Star journalist Patrick Lagacé succeeds Paul Arcand at the helm of 98.5 FM’s morning show. He will take up his post in autumn 2024.
The announcement was made on Wednesday morning during the show Da muss man auf werden, confirming the persistent rumors of the last few weeks. The Cogeco Group’s vice-president of radiotelephony, Pierre Martineau, said on the air that he had targeted Patrick Lagacé because of his “journalistic profile”, his “credibility” and his “celebrity”.
Paul Arcand, 62, announced last June that he would not renew his contract, which expires in June 2024.
Nicknamed the “King of the Airwaves,” he has topped the Montreal metro area’s ratings for twenty years, first on CKAC station on the AM band, then since 2004 on 98.5 FM.
Building on the success of its morning show, the Cogeco Group station remains by far the most listened-to radio station in the metropolitan area, across all weekday time slots. An unchanging reality that was further confirmed in the latest data from the Numeris company, released last week.
Patrick Lagacé joined 98.5 FM in 2019, where he has hosted Le Québec since returning. A well-regarded, sometimes controversial figure, he still writes a column in La Presse and has been co-host of the talk show Deux hommes en or on Télé-Québec since 2013.
In a text published on his Facebook page, he said he would continue to write on the pages of La Presse, where he has worked since 2007, but less regularly. However, his column will be on hiatus from August 2024 to January 2025, during his first few months at the helm of 98.5 FM’s morning show.
“Thanks to François Cardinal, my editor-in-chief at La Presse. François enthusiastically supported me when I told him what 98.5 FM had planned for me. He didn’t force me to choose. […] This connection that I have built up with the readers of La Presse since 2007 is too strong not to be nurtured,” emphasized the former Franc shooter.
Patrick Lagacé also wanted to welcome the Quebec team, which he will continue to host on 98.5 FM for the next year and a half. Its transition from the return slot to the morning slot frees up a host slot. It is unclear who will moderate the show in the late afternoon from August 2024.