Laura Carollo
Research expert covering cinema and film
Reality TV in France - statistics & facts
Introduced to the small screens with the broadcast of the program Loft Story in April 2001, reality TV celebrates its twentieth anniversary in France in 2021. TV reality programs, often adapted from American or British productions like Big Brother, have left their mark upon the French audiovisual landscape and have become some of the most popular and most broadcasted types of programs ever seen on French television. From singing and dancing competitions, to the survival in hostile conditions or dating shows- there's something for every type of viewer.
An everchanging concept
The very definition of what constitutes reality TV is constantly evolving. If the programs originally focused on the daily life of selected anonymous people, the content of these programs branched out over the years to offer increasingly diversified content to consumers. Reality TV’s success is mostly built on ‘cohabitation reality TV’ programs, which consist of the meeting and living together of pre-selected participants for a set period of times. These participants are often presented with objectives such as completing a series of tests, breaking through a particular professional field or succeeding in romantic encounters. These shows are sometimes scripted in order to maintain the public’s interest and keep the action intense. However, these types of programs have lost the monopoly of the sector in favor of new formats, such as various game shows (culinary, beauty, musical) or talent shows. As of 2020, the dating show L’Amour est dans le pré, adapted from the British version Farmer Wants a Wife, was one of most popular TV program in France. The show follows single farmers looking for their soul mate among viewers and as of today accounts for 16 seasons in France.A fierce competition
French viewers were introduced to the concept of reality TV via the channels M6, with Aventures sur le net and the hit Loft Story, and TF1 with the survival show Koh-Lanta (adapted from Survivor) and the singing competition Star Academy. The broadcasting of this new type of program on channels that are among the most popular of the French audiovisual landscape has made waves, piquing the interest of their competitors. Today, programs that can be described as reality TV are broadcasted by a large majority of free channels, including W9, NRJ 12 and TFX, which have made a specialty out of it. For the past few years, French video consumption has been driven by video on demand, and this trend has had an impact on the reality TV industry. However, if the various reality TV programs or other types of consumption are multiplying on platforms like Netflix, French productions like the French adaptation of The Circle (Netflix) are still marginal.
