As regards September 2026, the official response is, at first glance, fairly straightforward: BFMTV and CNews are reported to be **tied at 3.0 per cent audience share** for the period from 31 August to 27 September. LCI follows very closely behind with 2.8 per cent, whilst franceinfo remains at 1.1 per cent.
But the rounded figures conceal a slight difference. According to more precise data published by Puremédias, **CNews achieved a 3.04 per cent audience share compared with 2.98 per cent for BFMTV**. In other words, if we look at the figures to the nearest hundredth of a point, CNews is indeed ahead of BFMTV in September, but only by 0.06 points. The gap is so small that Médiamétrie lists both at 3.0 per cent in its rounded rankings.
CNews can therefore legitimately publicise its return to the top spot: it was the leading news channel on fourteen occasions during the month, including one day when it was tied with BFMTV and LCI. After a more challenging summer, it has rebounded strongly, having stood at 2.5 per cent in August.
BFMTV, however, has another argument in its favour. The channel emphasises that it remains the leader, or joint leader, for the **seventh consecutive month**. It was the sole leader in May with 2.7 per cent compared to 2.6 per cent for CNews, remained in first place in June with 2.9 per cent compared to 2.8 per cent, and was well ahead in July with 3.2 per cent. In August, it shared first place with LCI at 2.8 per cent.
The year-on-year trend is also very different. In September 2025, CNews was crushing BFMTV with **3.9 per cent compared to 2.9 per cent**. A year later, CNews has fallen to 3.0 per cent whilst BFMTV has risen slightly to 3.0 per cent. CNews therefore remains at the top in September 2026, but it has lost much of the spectacular lead it held twelve months earlier.
This is where the ‘ratings war’ really begins. One channel may claim to be the leader for the month, another the leader over a longer period, whilst yet another may highlight certain time slots or days. All these figures may be accurate without necessarily measuring exactly the same thing. BFMTV thus emphasises the consistency of its performance over several months and claims to be well ahead over the whole of 2026; this statement comes from its managing director, Fabien Namias, and therefore constitutes the channel’s official line on audience figures.
The real lesson may lie elsewhere: **there is currently no longer any overwhelming dominance in the rolling news sector**. CNews stands at 3.04 per cent, BFMTV at 2.98 per cent and LCI at 2.8 per cent. The three channels are now neck and neck. LCI has, in fact, gained 0.6 percentage points in a year, whilst CNews has lost 0.9.
So, who is right? For the month of September 2026 alone, CNews is very slightly ahead in the unrounded figures, whilst the ranking published to the nearest 0.1 percentage point officially places CNews and BFMTV on a par. BFMTV, for its part, can claim a run of seven months at the top or tied for first place.
Both claims are therefore tenable, provided one reads between the lines. In this battle, the real winner may well be Médiamétrie: never before have a few hundredths of a point been the subject of so much commentary.
