99.5 FM’s new hosts are unanimous: The arrival of the station, which offers information, opinion and public affairs content, will help break the monopoly of talk radio in Montreal.
“I think it’s important, diversity of opinion on the radio, I think it’s important to have it, and we’re adding it. We’re also here to provide an alternative, 98.5 FM, which is like a monopoly,” argued Benoit Dudrysak at a press conference on Monday morning.
The world of talk radio in Montreal will undergo a major change on August 26 as the station, 99.5 FM on WKND’s frequency, will now broadcast content from QUB Radio.
“We are seeing a passion for opinion, information and public affairs content among French-speaking listeners,” noted Nicolas Leclerc, co-owner of Leclerc Communication.
“Being faced with an event of this magnitude, we want to provide Montreal listeners with new programming that best suits their interests and needs,” he explained.
A decision that Mario Dumont understands, which airs every day of the week from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m., emphasizes the presence of “basically a monopoly” in the Montreal market.
“A new challenge” for Dumont
The morning host recognizes that he is setting himself a challenge by agreeing to take on this part of the show, which he has always refused to do in the past.
“It feels like an important time in my life. Honestly, I’ve always said that I’m not on a personal level to wake up so early, I’m a real evening guy,” admitted the host during a press conference on Monday morning.
Photo by Chantal Poirier
“For me, it’s a life discipline that I have to impose on myself,” said a regular at LCN in the morning.
In addition to Mario Dumont and Benoît Dudrisac, listeners can follow Isabelle Maréchal from 9am to 11am, Sophie Durocher (2pm to 3pm) and finally Richard Martineau (3pm to 6pm).
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