Rythme, the most listened to music station in Montreal, is making new changes to its schedule. Hosts Sébastien Benoît, Isabelle Racicot and José Gaudet, who were at the helm of the late afternoon show in Montreal for three and a half years, will not be back in January.
Posted at 7:43 p.m.
The three star hosts made the announcement on Monday by opening their show, It’s 4 o’clock somewhere.
Two of them, Sébastien Benoît and Isabelle Racicot, will remain attached to the station. From January, Sébastien Benoît will pilot the weekday afternoon show, which Francisco Randez was to host before his troubles with the law. Isabelle Racicot will join the morning team of Patrick Marsolais and Anaïs Favron.
The name of the person who will succeed them in the return time slot will be revealed in January. According to the latest figures from the Numeris firm, Rythme attracted slightly fewer listeners this fall in the homecoming slot than its great rival, Rouge. The competition is strong in this time slot, since Rouge can count on the very popular Véronique Cloutier and her show Vero and the fantastic.
To attract new listeners, Rythme has shown a very clear desire for several months to rejuvenate its brand image. At the start of the school year, Patricia Paquin was removed from the programming at the last minute to be replaced by Maripier Morin, who has been co-hosting since the end of August The lunch girls with Marie-Ève Janvier. Legendary host Ricky Dee, who had been the voice of the weekend for several years, had also been let go.
After experiencing difficult times, Rythme regained momentum starting this summer. The station, owned by Cogeco Media, reached 14.3 market shares this fall, making it by far the most listened to music station in Montreal.
