IPTV is gaining ground in France, helped by the deployment of fiber

IPTV is gradually eating away at DTT in French usage. On the other hand, they remain faithful to linear television and operator boxes.

The Regulatory Authority for Audiovisual and Digital Communication (Arcom) has published the results of its observatory of the audiovisual equipment of homes in mainland France for television viewing during the first half of 2024. We draw several lessons from this report .

The first is the confirmed dominance of IPTV for accessing television content. He became “the only mode of access for nearly 50% of households equipped with a television”we learn. A dazzling progression made possible in particular by the deployment of optical fiber. Consequence, DTT is less and less popularfavored only by 38.5% of users, a drop of 2.8 points over one year. Less than half (16.6% of households equipped with a TV) use DTT as the only means of watching television. This method of access to TV nevertheless remains well established in the west of France.

Linear television and ISP boxes are resisting

Despite the massive adoption of Smart TVs (87.2% of households accessing the internet and equipped with a television), users still do trust their ISP box to access their content (83.7%), rather than going through their Smart TV system (54%). We might think they were outdated, but box operators are still popular with the French.

Linear television remains the most practiced use of IPTV. But uses vary greatly depending on age. Those over 50 favor live TV programs, which are not even among the three most common uses among those under 25, who prefer video on demand, music and online video games. 50.3% of people consider UHD compatibility when purchasing a new TV. 25.9% are also interested in HDR format support.

“Homes have on average 5.7 screens for watching videos”explains Arcom, a stable figure for several years. The smartphone is the most common screen (92% of households are equipped with at least one), ahead of the television (89.7%), the computer (87%) and the tablet (47.5%). . With the appearance of new screens, the television is no longer as essential as before, especially among young people, the CSP+ and people living in large cities.