The news channel announced this Tuesday the reorganization of its 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. slot. Perhaps the beginning of a more profound change of direction, and a return to information.
Éric Brunet has occupied the 8 p.m.-10 p.m. slot on BFMTV since the start of the school year in September, his departure has been announced. Photo Philippe Labrosse/Le Parisien/MaxPPP
By Etienne Labrunie
Published on December 3, 2024 at 2:25 p.m.
L‘The year 2025 could be that of editorial change for BFMTV. The news channel, bought in May by billionaire Rodolphe Saadé, CEO of the shipping company CMA CGM and its subsidiary CMA Média (owner of The Tribune, La Tribune Sunday, La Provence) will update its grid from January. The first victim of this reorganization was the journalist presenter Éric Brunet who had occupied the complicated 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. slot since the end of August. According to The World, its “8 p.m. with Brunet” will be replaced in January by a major two-hour news show played by Maxime Switek. The latter would therefore leave the 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. channel, where he had succeeded Bruce Toussaint in January 2023, who left for TF1. Alice Darfeuille and Julie Hammett hold the rope to resume this section.
The departure of Éric Brunet – who should be given a role as editorialist – is not a real surprise. For several weeks, the fate of the show initially called “Liberty, Equality, Brunet!” » seemed sealed, weighed down by the audiences (215,000 viewers when Pascal Praud brings together nearly 600,000 on CNews at the same time). Poached from LCI last summer by the previous management, Éric Brunet returned to a company he knew from having worked there as an editorialist then presenter. A return which, however, was far from unanimous internally. The choice to entrust this strategic role to the co-founder in 2018 (with Gilles-William Goldnadel and André Bercoff) of the media Free France (an “anti-Mélenchon TV”), known for its right-wing positions, was interpreted in the editorial staff as yet another episode in the chase behind CNews. The composition of the sets (with new columnists close to the extreme right such as journalists from Current values, of JDD version of Bolloré and Arnaud Stephan, a former communicator for Marion Maréchal then the National Rally) and the themes chosen (immigration, insecurity, news items, etc.) reinforced this idea.
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This reorganization of the evening segment could presage a new editorial shift. When they took office in October, Jean-Philippe Baille (deputy general manager for information at RMC/BFM) and Fabien Namias (information director at BFMTV) told the editorial staff of their wish to refocus the channel on information to move away from “commentary journalism” on set. The appointment a few weeks later of Camille Langlade, in-house journalist and former head of the political department, as editorial director, or the recruitment of Guillaume Daret, deputy head of the political department of France Télévisions, who will present the meeting from January you Sunday BFM Politics, marked a milestone.
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The November audiences further affirming the leadership of CNews (3.1% market share compared to 2.8% for BFMTV, the biggest gap between the two channels) have finally convinced management. Change is underway. The impatience of Rodolphe Saadé, relayed by the online daily The Letter, seems likely to accelerate the movement. Tuesday morning, Fabien Namias spoke to the editorial staff to confirm the reorganization of the 8 p.m. slot. He also insisted on the desire to return to more information and reporting and to “strengthen the weekend”. Another pending project is the new appearance of the chain.
It remains to be seen with what means. Management promised further announcements. In the meantime, she must deal with around thirty departures as part of the departure clause open until June. Could today's reshuffle and the promise of a new editorial line stop the bleeding?
