The year 2024 is over, it’s time to take stock. For a tech journalist specializing in televisions like me, the sales figures for my preferred sector are once again bleak. As for the past ten years, television sales are collapsing in France. And yes, it is partly the consumption habits of the younger generations that are changing everything.
The great crisis in the television market in France
Some countries around the world are still in the process of equipping themselves with televisions. On a global scale, the market is therefore not in crisis. More locally, however, it is complicated. According to Statesman, For at least fifteen years, the share of households in France equipped with at least one television has been declining. In 2010, we had 98.4% of households equipped. In 2024, we drop to 89.7%. Another strong figure: In 2023, only 3.6 million units were sold, compared to 6.1 million in 2016, a drop of almost 4% in seven yearsaccording to GfK data.
Televisions have a fairly long renewal cycle. Recent figures sometimes contradict each other a little, but it seems that on average, the French change their TV every 5 to 10 years. For comparison, we are looking at an average of 2 to 3 years for smartphones. This renewal cycle has been rather stable for a while, it may even be decreasing among the richest and most tech-savvy.. It is therefore not at all the equipment rate which explains the slowdown in sales.
So what? Is it the lack of innovation? Are we hitting a technical glass ceiling? Again, not at all. The small world of TVs evolves at least as quickly as that of smartphones from year to year. Brightness level, contrasts, compatible technologies linked to cinema or gaming, fluidity of the panels, processor power, AI and connected functionalities… on almost all points, TVs innovate and progress quite drastically each year. A high-end product from even 3 years ago is a mid-range product today.
Actuallythe underlying problem seems to lie in a major cultural change : new generations, notably the famous generation Z, are redefining the uses of screens, relegating the television to a secondary role in the home.
The smartphone, king screen for generation Z
For the first time, the rate of smartphone equipment (92%) has exceeded that of televisions (89.7%) in French homes, according to a recent report from theMy face. This shift illustrates the cultural change that we have just mentioned: we have entered a new era. However, according to figures from Médiamétrie, an average French person spends more than 3 hours a day consuming live television. And that’s without counting YouTube, Netflix or video games.
Nothing to do. Regardless of the reality of the uses, the smartphone has become the main screen for a majority of French peopleand even more for those under 25. Young people don’t care about having access to a large, comfortable screen, they are looking for practicality above all. A smartphone is ultra-versatile and ultra-practical. That’s what counts.
The rise of tablets, particularly among the young Alpha generation (the famous “iPad Kids”), is reinforcing the dynamic. Both more portable and versatile than televisions and more comfortable than smartphones for consuming content, tablets are experiencing strong growth. Still according to Médiamétrie, even if the time spent in front of the TV remains quite high for the average French person, it only decreases from year to year. The time spent on smartphones and tablets continues to increase.
The younger generations’ disenchantment with televisions is particularly striking. For Generation Z, the living room screen is often perceived as obsolete, incapable of meeting their needs for mobility and personalization. Online series, films and videos are consumed on individual screens, often in personal spaces, reducing the television to occasional or even communal use, for moments with family or friends. Even for console video games, more and more young people are connecting their PS5 and Nintendo Switch to PC monitors for example.
Faced with these changes, television manufacturers must rethink their strategy. Technological advances, as impressive as they are, seem insufficient to seduce a generation that favors practicality and immediacy. So manufacturers are changing their tune. Increasingly, TVs are presented as multimedia hubs, central platforms of modern connected homes. Screens are getting bigger and bigger, to bring a cinema moment, often collective, to the home. Ever more sophisticated gaming and cinema features are emerging in order to attract more expert consumers towards more expensive products, the price of which can partially compensate for the loss of volume sales. In any case, the challenge is enormous because Samsung, LG, TCL and company must fight against an almost inexorable cultural evolution.
