TF1, under pressure in its core business, is betting on a new digital era

2024-01-05 05:00:38

The set of the future TF1 morning program “Hello! », presented by Bruce Toussaint, in December 2023. STEPHANE GRANGIER / TF1

Will the date of Monday January 8 be that of a real renewal for the front page? Launch of the free streaming platform TF1 +, morning news, resurrection of the television series More beautiful life… The first major works of Rodolphe Belmer, CEO of the television group since February 2023, arriving following the failure of the merger between TF1 and M6, will take shape that day.

Read also: Article reserved for our subscribers With Rodolphe Belmer, TF1 enters a new era

Massive poster campaigns, multi-broadcast trailers, back-to-back interviews, teasing on social networks… the television group’s communications brought out the heavy artillery. This is regarding showing that the company is accelerating digitally “without giving up on the linear [comprendre la télé classique] », however. “We chose to create momentum so that it would have more strength”confides Ara Aprikian, the deputy general director in charge of content of the audiovisual group.

With these simultaneous launches, the TF1 Group (which also operates TMC, TFX, TF1 Séries Films and LCI), owned by the Bouygues group, wants to mark the occasion by displaying “a renewed ambition”, as Mr. Belmer explained on December 20, 2023, during a press conference for which several key figures from the channel came, from producer Arthur to sports journalist Grégoire Margotton, including the presenter of the weather forecast Evelyne Dhéliat.

“Irreversible change in uses”

Because if the TF1 Group progresses slightly in 2023 (if we combine all of its channels), with 26.9% audience share (+ 0.3 points compared to 2022), its flagship, the leading channel in France and Europe, lost 0.1 point, to 18.6%, and thus reached its lowest level since its creation in 1975.

At TF1, we prefer to salute the rejuvenation of audiences (23.7% for 15-34 year olds, a record for twelve years, up 0.6 points) and for commercial targets (23.3% for female managers). purchases under 50 years old, +0.5 points). However, the hypothesis of France 2 dominating the audiences in July, at the time of the Tour de France and the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, forces the front page to react.

Read also: Article reserved for our subscribers TF1 and M6 renewed on DTT for ten years with new agreements

More serious, perhaps, the heart of the profession is under attack through the gradual erosion of the influence of the small screen. Television viewing time has lost another seven minutes in 2023. And this, to the benefit of on-demand consumption. “This change in uses is irreversible, and this is what we want to understand by launching TF1 +”believes Mr. Belmer.

For the manager, it appears essential to invest massively in digital, even if the vast majority of revenue still comes from linear. The television group’s channels still bring in just over 1.5 billion euros in revenue per year, while MyTF1 barely exceeds 90 million euros. The fact is that the linear market is no longer growing, while the digital one is growing strongly – even if it is still mainly monopolized by the American platforms YouTube and Netflix.

You have 75% of this article left to read. The rest is reserved for subscribers.

1704431557
#TF1 #pressure #core #business #betting #digital #era