Three short months and then it’s gone. In internal emails, Laurent Ruquier and Marc-Olivier Fogiel, general director of BFMTV, announced this Tuesday, December 26, the departure of the host, who had joined the ranks of the continuous news channel at the end of September for its “8 p.m. by Ruquier. “I have decided not to continue the adventure,” he announced to the employees. I would like to thank Marc-Olivier Fogiel for the trust he placed in me and which he wanted to continue to place in me for the January restart, but I prefer to stop there. »
The former face of France 2 does not hide having had difficulty finding his place on the air. “I could hide behind the economic situation and various dramatic events which certainly have not made my task easier since my arrival but it is clear that the public has not followed me in this different role for me,” he writes . For his part, in another email, his boss of a few weeks adds: “The audience (above what we did previously) is not the subject, what leads him to stop is the gap between the the necessary investment and the pleasure he derives from what he can offer to viewers. »
“I don’t regret having left France Télévisions”
Because after an encouraging start, allowing the box to double its audiences, “Ruquier’s 8 p.m.” quickly experienced great difficulties. Over its three months on air, the show attracted an average of 244,000 viewers, or 1.1% of the public. A slight increase over one year (+12,000 curious people), hiding a few large air gaps and insufficient to peck the public at Pascal Praud on CNews, whose “L’heure des pros 2” soared to 820,000 followers (3.8% market share) this season between 8 p.m. and 9 p.m., an increase of 26% in one year. In addition, LCI also gained ground, reaching 195,000 followers in front of “Un oeil sur le monde”, as did franceinfo with 111,000 people.
However, the presenter of RTL’s “Big Heads” assures that he will not leave sad. “I do not regret having left France Télévisions last June for BFMTV, because I experienced these three months as an exciting and incredible experience, one that I never imagined experiencing, but you have to know how to accept your failures. I have so much satisfaction with radio and Les Grosses têtes on RTL, writing for the theater or producing artists, that I only wish to continue doing television on the condition that the pleasure is shared with the viewers. »
For its part, the management of BFMTV “thanks him for attempting this adventure. » “It is only those who do not try anything who are sure of succeeding in nothing,” philosopher Marc-Olivier Fogiel, announcing the return of “Calvi 3D” with Yves Calvi until 8:30 p.m. in January, then the “90 minutes” from that time, presented by Alice Darfeuille. And to conclude: “We therefore continue calmly, in our corridor, far from the comments, to offer the best to our viewers with a solid and varied schedule. »