French fans watch the World Cup final match between Argentina and France, broadcast live on television at a bar, in Paris, Sunday, Dec. 18, 2022. THIBAULT CAMUS / AP
What show can bring together so many households? On the evening of December 18, 2022, more than 24 million French viewers had their eyes focused on TF1 for the World Cup final between France and Argentina. The largest audiences for all programs and channels on French television are all linked to the major events of the Blues.
By establishing itself as a key player in world football, present in all major competitions since 1996, the French team has become a very lucrative brand. “While increased television presence increases advertising revenues, advertisers’ interest in football strengthens the interest of channels in broadcasting the sport.”argues sociologist Manuel Schotté in The Value of the Footballer (CNRS Editions, 2022).
And 1984 was a significant year in more ways than one. Les Bleus won their first European title at home and the creation of Canal+ helped to significantly increase the financial windfall of French championship clubs. It was the start of the race for audience figures for channels that now depended on advertising and paid subscriptions. In 1987, the year TF1 was privatized, the French Football Federation (FFF) sold the broadcasting rights to the channel for 6 million francs per match. This new market would experience spectacular growth. Twenty years later, in 2007, the two partners were linked by a contract worth 45 million euros per year.
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In contrast to TF1, in 1996, its competitor on Channel 6 displayed the slogan: « 0 % foot, 100 % M6 ». But, noting the progressive feminization of the audiences of the French team, the channel directed by Nicolas de Tavernost will then take a sharp turn. By appropriating part of the television rights of Euro 2016, including the France-Portugal final, M6 achieves audience records. While the major competitions are no longer fully visible in the clear, the matches of the Blues are still part of a list of protected events, now disputed between TF1 and M6.
“The star system”
The successes of the French team do not leave the advertising world indifferent. In 1984, Michel Platini, who guided the French team to victory at the Euro, was already known to the general public. For several years, the famous number 10 has been the first French footballer to string together ads on the television. Jean-Pierre Papin and Eric Cantona will then follow. But it is above all the 1998-2000 generation, titled at the World Cup and the Euro, which will invade the screens and advertising panels (Zinédine Zidane, Marcel Desailly, Emmanuel Petit, Bixente Lizarazu, Didier Deschamps…). “It’s a generation of incredibly sexy players who, particularly through their love lives, have entered the star system head on.”commented, in April 2000, Alain Cayzac, the publicist not yet president of Paris Saint-Germain, in The world.
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