Viewing Patterns of Anglophones vs. Francophones

This week's debut of the latest round of 'Star Acadamie' (a Francophone American Idol) on the TVA network drew an amazing 1,700,000 viewers. It means that almost one out of every four Quebeckers watched the show.

Looking at the ratings for both English and French shows reveals some interesting facts.The penetration level of Quebec produced shows is startling compared to the English side.
There are three English Canadians for every French Canadian, but francophones in absolute numbers watch more locally produced content than anglophones.

Using statistics for the week of January 26 to February 1 we see that;

• Nine out of the ten most viewed shows by Francophones were produced in Quebec. The only American show to break the top ten was a dubbed version of 'HOUSE'
• The ten most viewed shows by English Canadians were all produced in the USA.
• The top 10 shows produced in Quebec all drew over a million viewers.
• Only two Canadian produced shows (Rick Mercer & Corner Gas) drew over a million viewers.

Francophones have more choices when it comes to Canadian programming. Amazingly, in absolute numbers, a Canadian production company would be better off producing a show in French rather than in English, they will generally have a larger viewership.

Of course the wide variety of programming available on the English side splits the audience, but the penetration of local programming on the French side makes those shows much more influential. A prime example is the Sunday night talk show called 'Tout le monde en parle'. Artists, athletes and politicians face a round table panel and discuss current events. The show generally pulls in around a million and a half viewers and may be the most influential show in Canada.