to an unfavorable time difference (matches at 9:15 a.m. or 9:45 a.m.), the audiences recorded during the 2019 World Cup in Japan had however enabled the France team to bring together 4.2 million supporters for the clash against England and up to 6.7 million for the quarter-final against the Welsh.
This 2023 edition, in France, should be one of audience records. Until now, the absolute record on French television for a sporting event remains the Argentina-France final, during the 2022 World Cup, with 24 million viewers.
Note that, for its first participation in such an event, M6 distinguished itself by having a consultant, in this case Marie Sempéré, a former international, comment on certain meetings. A first on French television in the World Cup.
