Executive Summary

The total time adults in France spend with media is set to plateau in the near future, and we forecast it’ll barely rise this year. But time spent with traditional media will continue its shift to digital.

How much time will adults in France spend with media in 2019?

On average, consumers in France ages 18 and older will spend 10 hours, 6 minutes (For simplicity’s sake, our style for expressing such a number in the text that follows will be 10:06.) per day with traditional and digital media this year.

How much time will be devoted to digital media? And how much is that rising?

Digital devices will account for an ever-larger slice of media consumption through 2021. This year, digital will exceed 41% of the total for the first time, and claim 4:09 each day, the biggest single share. TV, the second most popular medium in France, will occupy an average 3:35—more than a third of media time.

What part does mobile play in France’s time spent numbers?

Mobile will post the highest growth rates for time spent in 2019. Smartphone penetration is still rising in France, and many online activities are transferring to handsets and smaller screens.

What’s happening with print and radio?

Print newspapers and magazines and broadcast radio will register declines of between 1% and 2% in time spent this year. However, they retain broad appeal among older consumers. But that’s not enough to counterbalance the shrinking younger audience.

Is total media time still rising in France?

It seems not—or just barely. Until recently, time spent on digital platforms was broadly additive to traditional media time. The country is now entering a different phase: Digital media time is replacing traditional time, not adding to it.

WHAT’S IN THIS REPORT? This report presents our latest estimates and forecasts for time spent with media in France, including TV, radio and print as well as digital usage. It also looks at some of the key trends driving media consumption.

KEY STAT: The average time spent daily with media in France has already passed the 10-hour mark. While TV will account for more time than any other medium or device, smartphones are gaining rapidly.

Behind the Numbers

eMarketer’s methodology for its France time spent with media forecast is based on an analysis of 395 metrics from 33 sources. This analysis involves the collection of third-party data—primarily survey data—from adult respondents, asking them about their media use habits. Data is also sourced from online and mobile activity tracking services, government data and interviews with industry experts.

Using a bottom-up analysis, we assess and analyze reported time spent with each device and media activity across various sources. And where definitions differ, the data is normalized and interpreted in terms of our definition (i.e., the population in France ages 18 and older). The data is then aggregated with the time contributions from each device and media type to arrive at an estimate for average time spent with media per day.

In order to arrive at forecasts for growth rates by media and by device, this analysis is followed by extensive assessments of historical and expected future growth patterns with regard to device adoption, multiple and overlapping device usage, population and demographic factors and competitors to existing devices and activities.