Canal Football Club suffers a disappointing audience return

Canal Football Club’s return to the Canal+ schedule produced a disappointing audience result, despite the programme launching a new set and featuring Michel Platini. The Sunday show also included a documentary devoted to the former France international, but those attractions did not translate into a strong television performance.

The programme averaged 95,000 viewers on Canal+, while another 28,000 watched its simultaneous broadcast on Canal+ Foot. The figures underline the difficult start for the football magazine as it resumed its regular Sunday position. The comparison with Ligue 1+’s The Club was particularly unfavourable. That programme, hosted by Thibault Le Rol, drew an average audience of 85,000 viewers when shown free-to-air before Monaco’s Ligue 1 meeting with Marseille.

Canal Football Club’s main-channel audience was only modestly higher than The Club’s figure, even though the Canal+ programme was also available on Canal+ Foot. The result places further attention on the show’s ability to retain its position among football television programmes, especially as its return had been built around a new studio setting and a major guest.

Neither programme came close to Stade 2, however. France 3’s multi-sport magazine remained the evening’s audience leader, attracting an average of 1.41 million viewers and an 8.8 per cent share. The figures leave Canal Football Club with a weak opening episode for its new season, despite the presence of Platini and the changes made to the programme’s presentation.