One Broadcast, Many Lives: How On-Demand Consumption Is Transforming the Media

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For a long time, the performance of an audiovisual program was measured at the time of its broadcast. Today, on-demand viewing is reshaping this approach. Previews and replays on television, along with audio podcasts, complement live broadcasts: they extend the reach of content, diversify touchpoints with audiences, and adapt to increasingly fragmented lifestyles. Studies by Médiamétrie show that this transformation is accelerating, for both television and audio.

Content no longer ends at its broadcast time

Live programming remains essential in the media. It’s what creates the buzz, brings audiences together, and sparks conversations. But it is no longer the only time when content reaches its audience.

On television, previews allow viewers to discover a program before it airs, while on-demand viewing extends its reach after it has aired. Audience measurement is adapting to these new timeframes; since December 2025, it has taken into account on-demand viewership for up to 91 days, instead of the previous 28 days. In the first quarter of 2026 alone, viewership between Day 29 and Day 91 accounted for 8% of additional replay hours. The January 20, 2026, episode of L’Ile de laTentation even gained 35% additional viewership thanks to this expansion of replay measurement.

Audio follows a similar pattern. Radio podcasts extend the lifespan of on-air programs, while native podcasts build an editorial offering independent of any live broadcast.

In other words, the editorial lifespan of content is getting longer.

A practice becoming the norm

This trend is primarily driven by a technological environment that is now widely established in French households. By 2025, 94% of households will have at least one smartphone, 88% will have a computer, and 72% will have a smart TV[i]. In total, 94% of households will own at least one screen connected to the Internet. Conditions for accessing on-demand content have never been more favorable.

Against this backdrop, usage is growing rapidly.

On television, 85% of French people watched at least one program via preview or replay during a given month in the first quarter of 2026, that is, 53.5 million people, up 6% year-over-year. More than 3 out of 4 French people (77%) use replay every month (+11% year-over-year), a practice now firmly established in their habits. Meanwhile, the adoption of previews continues to grow: 1 in 4 French people use this service every month, up 27% year-over-year[ii]. On-demand TV viewing accounts for an average of 7% of the time spent watching television programs, a share that rises to 13% for 15- to 24-year-olds.

Audio is also experiencing strong growth. 44% of French people listen to podcasts or radio replays every month, up 8 percentage points from 2023. Nativepodcasts, those not produced by radio stations (created by independent producers, news publishers, TV networks, etc.), are also continuing to grow, with 26% of people listening to them each month (up 10 percentage points in three years), and as many as 43% of 25- to 34-year-olds.[iii] Podcasts account for 10% of daily audio program listening.[iv] This growth shows that the two worlds are not at odds: radio podcasts extend the lifespan of programs broadcast on the air, while native podcasts enrich the offering with new formats and new styles of storytelling. Podcasts are becoming increasingly independent from their original channels, as social media serves as a powerful platform for these formats: 42% of monthly listeners (56% of 15- to 24-year-olds) discover them through social media and/or video sites. Another sign of podcasts’ expansion into other formats: 44% of monthly podcast listeners choose to watch the filmed versions frequently.[v]

A New Timeline, but Still Content That Brings People Together

The extended lifespan of content does not benefit all genres equally.

In television, fiction (series, soap operas, TV movies) overwhelmingly dominates preview viewing, accounting for nearly eight out of every ten hours spent. Replay viewing also benefits game shows (21% of time spent), which join fiction (40%) among the most-watched genres.[vi]

The data also show that while on-demand viewing is more prevalent on weekends, the most-watched programs via preview and replay remain predominantly those aired during the week, when more new episodes and fiction are featured. The success of a piece of content therefore no longer depends solely on its broadcast time slot, but on its ability to make viewers want to watch it again later.

In audio, this trend is reflected in the diversity of topics chosen. Programs on culture and society (41%), news (35%), and history (7%) account for the bulk of downloads, a sign that these topics find their audience in a format that offers greater freedom of listening.[vii]

Selective Consumption

User profiles also illustrate this shift.

In television, on-demand content consumers are younger, more likely to be in higher socioeconomic brackets, and more often equipped with connected devices than viewers who watch exclusively live.

In the audio landscape, radio podcasts are particularly popular among 35- to 64-year-olds, while native podcasts appeal more to 15- to 34-year-olds. The two formats complement each other and expand the overall audience for on-demand audio.

Above all, non-linear consumption does not mean scattered attention. More than one in two monthly listeners listens to their podcasts in their entirety. Channel-surfing behavior remains limited, and nearly three out of four listeners never adjust the playback speed. Podcasts thus emerge as a particularly immersive and engaging format.[viii]

A New Content Lifecycle

These results confirm that audiovisual content no longer exists within a single timeframe.

Beyond technological advancements, it is the editorial lifecycle of content that is transforming. Media outlets now engage audiences before, during, and after the broadcast of live content, across other platforms and sometimes in different formats. By offering greater freedom without sacrificing the unifying power of live programming, television and audio demonstrate their ability to adapt to new lifestyles and sustainably extend the value of their content.

This shift isn’t limited to live content. In television, more than half (53%) of the dramas and films available on BVoD platforms[ix] (TF1+, Arte.tv, M6+, France.tv) were not broadcast on-air during the year, while the content library on these platforms grew by 45% in one year[x]. In audio, native podcasts follow the same logic: they complement replay podcasts by offering content designed specifically for on-demand listening, independent of any linear broadcast. In both areas, catalogs are expanding, and content is becoming increasingly independent of live broadcasts.

Beyond new usage patterns, this represents an evolution of the editorial model. Content is no longer simply “caught up on” after it airs; a growing portion of it is now conceived, distributed, and consumed independently of live broadcasts.

Published by: Médiamétrie Communications Team

Written by: Laure Osmanian Molinero