You can read an excellent reflection on the qualities of a good presenter on the Community Radio Alliance website. Finally, author Simon Forgues writes that at the end of the day, a boss should ask themselves just one question before assigning someone this role: “Is this the kind of host I would miss?” Did he have to be gone for a few days? »
Published at 1:21 am. Updated at 7:15 a.m.
Many people have experienced this feeling of boredom since Paul Arcand left the 98.5 airwaves on November 9th. The results of the latest Numeris survey show that the absence of the “King of the Aether” has caused the broadcast Puisqu'il aussi se leva to lose a few feathers.
The decline is far from dramatic and Arcand continues to largely dominate the Montreal market. However, this shows how important a host's role is at the center of a show.
The members of the team are of course valuable, but the success of a show undoubtedly rests on the shoulders of the leader.
This thought occurred to me as I examined the latest Fall 2023 Numeris report on the performance of Montreal radio stations. What do you want, some people read Kevin Lambert's latest novel in bed, for me it's radio poll data.
Another observation: Once again, 98.5 manages to place its four flagship shows (Puisqu'il aussi se leva, The Normandeau Effect, Without Reserve and Le Québec Now) among the five most listened to shows in the Greater Montreal area1. A real achievement!
One rightly wonders why this channel can have so many shows that are number one in its niche. The answer lies in the homogeneity of its programming and the very strong connections that connect the shows and the presenters. No matter what time of day we tune into 98.5, we are in a known and defined environment. We stay in the same family.
Which is not entirely the case at ICI Première, whose mission includes offering a variety of programs and styles. As for the public channel, it places 5 programs in the top 10 most listened to in Montreal: Pénélope, Tout un matin, Midi info, Dessine-moi un matin (Saturday edition) and La jour est (still) young.
We can once again speak of a very strong dominance of these two radio stations in Montreal.
Let's stay with the most listened to programs to highlight some beautiful comebacks between last spring and autumn: Pénélope (ICI Première), Nadia le Weekend (Friday edition on Rythme FM), Tout Terrain (ICI Première), a new program that achieves this feat within a few weeks to climb several places, C'est si bon (ICI Musique), Le 15-18 (ICI Première) and Les ans Lumière (ICI Première).
PHOTO JOSIE DESMARAIS, LA PRESSE ARCHIVE
The “See You Next Week” team celebrated the show’s 15th anniversary last May. For the occasion, the show was recorded in front of an audience on Radio-Canada.
However, there is one change that I find difficult to explain, and that is that of “See You Next Week,” which left the top of the charts after many years. It must be said that this show, one of the greatest successes in the history of ICI Première, was broadcast late in the season (on September 9th) and that in such a long term it is normal to see some decline. Let's wait until next spring to see things more clearly.
However, there is one aspect of the ICI premiere that is important to highlight, namely the outstanding performance of the 8 o'clock newscast, which achieved a market share of 26.1% in the Montreal market.
This means many listeners tune in to 95.1 just to hear this bulletin. And that means that public broadcasting continues to be an information reference.
ICI Premiere weekends continue to dominate the Montreal market2, especially with the Sunday edition of the show Dessine-moi un matin. Which brings me to the reviews. Franco Nuovo and Pénélope McQuade are among the most criticized and controversial presenters of ICI Première. Her personality is very divisive. However, we must admit that these two hosts seem to be above reproach with their more than enviable results (Pénélope achieved a historic record with a share of 21.3% in all seasons).
When we look at the listening habits of men and women3, we unsurprisingly find that men aged 25 to 54 mainly listen to the radio to get information (You have to get up, Tout une matin, etc.), while Women, who also like this type of programs very much, tend to diversify their program with music or entertainment programs (Véronique et les Fantasticantes, La gang du matin, Rouge au travail, etc.).
I was interested in the table of programs that were listened to most often by 18 to 34 year olds. Listening to the big news in the morning like everyone else, young listeners place three ICI premiere shows in the top 20: Anything Can Happen, Jeannot BBQ and Oil on the Fire. Interestingly, they are also very interested in the program Les sous de l'immobilier, which airs on Saturdays on 98.5.
The other achievement worth highlighting is that of ICI Musique, which has tripled its listening share4 in the last four years, reaching an average of 7.3%. Who would have thought one day that this music station would compete with CKOI and Rouge FM?
With shares of 18.1% for C'est si bon, 14.9% for Chants libre, 11.2% for De pop et d'eau fraîche, 11% for Le temps d'une song and 9.1% for The Musical Channel, ICI Musique has the wind in its sails. For his part, Francis Reddy achieved the feat of gaining shares of 9.5% and 8.7% on Saturday and Sunday mornings.
These latest surveys show once again that radio is doing well and that it benefits from great mobility. In short, everything is going well! Hopefully our favorite animators don't take any time off!
1. Top 40 most listened to shows in French-speaking Montreal, average minute audience, T2+, Numeris PPM, Fall 2023, from August 28th to September 26th.
2. Listening share of stations, French Montreal, by time slot, T2+, Numeris PPM, Fall 2023, from August 28th to September 26th.
3. Top 40 most listened to programs in French-speaking Montreal, average minutes watched, men 25-54 years old, women 25-54 years old, adults 18-34 years old, Numeris PPM, Fall 2023, from August 28th to September 26th.
4. Channel listening shares, French Montreal, Monday-Sunday, 2-2 p.m., T2+, Numeris PPM, Fall 2023, from August 28th to September 26th.