National Team

TV Ratings: The France-Morocco quarterfinal sets a record for M6

Friday 10 July 2026 - 11:32

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The quarterfinal of the 2026 FIFA World Cup between France and Morocco dominated the TV ratings on Thursday, July 9. Broadcast on M6, the match captivated 16.1 million viewers, once again confirming the appeal of major sporting events on television.

France's qualification for the semifinals, achieved after a 2-0 victory over the Atlas Lions, allowed the channel to record one of its best performances of the year in the early evening slot.

A Match Followed by Over 16 Million Viewers

Fueled by the goals of Kylian Mbappé and Ousmane Dembélé, the match gathered 72.8% audience share, with an estimated peak of 18.1 million viewers at the end of the match.

The performance is also remarkable among key commercial targets, with strong penetration among 25-49 year-olds and women under 50 who are responsible for household purchases.

This success confirms the significant role of major sporting events in the performance of television channels, capable of attracting a particularly large audience.

The Pre-Match Show Also Delivers Strong Performance

Before the kickoff, the special magazine dedicated to the World Cup, hosted by Ophélie Meunier, also allowed M6 to excel in this time slot.

The program gathered nearly 2.54 million viewers, illustrating the public's interest in the analyses and insights surrounding this highly anticipated match.

Other Channels Compete for Top Spots

Behind M6, France 3 distinguished itself with a rerun of an episode of the series La Stagiaire, which attracted around 1.85 million viewers.

TF1 closely follows with an original episode of Zodiaque, also watched by nearly 1.86 million people, achieving a comparable audience share.

Meanwhile, France 2 offered its documentary series Et ça vous fait rire ?, dedicated to the evolution of popular French comedy. The program gathered 1.74 million viewers, confirming the public's interest in cultural documentaries.

Finally, France 5 completes the ranking of top audiences with Des trains pas comme les autres, which attracted 1.25 million viewers.

Sports Confirm Their Status as Ratings Drivers

This evening once again illustrates the ability of major international competitions to mobilize massive audiences.

By bringing millions of people to their screens, the World Cup continues to establish itself as a strategic lever for broadcasters, generating audiences that far exceed those of entertainment, fiction, or documentary programs aired simultaneously.