Television, computer, smartphone, VOD… How Médiamétrie wants to measure channel audiences more precisely

We no longer consume TV in the same way as we did five or ten years ago. Audience measurement will therefore also evolve.

Until now, only people with a television were surveyed. More precisely, a panel of 5,000 households, with a box measuring what each member of the family watches live, delayed or in replay. The problem is that more and more viewers are watching TV programs on their computer, tablet or smartphone. And their viewing is not counted.

From January 1, 2024, the whole of France will be taken into account, i.e. 62.4 million individuals aged 4 and over: Médiamétrie will include homes without a television in its calculation. 500 of them will receive the famous box. And even those who have a TV, but who tune into a channel via another screen, such as a mobile phone for example, will be considered.

Objective: better reflect reality

The audiences measured will therefore be larger. The more homes and screens we measure, the bigger the audience, it’s mathematical. Teenagers for example: it’s rare to see them in front of the television. They generally prefer to lie on their bed with their computer, but that does not prevent them from watching a TV program such as a football match, star Academy or reality TV… Audiences will therefore be higher, but because they will correspond better to reality. This is good news for the channels: they will be able to adjust their advertising rates.

In the same spirit, Médiamétrie has been measuring “out-of-home” audiences for almost four years. This represents 9% of the total television audience, between January and October 2023. “Outside home”, this means in your second home, with friends, at the hotel, in a café, a train station, in the car or in the metro. This is more common during school holidays, especially in the summer, as people go out more. Last July and August, this practice reached 12% of the total audience.

Previews and VOD coming soon

From March 2024, preview content will also be measured: that which the channels offer in preview, before their broadcast on the air. This is happening more and more.
And in the fall of 2024, it is the video-on-demand platforms that will come under Médiamétrie’s scanner, whether they like it or not. The institute is working on a tool capable of quantifying consumption on major services like Netflix and Prime Video. Who, for the moment, give their own viewing figures, which are unverifiable… but not for long.