A rant remained across the throat of the management of NRJ 12. On November 18, Jean-Marc Morandini announced live the cessation of his program “Retrouvailles”. “The management of NRJ 12 told us that she did not want to renew this program, to save money,” he said live. I think there were certainly other things to sacrifice before in this program schedule, things that don’t really get an audience. “A decision with which he claimed to be” in disagreement. He added that he would go and “produce it elsewhere”, this program. It may be he who will ultimately have to look elsewhere.
In high places, it clicked. “Would Morandini allow himself such behavior on CNews? “, was annoyed management, while knowing the answer. His overall contract, signed three years ago, will go well until the end of the season. But it will probably not be extended, according to our information. A first for ten years. “Discussions are just beginning,” Jean-Marc Morandini’s entourage told us. For its part, the channel declined to comment.
The 56-year-old host landed on NRJ 12 in the summer of 2012, hosting “You are live”, a program on the news of people and the media in prime time access. Viewers don’t catch on. At the beginning of 2013, he rebounded with “Crimes”, a program of miscellaneous events, his other specialty. This time, the public is at the rendezvous. In 2018, it even got a daily version. At the head of several bonuses, he then became the pillar of the small chain, especially since the fall of the “Angels of reality TV”.
Audiences down
But today, its audiences have fallen into the red, unlike those of “Morandini Live” on CNews. For NRJ 12, this is one more reason to distance itself. In the evening, “Crimes” now brings together less than 400,000 people (1.8% of PDA). That is a drop of nearly 40% in 5 years. More problematic, the audience share of responsible women under 50 has fallen to 1.5%, while the channel expects at least 2% to fill up on advertisers. The observation is identical on its other programs, such as “Heritages” or “Emergencies”. On a daily basis, Jean-Marc Morandini still limits the damage by remaining below 200,000 followers (2.8% and 3.5% on target).
Like Itélé, which became CNews, NRJ 12 had nevertheless kept Jean-Marc Morandini’s programs on the air in 2016 despite the casting scandal for the web series “Les Faucons” and his indictment for aggravated minor corruption. The only difference: the host no longer appeared physically, contenting himself with lending his voice to the reports. A decision maintained a few months before a return to normal. And this, while the Paris Court of Appeal validated his referral to the criminal court last November. “Presumption of innocence”, then argued the chain. “But hitting the NRJ group is unforgivable for the management,” said a manager.