The premiere of the TF1 morning show with Bruce Toussaint: an overview of the audience and expectations

Preview of the launch of “Hello!” with Bruce Toussaint on TF1

The impact on morning audiences

The morning of January 8, 2024 marked a turning point for TF1 with the start of its new morning show, “Bonjour!”, hosted by Bruce Toussaint. This launch was part of a context of renewal for the channel, which also introduced the return of “Plus Belle la vie” in the afternoon. Despite the absence of an explicit audience target formulated by Thierry Thuillier, information director of the TF1 group, the evolution of the audience figures was anticipated with interest, especially since the time slot was previously allocated to youth programs.

The means deployed by TF1 for “Hello!”

• An innovative decor, imagined as a warm apartment, with a live panorama of the Pont Neuf in Paris.
• A team of columnists recognized for their expertise.
• A strong commitment to information and highlighting French regions with journalists such as Garance Pardigon on television news and Ange Noiret presenting the weather.

The system was in place and distinguished guests like Xavier Bertrand for the political interview and Pascal Obispo for culture set the tone for this first program.

Audience figures for the launch of “Hello!”

The face-to-face with “Télématin”, the competing show from France 2, produced interesting results. “Good morning !” captivated 512,000 individuals between 7:00 a.m. and 9:30 a.m., with a peak of 739,000 viewers, representing 15.3% audience share. For its part, “Télématin” retained its audience with 625,000 people, or 19.6% audience share.

To contextualize, the previous week, marked by a public holiday, “Télématin” had attracted an average of 634,000 spectators, corresponding to 25% audience share, while the TF1 cartoons brought together less than 100,000 curious people, i.e. approximately 3% audience share.

Challenges and prospects for TF1

If TF1 managed to divert part of the usual audience of “Télématin” for this first round, it remains to be seen if “Hello!” will be able to register as an unmissable event on television mornings. The coming weeks will be decisive in measuring public support for this new offer and TF1’s ability to establish itself in this competitive space.