European drama performance in 2022

Arcom publishes the latest edition of its European drama ratings barometer. Since 2009, the barometer has analyzed trends with regard to audience rates for drama serie on television, and the dynamics of the sector in five countries (France, Germany, Spain, Italy and the UK).

Drama continues to play a major role in the audiovisuel landscape, with some of the highest audience figures every year. In France, for example, excluding sports, 4 drama titles were among the top 10 rated TV programs in 2022. Viewers are also keen on local content: all the drama titles in the top 10 are local productions in every country studied, with the exception of Spain. France and Germany tend to continue the successful dramas of previous years, unlike Italy, Spain and the UK, which have launched new content and thus renewed their charts more widely. Last but not least, France's subscription video-on-demand rankings feature predominantly American content. The first French content ranks 52nd, after a year 2021 marked by the great success of Lupin, the 2nd most consumed content on the platforms that year.

This study was presented on Thursday, September 14, 2023, at the Festival de la drama in La Rochelle, by Antoine Boilley, member of the Collège de l'Arcom and chairman of the "Création et production audiovisuels, cinématographiques et musicales" working group.

Find below the presentation of the study.