Of all the hearing waves, the September / October one is still the most anticipated of the year.
It is she who gives the LA of the season.
Are the novelties paying?
Was it right not to change anything or on the contrary to break everything?
It is therefore with excitement that the radio stations received their audience figures this Wednesday morning, 24 hours before the publication of all the data by Médiamétrie this Thursday morning, at 8 am sharp.
In the staffs of the different groups, we are all the more tense as the climate is bad: the coronavirus has melted advertising and the radio media as a whole lost feathers during the first confinement.
2.2 million French people stopped listening to the radio overnight last spring for a total of 40.1 million.
The situation is improving this time, since all the stations have 41 million faithful per day but this figure remains down 1.5% over one year, with 600,000 people lost compared to the start of the 2019 school year.
France Inter flames, RTL still down
In this gloomy context, the public service is in great shape.
France Inter recorded its best ever comeback, with 6.8 million listeners and 13.3% audience share.
The resort has gained more than 400,000 followers compared to the previous year, and is approaching its historic record (6.9 million regulars in total last winter).
The radio of Léa Salamé, Nicolas Demorand, Nagui, Augustin Trapenard and Charline Vanhoenacker is therefore undoubtedly the first radio station in France, as is almost always the case since January 2019. Nothing seems to disturb this team, perfectly in orbit.
RTL is second with just over 6 million listeners and 12.7% audience share.
Yves Calvi and Laurent Ruquier's radio station remains very powerful but loses around 150,000 regulars and records its third consecutive re-entry on the decline ... It is too early to know which programs are suffering particularly: hour by hour data will only be communicated on Thursday morning .
The M 6 group - owner of the station - can however be reassured by noting that all the private radio stations are gritting their teeth.
RTL is also widening the gap with its rival NRJ, which can no longer claim the first place it sometimes managed to get until 2015. Its programs and its playlist now have 5 million aficionados, a loss of around 250,000 people (-5%).
RMC in the hard, difficult succession on Virgin Radio
With 4.8 million regulars, France Info has had its strongest comeback since 2007!
It makes sense for radio to be carried by the strong news.
They are 530,000 more French to have the reflex compared to the start of the 2019 school year. The Maison de la Radio is celebrating on all floors: France Culture equalizes its historic audience record, with 1.6 million faithful.
After several difficult seasons, France Bleu reversed the trend and won back 150,000 curious visitors for a total of 3.4 million.
RMC continues its slow erosion with 3.3 million news enthusiasts.
The replacement of Jean-Jacques Bourdin by Apolline de Malherbe at the head of the morning has so far not worked a miracle.
The cousin of BFM TV loses nearly 400,000 listeners, one of the strong falls of the wave.
Very difficult succession also for Virgin Radio where Manu Payet has the heavy task of succeeding Camille Combal, who awakened the station for six years.
No miracle: the music radio sees its audience fall by more than 20%, with more than 1.8 million faithful against more than 2.3 million a year ago when the star of TF1 was at the microphone ...
Europe 1 does not come out of its difficulties either ... With only nearly 2.7 million faithful, the radio still loses 145,000 regulars in one year despite the arrivals of Stéphane Bern and Julian Bugier.
Employees will be reassured by seeing their situation improve compared to the big air hole last spring.
