The French team experienced a clear drop in popularity in 2024, in particular because of its boring Euro. However, it rivals the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in terms of TV audiences.
At a time when sport and particularly Football is somewhat deserting the free channels, a ranking always reminds us of the power of the number 1 sport in France. This is the ranking of the best annual audiences on French television. Football often takes the lion's share when the French team competes in an international competition. This 2024 vintage is no exception since the Blues' matches in Germany were well attended. However, for once, Didier Deschamps' men missed first place in the ranking of the 100 best audiences published by Médiamétrie.
The Olympic ceremonies tame the Blues
The prize goes to the other major sporting event of 2024, the Olympic Games. It is more precisely the ceremonies which were a hit in France. The opening ceremony organized on Friday July 26 was followed by 24.4 million viewers on France 2 (83.3% of the public). It comes before the closing ceremony, on Sunday August 11, followed by 17.9 million people in France. The French team is content with third place for its semi-final against Spain with 16.1 million viewers on TF1 (60.2% audience share).
A relative failure for the Blues who occupy 5 of the first 10 places in the ranking: 4th with the Portugal-France quarter-final (12.7 million on M6), 5th with Austria-France (11.3 million on TF1), the 6th with the France-Belgium round of 16 (11 million on TF1) and the 9th with Netherlands-France (10.2 million on M6). A decent overall performance since the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris took the other 5 places in a very sporty top 10, arousing massive enthusiasm. Despite the controversies encountered and a game that is not always attractive, the French team always attracts in important matches. Enough to reassure M6 which has acquired the rights to the 2026 World Cup in France.
France
