The return to favor of television is confirmed after the deconfinement

Television can thank Covid-19. After a comeback during confinement with an individual listening time (DEI) “exceptionally high” in the words of the report on the latest wave of the barometer of the effects of the health crisis on the audiovisual sector published by the CSA, the small screen remains central in homes since the deconfinement. While average viewing in 2019 for the same period fluctuated around 3h40, mid-May and mid-June 2020 noted a clear appetite for TV. According to the CSA, the DEI “decrease from May 11, in connection with the deconfinement, but also with the particularly mild weather conditions at the end of Mayhe explains. The confinement still seems to have repercussions on the individual listening time, since the values ​​of June 2020 remain significantly higher than those of June 2019, under similar climatic conditions.“

From June 8 to 14, 2020, the French watched 26 minutes more television daily compared to the same week in June 2019. A total duration of 3h50, an increase of 13%. A phenomenon that particularly affects the over 65s. Seniors spent an average of 5h53 daily in front of the small screen, an increase of 54min or 18% compared to the same period in 2019. A phenomenon which is observed in other age groups but to a lesser extent. Thus the 4-14 year olds and the 15-24 year olds have almost regained their level of listening from last year despite a marked increase during confinement. Both watch television for 1h28 (+7min compared to June 2019) and 1h13 (+4min) respectively. 25-34 year olds watch it for 2h35 (+16min) and 35-49 year olds 3h34 (+18min).

The winners: information and fiction

These new viewers want information. “Audience levels in June 2020 are, in particular at lunchtime and in the evening from 8 p.m., higher than those in June 2019 and March 2020 before the lockdown, a sign of ever greater interest in news programs“says the CSA barometer. According to this study, the consumption of television programs has stabilized since deconfinement and gives pride of place to fiction (32%).

Most of the general interest channels recorded an upturn in audience share, in particular France3 (+1.2pt compared to March 2020) it recorded 9.7% of the audience share in May 2020, as did TF1 (+0.6pt ) with 19.5% audience share or M6 (+0.5pt) with 9.1%. France2, however, recorded a sharp drop of -1.3pt and 13.3% in audience share in May 2020. The news channels remained stable LCI (1.5% audience share), Cnews (1.4 %) or down BFM-TV (2.9%) and Franceinfo (0.6%), however all remain above their annual audience share for 2019.

The rise of video on demand

Regarding video on demand by subscription, it is following the same upward trend despite a drop since the peak of confinement. On these platforms, the curve of the duration of listening coupled with the age of the spectators is reversed and mainly driven by those under 35 years old. 15-24 year olds now spend nearly 3 hours a day watching this type of content, a marked increase in June, while the over 50s spend an average of 2h12min on it. According to the CSA”the intensity of use of subscription video-on-demand services seems to have polarized according to age following the launch of Disney+they write. The viewing time of the over 50s is less than 45 mins than that of 15-24 year olds in June 2020, while only 4 mins separated them at the beginning of March.“Among the various operators, Netflix remains largely in the majority, all age groups combined, while Disney+ fluctuates strongly from one month to the next.

For the moment, the websites of the channels or radios are recording, after the peak in March and the erosion in May, an audience still stronger in June 2020 than in February. All with the notable exception of the Team. This trend is also replicated in the applications of publishers, digital radios as well as web radios or radio networks.