The survey conducted in June, July and August confirms the lead of the Cogeco Media 98.5 FM channel over its competitors from Monday to Sunday, even during the summer, with a market share of 21.4%, up 1.9% compared to last summer.
In fact, Cogeco occupies three of the top four positions in the latest Numéris survey, released Thursday. Rythme 105, 7 FM came in second with a market share of 15%, while CKOI finished fourth with 9.3%.
At 98.5 FM, the summer teams were notably led by Louis Lacroix in the morning, Marie-Claude Lavallée from 10 a.m. to noon and Élisabeth Crête for the return home. Jeffrey Subranni, Philippe Léger and Évelyne Audet hosted the weekend show.
It is also in the morning that 98.5 FM widens its lead. The show Since we have to get up obtains in fact a third of the market share with 33.3%. It is followed by All one morningfrom Ici Première, 95.1 FM, which recorded a score of 18.9%, and Early riserfrom Rythme FM, which comes third with 7.7%.
In interview with The Pressthe program director of 98.5 FM, Julie-Christine Gagnon, welcomed these summer results which place the channel in first place, not only in Quebec, but also in Canada.
PHOTO FRANÇOIS ROY, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Julie-Christine Gagnon, Program Director at 98.5 FM
This is excellent news, it’s quite rare that we’re number one in Canada, so we’re really very happy. Sometimes in the summer, people listen more to music radio, switch off a bit from the news, but that wasn’t the case this summer. It must be said that we had solid teams on air from morning to night.
Julie-Christine Gagnon, program director at 98.5 FM
The secret of the recipe, according to Julie-Christine Gagnon? “What I remember is that listeners are hungry for information, but also that we have to find a balance between serious and lighter subjects, especially in the summer. It’s a clever mix of the two that makes our shows successful,” she says.
In this summer Numéris survey, Radio-Canada comes in third place overall (Monday to Sunday), a hair behind Rythme FM, with a market share of 14.8%. But compared to summer 2023, Ici Première recorded the biggest decline of the top four channels with a drop of 12.4%. The two flagship summer dailies were hosted by Maxime Coutié (All one morning) and Monic Néron (15-18).
On the other hand, Ici Musique is doing much better than last summer with a 23.1% increase to reach a market share of 6.4%, its biggest increase ever. “The increase in Ici Musique’s listening share is truly exceptional when you consider the essential role that this channel must play in the broadcasting of local music and artists,” wrote Caroline Jamet, General Manager of Audio and Radio at Radio-Canada.
Finally, the Bell Media stations, Rouge FM and Énergie, occupy the 5 positions respectivelye and 6e ranks with market shares of 7.4% and 6.5%.