Jean-Charles Lajoie finds himself in deep trouble, while his show on TVA Sports attracts barely 20,000 viewers according to our information.
This figure, worthy of community television, arouses concern among the channel’s managers, especially since they pay him an annual salary of around $400,000.
Faced with this resounding failure, the bosses of TVA Sports tried to revive the audience by encouraging Lajoie to adopt a more sensationalist tone, banking on his provocative remarks to create media events and capture the public’s attention.
Lajoie therefore attempted risky media stunts, with sensational announcements which ultimately had the opposite effect.
As if he was being ordered to capitulate on the real information.
Recently, he claimed that Martin St-Louis, coach of the Montreal Canadiens, was resigning, and even said that CF Montreal was considering moving to Detroit.
The objective was to create “the buzz” and attract viewers to TVA Sports, but the expected effect did not take place: these controversial statements were received as disinformation, and plunged Lajoie into a storm media.
The listeners turned their backs, and the host’s reputation took a hit. Poor Lajoie. he tries to justify his salary by all means, orders come from above for him to try to create a sensation and finally, karma punishes him.
Backed against the wall, Lajoie had to awkwardly retract, accusing his detractors of distorting his remarks and describing some of them as “disbelievers and scavengers”.
This attempt to avoid blame, however, only made his case worse, reinforcing the impression that Lajoie was willing to sacrifice credibility for the sake of the audience.
Aware of the failure of this strategy, he has since returned to a more moderate tone, but the damage seems irreparable.
The major problem remains the glaring absence of television ratings: less than 20,000 viewers for a live broadcast is an alarming figure, especially in the current context where TVA Sports is fighting for its survival.
The channel’s bosses, already overwhelmed by the losses of TVA Sports, find themselves faced with a dilemma: continue to support Lajoie despite disastrous results or admit failure and look for a new lease of life to relaunch the programming.
The case of Jean-Charles Lajoie is indicative of the broader difficulties that TVA Sports faces: a plummeting audience, desperate strategies, and hosts ready to cross the line of ethics to maintain attention.
The next step for TVA Sports will be crucial, and the fate of Lajoie could well depend on it.
The situation of Jean-Charles Lajoie is closely linked to the deep crisis that TVA Sports is going through.
Faced with colossal financial losses, a plummeting audience, and fierce competition from RDS and now Prime Video, the channel is in panic.
In a climate of emergency, TVA Sports managers no longer have the luxury of maintaining a cautious and serious editorial line: they are turning to solutions of last resort, even if it means bordering on disinformation.
The pressure exerted on Lajoie to create media “stunts” is the symbol of this strategy of survival at all costs.
By asking him to amplify his comments, to launch assertions (and not rumors) such as the supposed resignation of Martin St-Louis or the move from CF Montreal, TVA Sports hopes to attract an audience in search of sensationalism.
But this choice is desperate and exposes Lajoie to an inevitable return of the boomerang. By crying wolf without foundation, Lajoie found himself quickly discredited, and the public no longer took the bait.
This slide towards disinformation is not limited to TVA Sports. Le Journal de Montréal, another pillar of the Quebecor group, has also adopted an increasingly sensationalist approach. Eye-catching articles, alarmist headlines and controversial insinuations are multiplying in a collective effort to maximize attention on all fronts, thus hoping to stem the loss of audiences.
This wave of panic does not reflect an editorial renewal, but rather a hasty strategy to retain readers and viewers at all costs.
But there is an art to becoming sensationalist. An art that Lajoie and TVA Sports do not master.
The Quebecor group, faced with increasingly serious financial difficulties, is pushing its channels and newspapers to chase the hearing, without assessing the long-term impacts.
For Lajoie, this frantic race for sensationalism has become a trap.
It is not a blog. It is part of a traditional media. His reputation and credibility are therefore seriously affected, and he is no longer seen as a reliable sports analyst, but as an amplifier of rumors.
TVA Sports, by sacrificing its journalistic rigor, places Lajoie in an untenable situation: the role of scandal-maker which alienates serious sports fans and scares away listeners.
The problem is that by turning to disinformation and provocation, TVA Sports is further digging its own hole.
They try to steal the recipe from the blogs…but without success…
This panic strategy risks not only causing its audience ratings to drop even further, but also ruining the relationship of trust that once united it with its audience.
Jean-Charles Lajoie, caught in this sensationalization machine, is its most visible symbol – and the first to pay the price.
$400,000 down the drain. In the end, perhaps it is he who will end up resigning…and not Martin St-Louis…
