The return of information to TF1.
It underlines the vitality of our newspapers and the renewed confidence of our audiences, with a 1 p.m. at the highest bringing together one in two viewers, and one 8 p.m. where we have up to 6.5 million. As for Good morning! The morningsometimes shaken in the criticism, it passed the milestone of 300,000 viewers every day for the first time last week, or nearly 10% of PDA, which was an end-of-year objective. The arrival of Alba Ventura or Candice Mahout provided even more density. We also put more images and the public supports it. On the magazine side, Reports attracts nearly 3 million viewers on Sundays and Saturdays, the equivalent of a prime.
Regarding LCI, led for a month by Guillaume Debré, its roadmap is to give the channel a slightly more general approach. The dominant international aspect remains (Ukraine but also the Middle East, China, the American elections). Added to this is politics dominated by economic issues, with the demand for the best possible expertise. The major challenge in 2025 for us is also that the news block sees the light of day on DTT and that equity is restored between news channels. It will give us the opportunity to be more watched. And we will be in HD.
The new 8 p.m. of France 2 which Anne-Sophie Lapix and Laurent Delahousse advertise on posters?
We consider that any time the public service seeks to differentiate itself, it is a good thing. A long information session is good if it is done to promote the work of the editorial staff and highlight the report. This has not had an impact on our newspapers since we have gaps that we have not experienced since 2015. It proves that we can each go our own way without making each other poorer. We have the mission to inform, they have a public service mission. We gained between 1 and 1.5 points on the 8 p.m. from Monday to Sunday and they instead lost a point. We are at 26% and 28% PDA from Monday to Thursday and between 27% and 31% on weekends. With an audience of around 5.5 million viewers.
The rise of connected televisions and its consequences for television broadcasters.
Smart TV equipment, which has become the majority in the United States with the gradual abandonment of cable, is a trend which is confirmed in France. Hence the emergence of TF1+. This results in distribution agreements with ISPs, with manufacturers and even with Arcom for positioning in rank 1 on the rail of connected televisions. Our viewers are going to have to learn how to click on an app. This work was done upon the arrival of Rodolphe Belmer, with Claire Basini. It is accompanied by a permanent improvement both in the TF1 + line up, with its information offering (live, Top Info, etc.), and by the tool so that functionalities make it easier to use. . When we watch programs, we prefer to see them on a TV screen. We say that the use is in mobility, therefore the smartphone. But we still realize that the dominant use, especially in the evening, is through the TV to share programs with the family.
Smart TV is an issue of renewal of the contract of trust with the viewer of a broadcaster like TF1 in its information meetings. This is a strategic priority for us: we think that in three or four years, there will be a switch from DTT to Smart TV, with more viewers equipped. If YouTube is taking over the TV screen, it’s because they understood that there was a use, and therefore advertisers. News remains a live product rather than offbeat consumption. But there are requests for magazines like 7 à 8, docs or reports like those of around twelve minutes that we launched last year for the 8 p.m.
Audiovisual represents a third of the digital carbon footprint due to its terminals, streaming or video on demand, according to an Arcom/Arcep study, with Ademe.
What to do? I hear this observation but French publishers must not have much influence in all the videos produced on social platforms like YouTube or TikTok. We apply cost-saving measures in the way we produce our videos. This has been valid on sets since 2018 with our LEDs or air conditioning control. We created the conditions for the lowest possible carbon emissions well in advance. We have also equipped all of our reporting cars with electricity. When we have to travel, we use the train, but when we want to be on the news as quickly as possible, we have to take the plane. Now, going to regulate the use of the user who spends their life on their smartphone or Smart TV seems complex to me unless you lock in the number of hours. This perhaps exists in certain states with authority. I’m not sure this can be done in France.
The American electoral campaign and its dynamic in favor of Trump.
Our teams on the ground are struck by the extent to which he mobilizes his activists and leads a very offensive campaign. Kamala Harris cannot mobilize with the same force. In Pennsylvania in particular, where we will have two special pages of around twenty minutes in our weekend newspapers, we can clearly sense a dynamic around Trump. If this state falls, I don’t see how she can win. The elections to the chambers are also rather favorable to the Republican camp. A bit like France, the United States is an extremely divided country. The polarization intended during the Bush Jr era was amplified by Trump. It is true not only among whites but also among populations of Hispanic origin who believe that there are too many undocumented migrants when it becomes complicated for them to find work. There are also economic reasons which are an important lever of electoral dynamism.
Media coverage of conflicts in the Middle East.
We are experiencing an immense paradox. We are inundated with images which are most often not produced by journalists. They are provided by third parties, armies or armed groups, or by civilians. Our dual challenge is both to verify them through our image cell of around thirty people and to continue to send teams to the site. When they enter a conflict zone, journalists are taken on board by the armies – Israeli and Lebanese – or Hezbollah which does its press tours. In Gaza, we work with locals, Palestinian fixers, one of whom received the Bayeux war correspondents prize. We work through intermediaries. It’s imperfect but it’s the only way to tell the story of the lives of Gazans since we are prevented from going there. This is also a trend, which makes accompanying Ukrainian troops also complicated – and I’m not talking about Russian troops. This allows states to keep the independent press out.
The dismissal of 10,000 employees from Milee, the advertising leaflet distribution company.
It’s never good news when you lay off thousands of people, but it is also an observation of market developments. We consume less paper and this applies to prospectuses and the print press. The use has disappeared as for postcards or mail. These kinds of trends force us to anticipate. It is anticipation and transformation that can save jobs and allow us to avoid losses by better training staff and offering them alternatives.
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