50-64 year olds, heavy consumers of traditional and digital media

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Temps de lecture : 4 minutes

50-64 year olds are masters in the art of hybridization. They combine loyalty to live television with heavy consumption of platforms and digital media, and even internet usage, similar to younger populations. Better equipped with media devices than average, this target audience is a heavy consumer of radio and television and a majority user of SVOD. However, professional activity and the presence of children are determining factors in their usage.

Representing nearly one in five people in France, the 13.2 million individuals aged 50-64 do not constitute a uniform audience in terms of their media practices. Their profile, whether they are active or still living with children, determines the intensity and nature of their consumption. With an employment rate that has risen significantly by 8 points since 2015 to reach 69%, this population is still invested in the world of work. This reality radically shapes their TV and radio consumption. 

Work and children shape their media consumption

Working hours drastically reduce the amount of time spent in front of the television. TV viewing time reaches 5 hours and 29 minutes per day among the inactive, compared to only 3 hours and 46 minutes among the active. “The gap widens significantly in the afternoon, with a 67% higher audience among the inactive [...] compared to the active,” notes Isabelle Maurice, Director of Research, Monitoring and Forecasting at Médiamétrie. 

Professional activity is, by its very nature, also a key factor for radio, whose consumption is often associated with commuting between home and work. With a cumulative audience share of almost 80% among working people aged 50-64, the latter are “more likely to listen to the radio, with a 9-point lead over non-working people,” the expert continues. Their audience peaks coincide with these daily commutes. Furthermore, while only 44% of inactive people went to the cinema during the year, 69% of active people frequented movie theaters, playing a role as “key audiences for French cinema.”

Contrary to popular belief, people aged 50-64 “often still have children living at home, which is a fairly important factor in their consumption,” according to Isabelle Maurice. The presence of their offspring—up to the age of 25—has an exponential influence on parents' digital habits. The presence of children in the home almost doubles the likelihood of using SVOD. While 42% of 50-64 year olds use a platform overall, this rate drops to 33% in households without children, but rises to 54% when children are present. Podcast listening reaches the same level among parents, compared to only 35% for others. Children “also participate in the acculturation of parents into the world of platforms.” The presence of children also affects internet consumption: parents spend 4 hours and 24 minutes per day online, which is 1 hour and 38 minutes more than those without children in the household. The effect is particularly noticeable on social networks and messaging services: 50-64 year olds with children spend twice as much time on them as those without children in the household (47 minutes without children in the household vs. 1 hour 21 minutes with children present). These services certainly allow them to “follow their children's accounts and stay in touch with them.”

An appetite for innovative offerings

More generally, and although they are rooted in traditional media, with a strong “attachment [...] to radio and television,” 50-64 year olds show a “genuine curiosity about new media uses that are gradually becoming part of their routine,” notes Isabelle Maurice. This is especially true since this target audience, which has the highest median income, is “better equipped than the average individual in terms of all types of equipment,” particularly receivers.

"Live television dominates, accounting for three-quarters of the video viewing time of 50-64 year olds, with a daily viewing time of 3 hours and 39 minutes. However, far from being limited to live viewing, this target audience “is certainly extremely fond of television, but also of its digital versions"

notes Isabelle Maurice.

It should be noted that the share of live TV has declined over the past year in favor of internet video, which accounted for 12% of video viewing time in 2025, compared to 9% in 2024. 

Above all, they are the leading consumers of non-linear programming, watching 27 minutes per day. Replay and/or preview services reach 60% of 50-64 year olds every week. They are also heavy radio listeners, with 77% tuning in daily for an average of more than three hours per day. Their excessive consumption of digital media is characteristic of this demographic. Digital accounts for more than a quarter of consumption, with “a significant increase of more than 21% in listeners in the space of two years.” This is mainly driven by mobile, with a 35% increase in listeners on this medium in two years. As for SVOD, it is now a mature market. The use of video-on-demand services has become established since the health crisis. Today, 98% of 50-64 year olds are familiar with at least one SVOD platform. In addition to being heavy users, they are customers of choice. “86% of them pay for their subscription, so they are a solvent target,” says the research specialist. Another notable feature is that 83% of 50-64 year olds prefer to watch content on their platforms in French.

"Keen adopters of new technologies, 50-64 year olds are just as connected as younger generations. Every day, 86.8% of them go online, a slightly higher rate than 15-24 and 25-49 year olds (85.6% and 86.0% respectively connect daily). They also use the same social media platforms as 25-49 year olds, with whom they “share the same Top 10 social networks and messaging apps—with Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram at the top—with the sole exception of Pinterest, which ranks 9th among this target audience"

points out Catherine Poullet, Director of Internet Audience Measurement. 

Their penchant for mobile games, such as Candy Crush and Royal Match, is just as unexpected. People aged 50-64 spend the most time on these types of games, with 24 minutes per day. “Their daily coverage is 31%, the same as 15-24 year olds.” The adoption of conversational artificial intelligence is gradual, with 4.8% of 50-64 year olds using it every day in June 2025. Daily users in this age group spend an average of 9 minutes and 39 seconds per day on it. However, this target audience is more cautious about artificial intelligence, with 52% describing it as “worrying” and 35% as “risky,” showing “greater mistrust than the rest of the population,” according to Médiamétrie's Director of Internet Audience Measurement. Adoption does not necessarily mean adoration. 

Publication management: Médiamétrie Communications Team

Editor: Didier Si Ammour