Jean-Charles Lajoie will not be back on BPM Sports in the fall. The radio station announced the departure of the star host in a press release published Tuesday noon.
Mr. Lajoie hosted a daily morning show, Premier Conteur, which was on hiatus for the summer season.
According to our information, Paul Houde should replace Mr. Lajoie as the station’s “morning man”, but the file has not been finalized. In the press release, BPM also indicates that it will announce “its new programming shortly” for the start of the school year on August 28.
“After discussions, we mutually concluded that it was best for him to leave his position at the helm of the morning show,” said Alexandre Panneton, new general manager of BPM Sports since the end of May, in the press release.
Mr. Lajoie’s return to BPM last season did not have the expected effect on the ratings. In the spring of 2023, BPM obtained 0.5 market share in the morning time slot in the Numeris polls. In the spring of 2022, when the morning show was run by Louis-Philippe Guy and Gilbert Delorme, BPM had won 1.1 market share.
Jean-Charles Lajoie is leaving the only 100% French-language sports radio station in Montreal for a second time. The first time, in November 2018, he left to go full-time to TVA Sports.
The 51-year-old returned to BPM last fall, while remaining at the helm of JiC, a daily broadcast at 5 p.m. on TVA Sports.
“I took on the challenge of hosting a second daily sports show with gusto. However, the workload was very significant. After careful consideration and cordial meetings with management, the best decision has emerged for both parties,” Mr. Lajoie said in the statement.
