Shockwave In Quebec’s Radio World, Famous And Controversial Host Jeff Fillon Will Soon Leave CHOI FM

• Read also: “Radio epicenter”: columnist Claude Villeneuve responds to Jeff Fillon’s call

The host declined the renewal offer proposed by CHOI Radio X, and confirmed Thursday noon Philippe Lefevre, vice president of RNC Media that owns the station.

On the waves of Radio Pirate, his internet radio running parallel to his duties as a host at CHOI, Fillion confirmed that he had not received any offer.

“Over the past few months, I have informed RNC of the plans I have for my future and RNC has not complied with my requests and terms and has chosen not to offer me a new contract,” said the Animation Director.

“I was involved in building Radio X. It’s not as bad as my kid’s. On air and online [mon équipe et moi] We are No. 1. Every week we break our records flow. Reach the top harshIt’s harder to stay there, and that’s what we did […] The 54-year-old, who did not want to make comments to register.

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confused

After announcing that his association with CHOI would end in August, he said he was very excited to focus “100% on my daily program at radiopirate.com. “

Upon arriving at CHOI in 1996, he was at the center of a restructuring of the station in 1998, which then took place in the identification of Radio X. He was plagued by legal action, including one with Sophie Chiason that went to court, and numerous complaints to CRTC, and left the station in 2005. He returned to CHOI in 2016 after a two-year stint at NRJ 98.9 that ended in controversy.

End of an era

Does Jeff Fillion’s departure from Radio X mark the end of an era in Radio Quebec, which is often described as trash radio?

Populist radio work will continue to be popular, but the style is more restrictive now. US television producer Aaron Spelling said that “the one who will lose money because he will overestimate people’s bad taste is not born,” believes Claude Tibodeau, former station director and now analyst.

One of the key figures in the Radio Quebec world, Alain Dufresne, who now heads the College of Radio Television Québec, stresses that this is a change of platform, not the end of the polarizing host.

“What he’s doing at Radio Pirate is the same, says Alain Dufresne. He doesn’t want to change his style, but he needs a platform. This isn’t the end of the genre, nor the end of the individual. He wants to prove his independence. Doesn’t it work? Stay with us. It’s a game chicken. Who will go last? It’s not an ending story, it’s a new chapter.

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Claude Thibodeau thinks Fillion will find another microphone.

“I don’t think it is the end of his career on the airwaves. What he has created is a property too special to be extinguished overnight. He will return elsewhere, if that is his wish, but he may not have the same bargaining advantage. An employer interested in his services has a whole series of conditions that will require him to be more intellectually rigorous.

Alan Dufresne does not share this view.

“I would be surprised if what’s economically meaningless to Radio X makes sense to another station. Jeff is so cuddled. It has its advantages and disadvantages. Lots of people have been following it for a long time, but it’s not highly exportable.

“It’s a platform change, but it’s not the end of Jeff. What he continues to lose is regular pay. Announcing it in advance is smart. He will allow his listeners who are not yet on Radio Pirate to follow him. He takes a chance that it will work.”

the reasons

Claude Thibodeau explains divorce with a mixture of three factors; Corporate, legal and financial.

“The station wants to do such and such, but the star doesn’t. The RNC has a lot of other interests in radio and television. Then polemics give way to criticism, lawsuits, and boycotts. If Radio X were alone in the world, that wouldn’t be a problem. But when it belongs to Big group, people who want to put pressure on you have multiple entry points to cause damage,” he says.

Radio products are experiencing a growth curve that leads to an improvement in (financial) conditions during this period. There comes a time when it reaches a point of maturity and it costs you more than it brings. We can no longer get more money from advertising,” adds Mr Thibodeau, who says he went through the same thing when Zoo, the popular morning show on FM 93 he runs, went to rival CHIK-FM.

Alan Dufresne chooses the financial question.

He thinks, “He sure stumbled on the money. NBC dropped the NFL contract because it was no longer profitable. Radio X, which collects nearly 25% of the advertising budget for radio in Quebec, can afford it. Will they lose money? Maybe. You cost too much.” , and attend a lot. It’s a business decision. Jeff broadcasts from Florida. Radio X is a file Correction work of independent businessmen.

“For Radio X, it’s the loss of a famous host,” he continues. But in Jeff’s first start, they find the antenna is too high. The station barely slowed down. It is a phenomenon. To have such big names who left [comme Denis Gravel] The antenna was maintained. This is a case that needs to be studied.”

for sale?

According to Mr. Dufresne, the CHOI is still for sale. “If I was in plot mode, I would wonder if it would have been easier to sell the station with or without Jeff.”

Nor does not renewing the contract interfere with the sale, Mr Thibodeau acknowledges.

When a company sells a station with stars, they don’t take the initiative to dispose of them without first consulting the buyer. If this is the case, the buyer clearly has a say in Mr. Fillion’s value in relation to the terminal’s development plans.