INTERVIEW
LCI blows its 25th birthday on Thursday. France's second-largest news channel behind BFMTV, with an average audience share of 1% last year, has been on the rise for three years. This anniversary is an opportunity for Thierry Thuillier, deputy general manager of the information division of the TF1 group (parent company of LCI), to review the highlights of the year for the channel and to detail its new orientations. He was the guest of Philippe Vandel in his decryption Media on Europe 1.
"LCI has reached a milestone in 2019," says Thierry Thuillier. The channel climbs among the many channels of information continuously, to the point of having exceeded, then distanced CNews (Canal + group) in 2018. It is now closer to the leader BFMTV. "We can count on strong personalities, like David Pujadas [since 2017], and on very strong appointments like the big premiums", underlines the boss of the information of the group TF1.
1 million viewers gathered around the big debates with the "yellow vests"
LCI was particularly successful with its "big confrontations". "We are the first to have a dialogue between representatives of the yellow vests movement and members of the government, just three days after the second Saturday of demonstrations," said Thierry Thuillier.
"Thanks to these debates, we have gathered a million viewers," he says. The channel competed that night with TMC and its show Burger Quizz for the title of TNT's leading channel. The head of TF1 is convinced that "something is happening in this country, both deep and explosive".
More long formats, decryptions and interviews
Today, LCI relies on politics and debate to establish its position, to make the difference with the competition and to continue to progress. "We do not want information loop, broadcast every half hour a news flash or a newscast," says Thierry Thuillier.
The channel has just signed a new agreement with the Higher Audiovisual Council (CSA), which offers him the opportunity to do more newspapers in the morning. Today LCI is not allowed to devote more than 30% of its air time to pure information.
"This new convention allows us more flexibility," says Thierry Thuillier. LCI plans to take advantage especially in the morning, to multiply the information appointments. During the day, the channel will continue to give more importance to long formats, decryptions and interviews, according to the Deputy Director General. "We want to make our channel a great champion of debate and the confrontation of opinion."