French fiction achieved audience peaks in 2020 on historic channels, recording its best results for at least fifteen years, according to a study by the National Center for Cinema and Comic Image (CNC), which also reports 'a limited impact of the health crisis on audiovisual production.
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Of the 100 best audiences for fiction programs on television, 95 were signed by French works (against 85 in 2019), "
a result that had not been achieved for at least fifteen years,
" says the CNC in a study published Tuesday. The organization analyzes all the fiction programs - excluding cinematographic and animated works - broadcast in 2020 on historical channels (TF1, France 2, France 3, Canal +, M6 and Arte), which represent the bulk of the financing of French fiction.
The first part of the TV movie
Why I live
, on TF1, evoking the life of the artist Grégory Lemarchal who died of cystic fibrosis in 2007, at the dawn of his 24 years, was the most watched in 2020 with 8.3 million viewers.
By comparison, the best American fiction audience had gathered 5.8 million viewers in front of
The Resident
.
Read also: Three reasons to watch
The Resident
on TF1
A decline in American fiction
French fiction is at the top of the list of best audiences in the category for the sixth year against the backdrop of a continuous decline in the supply of American fiction (-40% in ten years). Last year, it fell 7.6%, marking the fifth consecutive year of contraction. The study also notes a slight decline in the number of evenings devoted to fiction on historical channels: 787 in 2020, or 27 less than in 2019 (-3.3%). This is the lowest level reached since 2010. “
The channels had to save on their costs to cope with the collapse of the advertising market
” due to the pandemic, favoring less expensive programs, explained the CNC. to AFP.
However, the channels broadcast 55 new series in the first part of the evening, the same number as in 2019. More generally, the impact of the pandemic on audiovisual production assisted by the CNC “
was relatively limited in terms of volume global production
”with a decline of 11.6%, estimates the institution in another report. In detail, if fiction and animation have held up well, documentaries and the broadcasting of shows have on the other hand seen their volumes drop due to health restrictions.