TF1 was hit hard with the broadcast of the semi-final between France and Germany.
What place does last night's game hold in the history of television viewers? This very big hit is in the top 10 for all-time highest ratings in television history. With 19 million 231 thousand viewers for 68.8% of the audience, this French-German program is the sixth most followed program by the audience, of all channels combined. This means that Thursday evening will be a milestone for TF1 and for Gregoire Margoton who witnessed perhaps one of the best moments of his career as a commentator at the moment of the final whistle.
At this very precise moment, the Médiamétrie boxes that count TV viewers must have been jolted, risking overheating, like many of us. Historically, football has been the biggest driver of the channels' audience. This also explains the fierce battle between channels to obtain the broadcasting rights to various competitions, national or international. In the ranking of the best fans, he reigns supreme. The highest crowd attendance in history was recorded on July 5, 2006. Ironically, it was actually a meeting between France and Portugal, and it is the same poster that we will see next Sunday. In 2006, France faced Portugal in the World Cup semi-final in Munich. In the 33rd minute, Zinedine Zidane scored the only goal of the match from a penalty kick.
1 goal to 0, and this is the final score of the match that was watched by more than 22 million viewers. 22 million 200 thousand to be exact. This is an absolute record for all channels combined. In second place is the France-Italy final, again in 2006, which brought together 22.1 million fans. Then comes another match between France and Italy in 2000, this time with 21.4 million viewers. Another event that is also a milestone in the history of television viewers. It happened a long time ago, on December 26, 1992, on TF1. Patrick Sebastian then provided entertainment using hidden cameras.
Dubbed “The Grand Bluff”, he is a contrived, disguised, and pretentious man who goes out to hunt down his fellow TV presenters. Among them is Jean-Pierre Foucault. The sequence became a cult. Remember, Patrick Sebastian, unrecognizable and a bit aggressive, appears in front of the host to ask for an autograph. This evening of entertainment was broadcast the day after Christmas, attracting 17.5 million viewers, equivalent to 74% of the audience. An absolute hit that hasn't been shaken since, except at sporting events. A movie follows. In 2010, “Bienvenue chez les Chtis” attracted 14.4 million viewers. Then comes “Enfoirés”, which gathered 13 million viewers in 2012 and 2013. The results are likely to be overcome next Sunday in the Euro 2016 final between France and Portugal. This is the wish expressed by the M6. So far, the plan is going smoothly for the channel that broke the bank to obtain the broadcast rights to 11 competitive matches: we are talking about a sum of between 18 and 25 million euros.
