“Never call me France (Bleu) again, it’s my last wish! » As of Monday January 6, 2025, at 5 a.m., the public station changes its identity. Exit this famous color and make way for… “Here”! “This new brand for the 44 antennas aims to emerge in an environment of hypercompetition,” explained Céline Pigalle, director of the network, during a press conference this Wednesday, November 27.
“Today, we have access to an absolutely abundant world in which it is sometimes difficult to find our way. Our goal is for Ici to claim what we do every day, loud and clear, and to be a sort of flag to say that this is where it happens. »
Concretely, for the start of the 2025 school year, the France Bleu name will disappear. “But we are not going to demonize him,” smiles the manager, who is already anticipating a few little missed potentials on the air which will fuel the bloopers. “We will even regularly ask our listeners what they call their radio station,” she promises. And we risk having little surprises…” With a desire despite everything: that the public responds Ici Normandie, Ici Isère or Ici Picardie…
This local establishment will be used more than ever to serve the programs. “Monday morning, I listened to a national radio which dealt with the legal aspect of the Mazan rape trial, the penalties that should or should not be applied… However, it was 26 degrees in Pau on Monday morning and this issue is largely also essential in the lives of a large part of the population, judges the boss. Of course listeners want to know who the new president of the United States is but, objectively, in the next three weeks, it's not going to change their lives. We must take charge of their everyday considerations. »
To avoid a period of latency, a major promotional campaign will take place in January and February across France so that the new name can take hold. Without any major risk for audiences, for which Médiamétrie contacts French people by telephone to ask them the name of the radio station they are listening to at a given time. “France Bleu responses will be counted in Ici's results for a period of three renewable years”, affirms the management, which is delighted to have seen its station sign an increase in return with 2.59 million listeners in September-October (+ 87,000 over one year).
Above all, Ici makes it possible to build bridges with television and in particular the information events of France 3, already under this new name, but also a reinforced digital offer. A regional news site but also an offer of podcasts on places in France from each of the antennas. “In French and English, for tourists,” underlines Yann Chouquet, deputy director, repeating the new motto of Ici: “Local news, good humor and music. »
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