The graft did not take, and the rejection was very rapid. The director of Radio Nova, Jean-François Latour, discreetly gave up his place barely five months after his arrival in this position, according to our information. The latter is now a simple consultant and has no longer had a managerial role since November 10.
Combat Media, the parent company of Radio Nova, which belongs to investment banker Matthieu Pigasse (individual shareholder of World), had simply communicated, on November 8, about the arrival of Frédéric Antelme as deputy director of the sound-radio division. Having worked for RTL2, Fun Radio and the NRJ 12 channel, the man who was until now director of editorial strategy for the music platform Deezer has headed Studio Nova and Radio Nova since November 10.
According to this same press release from the Combat group (also owner of Inrockuptibles and the Rock en Seine music festival), Mr. Latour must “continue[e] alongside Frédéric Antelme its mission of consolidating and reaffirming the original and singular musical and cultural identity of Nova”.
With his vertical management, Jean-François Latour appeared the polar opposite of his predecessor Mélanie Mallet, who had announced she was leaving the radio in mid-June. Director of the station since 2020, a radio employee for two decades, she had the total confidence of her team to embody the “Nova spirit”, described as artisanal and family-oriented by several of its members.
The majority of voices on the air disappeared
Mr. Latour arrived on June 26 armed with his background as former antenna director of RTL2, RTL and Nostalgie and a reputation for “cost killer” (cost killer). Emmanuel Hoog, the general director of the Combat group, asked him to conquer listeners, given that the latest waves of Médiamétrie revealed that the listening time per listener was in decline (even if the cumulative audience remained stable, at 0.5%). A problem for management when the station’s economic model is based largely on on-air advertising and its price is indexed to audiences.
Also, Mr. Latour had to make savings – while the radio station has accumulated 4.9 million euros in operating losses since 2018. For this, an economic redundancy plan concerning three permanent contracts was announced in May. Among them are two historic voices of Nova, Isadora Dartial and her show In the ears of…as well as Richard Gaitet (who coordinated “La Danse du zèbre”, the podcast celebrating the station’s 40th anniversary).
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