The 2023 Tour de France, one of cycling's most prestigious races, witnessed a surge in viewership numbers as it attracted a staggering total TV audience of 42.5 million for the national broadcaster, France Télévisions.
The noteworthy increase signifies an additional million viewers compared to last year’s count and signals a growth rate of approximately 2.4%.
There have been remarkable improvements in the coverage of the FTV2 channel since the beginning of the year, as its average audience has grown by around 130,000 in the past year and reached 4.2 million this year, which is a record high for the channel.
However, not all news was positive on this front; sister channel FTV3 reported slightly reduced viewing figures at an average count of about 2.4 million.
The pay-TV network Eurosport, another key broadcast partner for the tour, drew an average audience of approximately 112k during its scheduled programming slots, which equates to roughly 1.2% of the general audience.
Despite some highs and lows across different channels covering the race event, there was overall progress observed with respect to average watch time:
It saw significant progression up by nearly a quarter-hour timespan per viewer from previous data findings as French fans spent almost six hours in consumption of footage related directly or indirectly to their beloved sporting event.
In particular, Stage 16's time trial attracted immense domestic attention because Danish rider Jonas Vingegaard delivered a magnificent performance en route to his resounding victory.
The peak viewing figure for the stage was over eight point seven million enthusiastic spectators, making it the second highest-rated stage according to current metrics spanning the past couple of decades.
Moreover, digital platforms enjoyed exponential growth too gaining whopping twenty-two million views online and social content combined shattering all prior records held under the same category thereby adding an extra feather cap already illustrious history-revered sports tournament.
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