171,000 viewers, a 4,5% audience share, and seven channels ahead of France 2. For "Celui où ils disent au revoir" (The One Where They Say Goodbye ), Léna Situations' move from the Accor Arena to public television was a disaster. On Saturday, September 12, France 3, TF1, France 5, M6, TFX, TMC, and W9 all performed better. Even reruns drew larger audiences.
France Télévisions banked on one of the most followed French influencers to try and reach a younger audience. But the young people didn't tune in, and the viewers who were watching chose something else.
Above all, the result raises an editorial question that millions of followers may have obscured: once Instagram , YouTube , and the attachment of her community are removed from the equation, what did Léna Situations actually have to offer the France 2 viewer? Influence doesn't guarantee stage talent or the ability to engage those who don't already follow you. And France Télévisions has invested nearly €200,000 in this gamble.
France 2 beaten by 7 channels: the crash is total
The detailed ratings are particularly damning. While Léna Situations drew 171,000 viewers, France 3 attracted 1,233 million with Meurtres à Orléans . TF1 garnered 431,000 viewers with a rerun of Vendredi, tout est permis.
France 5 reached 239,000 viewers with Échappées belles , M6 231,000 with The Rookie , TFX 203,000 with Chroniques criminelles , TMC 201,000 with New York , special unit and W9 191,000 with La Petite Histoire de France.
Seven channels therefore finished ahead of France 2, some with simple reruns.
Bercy packed in 45 minutes, France 2 deserted: a community is not the general public
Just a few days earlier, the 20,000 seats at the Accor Arena had sold out in just 45 minutes. Far from contradicting the television fiasco, this success helps to illustrate the difference between community mobilization and mainstream public support.
At Bercy , the audience comes for Léna Situations. They know her "August Vlogs," her friends, her travels, her references, and her career path. Ten years of content have created a relationship strong enough to fill a 20,000-seat venue.
France 2 is a complete game changer. Viewers discovering the program for the first time don't necessarily share that world. The show must therefore have its own intrinsic value, independent of any attachment to the person performing it. Filling Bercy with your fans and convincing someone who doesn't follow you are two radically different things.
Léna Situations herself had recounted her experience of a month without screens to reconnect with the "real world" , after having built most of her community on digital platforms.
But what does Léna Situations actually have to sell?
A singer arrives with songs. A comedian with material. An actor with their performance. Each can win over someone who was unaware of their existence just minutes before.
For Léna Situations, the raw material is largely Léna Situations herself. Her daily life, her travels, her clothes, her encounters, her friends, her emotions and the behind-the-scenes aspects of her life feed into her content.
On a mainstream channel, this approach has its limitations. Viewers who aren't already interested in Léna Situations need to find a concept or talent that stands on its own enough to give them a reason to stay tuned.
But the one where they say goodbye relies on elaborate set design, dancers, guests, and pyrotechnics. Production can amplify talent, but it can't create it. A spectacular set doesn't transform social media savvy into stage presence, and guests don't replace a compelling editorial vision.
Léna Situations knows how to mobilize her community and sell tickets. These are facts. But neither of these indicators constitutes proof of artistic talent or television quality. Her millions of subscribers prove that many people want to follow her. They don't prove that she has something to sell to those who specifically don't want to follow her.
5 million followers do not equal 5 million viewers
This is the other mistake revealed by the evening's fiasco. When faced with a personality followed by several million people, the follower count gives the impression of a vast audience pool. But some tend to forget this too quickly: a follower is not a viewer.
Influencers can now earn more than some CEOs of major corporations . Their economic and commercial power is considerable. But a brand can pay to access an already established community. A general-interest channel has to convince people who aren't part of it.
The subscriber count measures influence. It is neither a television concept, nor a certificate of talent, nor a promise of audience numbers. The 171,000 viewers of France 2 serve as a stark reminder of this.
France 2 wants to rejuvenate its audience by attracting young people who no longer watch television.
The choice of Léna Situations, however, addresses a real problem for France Télévisions. For example, the 20 p.m. news on France 2 has an average viewer age of 63. 57,5% of its viewers are over 65, while 15-24 year olds represent only 2,1%. These figures pertain to the newscast and not the entire channel, but they illustrate the generational gap.
So, recruiting an influencer with a massive following among young people makes sense. The mistake lies in assuming her audience travels with her. New generations haven't just changed the people they watch. They've changed their screens and consumption habits: phones, YouTube , TikTok , Instagram , on-demand platforms and content. Putting Léna Situations on France 2 doesn't turn France 2 into YouTube.
Nearly 200,000 euros: after the ratings crash, the bill for public service broadcasting
The cost of the evening compounded the fiasco. Figures between 1,2 and 1,4 million euros had circulated before the broadcast, but France Télévisions denied them and indicated that the operation actually represented nearly 200,000 euros, corresponding to the rights allowing the show to be used on its digital and linear screens.
Nearly €200,000 remains to be spent by a group funded primarily by public resources and subject to significant budgetary constraints. The issue of expenditure is all the more sensitive given that Delphine Ernotte recently denounced "the largest social plan in French cultural history" in response to proposals to reduce public broadcasting costs.
While the operation and use of public broadcasting budgets have been the subject of a parliamentary inquiry , the questioning goes far beyond a bad evening of hearings.
France Télévisions wanted to leverage Léna Situations' digital presence to attract a younger audience to France 2. This audience didn't respond. Those who were already watching television didn't respond any better.
Once she stepped away from Instagram and YouTube, Léna Situations had to convince viewers with what she actually had to offer on screen. The 171,000 viewers gave a particularly harsh response. By constantly looking at follower counts to find new faces on television, France Télévisions forgot what should come before subscriber numbers: having something to show…
