In an internal note, of which we obtained a copy, the President and Chief Executive Officer of Quebecor, Pierre Karl Péladeau, “warmly” thanks Mr. Picard for his years of service and his commitment, without however elaborating on the reasons for his departure. .
Mr. Péladeau, who is acting in his own right, says he is “confident that the solid teams in place will continue to do everything possible to allow TVA Group to remain head of the company”.
This departure comes after those of several leading heads at Quebecor. In 2021, the president and chief executive officer of Videotron, Jean-François Pruneau, left the company after more than 20 years within the media empire.
A few months later, it was France Lauzière’s turn to step down from her position as President and Chief Executive Officer of Groupe TVA and Chief Content Officer of Quebecor Content, before becoming a strategic advisor at Productions Déferlantes.
Then, earlier this year, the vice-president, original content at Quebecor Content, Denis Dubois, announced that he was retiring.
This new start comes at a time when the company is experiencing a difficult environment. At the beginning of the month, Quebecor announced that it had recorded an $8.7 million drop in revenues compared to the second quarter of the previous year, despite enviable audience results.
The next day, TVA announced that it had to ax its Friday evening debate show, The world upside downhosted by Stéphan Bureau.
Last winter, Quebecor announced the abolition of 240 positions, including 140 at Groupe TVA.
At the beginning of the summer, the company had to back down because of the CRTC’s opposition to the decision to put an end to weekend bulletins in Quebec City, thereby providing for further job cuts.
Quebecor management reserves its comments for later on the departure of Martin Picard.
