This is a failure that comes at a bad time for BFM-TV, which has been overtaken in audience numbers in recent weeks by its competitor CNews. Laurent Ruquier announced on Tuesday, December 26, that he was stopping the daily show that he had been hosting in the evening for only three months. “I prefer to stop there (…)it is clear that the public did not follow me as much as we hoped in this different role for me”he wrote in an internal message revealed by the newspaper The Parisian then published on the social network Instagram.
After twenty-three years of entertainment on television on France 2, the comedian created a surprise by joining BFM-TV to host, since September 25, “Le 20 Heures de Ruquier”, from Monday to Thursday from 8 p.m. at 9 p.m., a current affairs debate show. But, even if the figures were better than those of previous years, this meeting of a new kind for the host of “Grosses Têtes”, on RTL, did not know how to stand out, in a busy slot on the other channels by television news and by numerous entertainment programs: “Quotidien” (TMC), “Touche pas à mon poste” (C8), “L’heure des pros 2” (CNews) or “C à vous” ( France 5).
According to Médiamétrie data transmitted by BFM-TV, the “Ruquier case” achieved 1.1% audience share between September 25 and December 21, 0.1 point more than what the channel did at the same time. era in 2022. But opposite, on CNews, “L’heure des pros 2”, by Pascal Praud, a show known for its tone and its conservative guests, did much better, with 3.8% audience share this season. Pascal Praud, however, paid tribute to the host on the social network X: “Congratulations to Laurent Ruquier for always trying new adventures, for taking risks. Those who criticize him do not have the square root of his talent. »
“The audience is not the subject”assured the general director of BFM-TV, Marc-Olivier Fogiel, in an internal message and sent to the World. “What leads him to stop is the gap between the necessary investment and the pleasure he derives from what he can offer to viewers”, continued Marc-Olivier Fogiel, who said he accepted this decision despite the comments it could arouse. According to him, it was Laurent Ruquier who “asked to release him from his commitment at the end of the year”while management wanted to maintain it until the end of the season.
Elbow to elbow
“I do not regret having left France Télévision last June for BFM-TV, because I lived these three months as an exciting and incredible experience, one that I could not imagine living, but you have to know how to accept its chess “, added Laurent Ruquier in his message. To replace it, the show “Calvi 3D”, hosted by Yves Calvi, will be extended by half an hour until 8:30 p.m. from January, followed by “90 minutes”, presented by Alice Darfeuille.
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