Mediamétrie

In the mid-1980s, the French media landscape was undergoing a seismic shift. New television channels like Canal+ and La Cinq were launching, TF1 was privatized, and private radio stations were on the rise. This created a pressing need for a neutral, scientific way to measure audiences. In 1985, Médiamétrie was established to be that definitive source. Founded by Jacqueline Aglietta, the company was structured as a public limited company. The ownership was intentionally distributed among the key market players—television channels, radio stations, advertisers, and agencies—to ensure no single entity held a controlling interest, thereby guaranteeing its independence. Initially, Médiamétrie modernized existing audience measurement tools like Audimat, which was based on household meters, evolving it into Médiamat to capture individual viewing habits. This provided more granular data crucial for programming decisions and setting advertising rates. As technology evolved, so did Médiamétrie. The company expanded into measuring internet audiences in the 2000s, forming a joint venture with Nielsen to measure web traffic on computers. This later grew to include mobile phones and tablets. Today, Médiamétrie measures viewership across four screens and has even started tracking out-of-home and on-the-go media consumption. While it remains a private company, its journey has been one of constant adaptation, from measuring traditional broadcasts to quantifying the complex, multi-platform digital world, making it an indispensable, if often invisible, force in French media.