98.5 FM has not renewed the contract of Paul Houde, one of Montreal’s best-known radio voices, who will host his last show next June after 15 years on the airwaves of Montreal’s most listened to station. The city.
The elephant-in-memory host was at the helm of the weekday return show from 2007 to 2019, when he was replaced by Patrick Lagacé. Since then, he hosted Paul Houde’s Weekends Saturday and Sunday morning alongside, among others, her friend, the cultural columnist Thérèse Parisien.
The show, which was also broadcast in Outaouais and Mauricie, will end on June 19, it was announced on Saturday. “The management wishing to reorient its morning programming from [week-end] I respect this decision, ”said Paul Houde in a press release.
A well-known media figure in Quebec, the 67-year-old host spoke of his years at 98.5 FM as his “greatest professional experiences in the radio community”.
It is not known at this time who will replace Paul Houde at the helm of the morning show on weekends.
Some movement
In addition to Paul Houde, several radio and television stars have announced their departure in recent weeks. At the same station, at 98.5 FM, legendary night host Jacques Fabi will retire in June. On TVA, anchor Pierre Bruneau will also present his last bulletin next month, while Denis Lévesque announced this week the end of his public affairs program in its current form.
At Radio-Canada, departure announcements also followed one another. Denis Gagné will not be back at the helm of the magazine The grocery store next September. Host of the morning show on ICI Première in the Quebec region for 17 years, Claude Bernatchez for his part indicated on the air Thursday that he was leaving to take on new challenges. We learned the same day of the retirement of host Michel Lacombe at the end of a career that spanned five decades.