The Tour de France hit the airwaves of France Télévisions.
42.4 million different French people watched at least one minute of the Grande Boucle on its antennas, with an increase of + 23% among 15-24 year olds.
The July 14 stage between Muret and Saint-Lary-Soulan won by Tadej Pogacar was watched by 5.9 million viewers with a peak of 7.9 million.
That is to say the best audience for a stage of the Tour since 2013. Enough to rejoice the patron of public service sports Laurent-Éric Le Lay who is planning on the Tokyo Olympics that France Televisions broadcasts at the end of the week.
Why is the Tour de France gaining more and more success on television?
LAURENT-ERIC LE LAY.
Beyond a job well done by our teams, we are here to highlight a great competition.
Already, we had a Frenchman, Julian Alaphilippe, from the first day then the grandson of Raymond Poulidor (Mathieu Van der Poel) in yellow: there were these beautiful stories which launched the event which was fascinating by elsewhere.
The Tour is a constantly evolving event with a course where something is constantly happening, including in the plain stages.
It strengthens the show.
We are also in a special period in our history when people need to come together and the Tour is a unifying event.
Is it always the same audience?
An interesting fact should be noted: we are achieving record market share among 15-24 year olds.
We therefore attract a younger audience.
Why ?
Because cycling is making a comeback in everyday life.
Young people are cycling more and more and as a result, they are more and more interested in the Tour.
Does this audience come for Franck Ferrand and heritage or for Laurent Jalabert and the analysis of the race?
Both.
People come to discover France and its landscapes, but we achieve our best audiences on the mountain stages where the fight is the most interesting.
Proof that the race also fascinates the public.
#Audiences #Cycling # TDF2021
🔥 A 108th edition that
captivated
the French
🔝 42.4 M TSP ahead of @LeTour
🔹 15-24 years old, + 23% coverage in one year
🔹 3.8 M TSP and 39.4 % of PdA on @ France2tv
👉 Best PdA since 2011
All the info: https://t.co/tJHj4ZfjSd pic.twitter.com/V7q5h0klS3
- France • tv sport presse (@ftvsport_pro) July 19, 2021
Do you regret leaving your commentators in Paris?
Not at all: if all goes well, they will be back next year.
We made this decision several weeks ago without knowing at the time when we were going to come out of the third wave of the Covid.
Above all, we did not want to take the risk of employees falling ill because some of the teams that worked on the Tour are leaving for the Tokyo Olympics.
Will Marion Rousse be on the air in 2022?
Of course.
Marion had a great event
(Editor's note: Julian Alaphilippe's companion gave birth to her son Nino in June)
.
But of course, she will be with us in 2022.
France Télévisions is already switching to the Olympics.
With what ambition?
Make the French forget the virus when they look at them.
We want them to forget that these are different Games, under a pandemic and behind closed doors.
We will give way to the emotions of sport, to the many French medals.
We have teams on site with more consultants than journalists to have experts for each discipline.
With the virus, we do not know what will happen in Tokyo and we will have to adapt constantly.
Are you not worried that the French will lose interest in these Games under Covid?
I do not believe.
Even more than usual, people want to watch events that bring them together.
When Teddy Riner goes for his third gold, everyone will want to watch him even at 10 a.m.
