With such a great career, Jean-Pierre Foucault knows how to recognize his mistakes. This is why it is not so difficult for him to recognize the failure of Gladiators. Indeed, launched on December 27, 2024, the new issue of TF1 failed to convince the public.
After two bonuses, the program which pits sixteen gladiators, eight men and eight women, against ordinary candidates, was canceled due to lack of audience. As noted TV Mag, “the first issue aroused the curiosity of only 1.9 million people, or 11.2% audience share”.
While in the second week, the show Gladiators only gathered 950,000 faithful, or 5.9% of the public. And it is not for lack of having tried to attract fans with, in particular, an extraordinary system and a major advertising campaign before launching the program presented by Jean-Pierre Foucault, Denis Brogniart, and Hélène Mannarino.
Lacking audiences
In fact, aware that its show was going to continue to decline, the front page chose to replace its bonus scheduled for Friday January 10 with the show Jeff Panacloc Adventure 2024. The following Friday, it will be a new issue of Tourists that TF1 viewers will be able to find instead of Gladiators.
The last three numbers of this last program will finally be broadcast next Friday, in the second part of the evening, from 10:45 p.m., and the following Friday. This Tuesday, January 7, 2025, Jean-Pierre Foucault agreed to discuss the failure of the project.
Jean-Pierre Foucault accepts and recognizes the failure of “Gladiators”
“It’s true that we all messed up on ‘Gladiators’, we admit itand the channel made the necessary decision, that is to say to broadcast in the second half of the evening”first declared the 77-year-old presenter at the microphone of Europe 1.
Despite everything, this puts it into perspective and explains: “But you know, as they say, seedlings make you move forward. So the most important thing is to have more success than seedlings, which seems to be my case”. It remains to be seen in which show he will be able to bounce back.
In any case, we should see him again at the next Miss France ceremony. Indeed, despite rumors announcing his departure, Jean-Pierre Foucault assured that he would be present next year.
“It’s possible that it’s the channel that warns me first! We all work together, whether with the Miss France Company or TF1. I have been at TF1 since ‘1887’, so I think that we will make the decision in good faith and it is not a blogger who will announce it instead of us.e”, he however noted about his possible departure.
