The JDNews. The success of Europe 1 is confirmed for the sixteenth consecutive month. To what do you attribute this reassembled ?
Arnaud Lagardère. We are all very happy of course, but these audience results are not an end in themselves. This is part of a long journey that must take us even higher. In radio, it is often said that “Audiences go down the elevator and go up the stairs”. With Constance Benqué, we redefined the radio strategy and left this microclimate created by the French media consisting of imposing a unique form of thinking on viewers, readers and listeners. We gave them the floor again to discuss their real concerns. To paraphrase Philippe de Villiers, “What you will hear here, you will not hear anywhere else”.
This is where we make the difference: Europe 1 has reconnected with its listeners. Our audiences are all the more remarkable as we are at the heart of a radio market which is declining and which no longer has anything to do with what it was twenty years ago. We also had to turn to talented women and men who embody this change and the result is there: all sections of the grid are progressing, which also confirms the merits of the strategy. We also benefit from being backed by a large audiovisual group like Canal+ and being close to CNews, even if we are two separate entities. The fear of seeing the two antennas cannibalize each other during co-broadcasts turned out to be false. So thank you to the listeners for their trust, to the historical ones and to those who joined us, since we gained 470,000 listeners in one year, which is fantastic.
This return of listeners coincides with the 70th anniversary of the station. And with a period of stability symbolized by a morning show worn for four years by Dimitri Pavlenko. Is this the keystone of the grid?
Undeniably. One of the reasons for past failures was wanting to change the grid too much from one season to the next. You have to have patience and composure, allowing time for habits to become established. Dimitri Pavlenko and his team did a wonderful job, little by little. Word of mouth did its job and today it’s a very strong, very powerful morning. And it’s the same for other shows. With incarnations that have great notoriety like you, my dear Laurence, like Sonia Mabrouk, Pascal Praud and so many others.
The rest after this ad
Radio is fundamentally a medium of habit.
Yes, and consistency! What pleases us now is that our line is coherent. By wanting to please everyone, we end up no longer pleasing anyone in reality. Our audience growth is not only significant but above all it is solid.
Do you think Europe 1 found his DNA?
This great lady that is Europe 1 has rediscovered her insolence in the good sense of the word, the one she had with Coluche for example. And she renewed this link with the listeners by listening to them, by giving them a voice. Today, Europe 1 is coming back to life! With a slogan that has never been more true: “Free radio. »
There is in-depth work done by general manager Donat Vidal Revel, both rigorous and welcoming of major signings. Is it the Europe 1 brand?
The rigor and quality of information are essential for a general radio station. It is important to provide benchmarks in a space where everyone thinks they are a journalist, where social networks convey so much fake news. Donat Vidal Revel and his teams were fast, lively and agile. You have to have solidity, resilience. When I see the trajectory of CNews under the direction of Serge Nedjar and its breakthrough to becoming the leading news channel, I tell myself that anything is possible. The success of CNews is deeply inspiring. Let’s not forget that the association with CNews dates back to 2011, with i-Télé at the time and the major political meeting hosted by Jean-Pierre Elkabbach.
How do you see the future of Europe 1?
First of all, we should never insult the future, predictions can bring bad luck and we have not finished climbing the stairs. Europe 1 is still economically in deficit so we still have work to do. But given our dynamics and our fundamentals, I believe we can be optimistic.
“Our audience growth is not only significant but above all it is solid”
70 years ago, your father Jean-Luc Lagardère bought Europe 1 from Sylvain Floirat. It was your group’s first media, is there a particular attachment to this house?
Yes, more than that. At that time, radio was the dominant media which set the tone for political, economic, sporting and cultural life. Europe 1 was a real family united in its premises on rue François-Ier. Today we have rediscovered this family spirit. I have so many memories of people I saw with my father. For example, Jean Boissonnat almost gave me – now I can say it, plus I got a very good grade – one of my economics homework. I must have been in second or first year and it was about the monetary masses!
Have any political figures influenced you?
To avoid making anyone jealous, I’m going back to the last century: there was a character that my father and I loved very much, it was Georges Marchais. He was extremely caring in private and I remember him being lovely at the time of my car accident. He sent a little note to my father saying “Here, you will give this to your son”. It was a lovely text written in his hand wishing me a speedy recovery. This touched me a lot. You see, in 70 years, a lot has happened. Europe 1 has known a number of presidents, ministers, good and less good periods, but this house has always held on and it is regaining color today. You always have to go back to your roots.
Europe 1 is also the success of podcasts. Is this part of the future of radio?
Exactly, there is the possibility either of listening to the broadcasts again, or of choosing the podcasts for more calm, more thoughtful listening. Like the one on Charlie Hebdo or the 70th anniversary of Europe 1. The podcast is a bit like the audio book is to the book. And this restores all the voice work which is essential in radio. It is one of the growth vectors of radio.
Related News :