Almost two-thirds of the French have watched at least one minute of the Tour de France this year.
End to end, 42.4 million people attended the television broadcast of La Grande Boucle, against 39.6 in 2020. The competition broadcast by France Televisions since 1985 saw a record audience for its 2021 edition.
“
It was a great edition of the Tour de France.
We can see it clearly in our audiences, they are excellent, whatever the criteria
”, welcomes Laurent-Éric Le Lay, sports director at France Television.
A total of 180 hours of programs have been dedicated to the race since June 26 on the various channels of the group.
On average 3.8 million people attended broadcasts on France 2, for 39.4% audience share.
A program in progress compared to the two previous years.
The results are weaker on the afternoon broadcasts on France 3: 2.4 million viewers on average and 21.6% audience share.
The major milestone of July 14 was the most watched since 2013, averaging 5.9 million viewers and peaking at nearly 8 million.
Read also: Behind the scenes of the postponement of the Tour de France
This success can be explained in several ways.
First, unlike last year, the Tour took place at the start of summer.
In 2020 the organizers were forced to postpone the race to September.
Improving the context could also play a role.
“
I think that in the minds of the French, even though we are very far from the end of the pandemic, we have the impression that the worst is behind us.
People want to come back to life.
The difference can be seen even in the images of the Tour, this year we have seen a lot of people on the roads
”.
Increase in advertising revenue
In this wave of new spectators, one age group has particularly progressed: young people. The 15 to 24-year-old viewer range has increased by 23%. “
For a very long time we thought that the competition was watched by people 50 and over
, admits Laurent-Éric Le Lay.
But the public seems to be renewing itself
”. A movement that he attributes to the “
cycling phenomenon
”. Young people would do more cycling, as transport or leisure, an interest that would be reinforced by the pandemic. And this mode of travel is encouraged by investments from the public authorities.
The good audiences of the Grande Boucle
ultimately
have repercussions
on the advertising revenue side. “
The enthusiasm of the French for the Grande Boucle is also shared by advertisers. [...] The advertising turnover jumped once again to reach a historic record in increase of 11.8% compared to 2020, and even of 17% compared to 2019
”rejoices Marianne Siproudhis, general manager of France Télévisions Publicité. In total, the French audiovisual group collaborated with 116 advertisers, "
including 67 new
".
During this race, France Television's advertising agency also experimented in the field of segmented advertising. It offered a showcase to the Giant brand, bicycle manufacturers: "
This is the first time that an advertiser has positioned itself on segmented TV during a French sporting event
". This new advertising lever supported by digital tools could represent a market of 150 million euros for television players within 5 years.
