CNews had a record January month with 1.9% cumulative audience share.

Criticized for giving a voice too "liberated" to personalities classified to the right, even to the extreme right, the channel is however "neither right nor left", claims on Europe 1 Gérald-Brice Viret, general manager of channels and programs of the Canal + group.

INTERVIEW

How to explain the meteoric growth of CNews, whose audience share rose from 0.8% in January 2020 to 1.9% in January 2021?

There is obviously the effect of the Covid-19 health crisis, which has pushed the French to learn more than ever about a virus as mysterious as it is devastating.

There is, surely, the result of an assumed positioning of "liberated speech", which would lean clearly to the right according to many.

Guest of

Culture Médias

, on Europe 1, Gérald-Brice Viret, general manager of the antennas and programs of the Canal + group, returned the success of a channel which counts a growing number of viewers and despisers.

"You should know that after i-Télé, four years ago, we started from zero", rewinds Gérald-Brice Viret.

"We restarted a chain which, for more than a month, was on strike and allowed LCI to pass us in front. Our objective was to be at 1% on the CSP +. We are at 1.9% . "

To achieve this, the chain has "found its differences", advance the leader at the microphone of Philippe Vandel.

Zemmour not in "the position of extremes"

For four years, decryption, opinions and debates have followed one another on DTT channel 16, all day long.

To animate them, we find figures like Pascal Praud, Jean-Claude Dassier, Elisabeth Levy or Eric Zemmour, known for their "free speech", therefore.

"People who did not necessarily have access to the media every day", summarizes Gérald-Brice Viret, who insists: "We bring a lot to democracy."

"

We are not behind any party. We have no political agenda

"

But beware: officially, the channel is "neither left nor right".

The antenna reflects above all an "editorial positioning", notes the head of the antennas.

"Everyone is welcome on CNews. We even had the former President of the Socialist Republic, François Hollande for an hour. We had all the people from the right and the left on this set. We are not behind any party. We have no political agenda. "

Even when Eric Zemmour, convicted of incitement to racial hatred on September 25, 2020, four days later defends the idea that unaccompanied minors are "thieves, murderers, rapists"?

"I do not consider that Eric Zemmour is in the position of extremes. In any case, he is in

Le Figaro

, on M6, on Paris Première", underlines the leader. 

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The subjects?

"All everyday themes"

Gérald-Brice Viret however assumes that he wants to "differentiate himself from other chains".

“Because we succeeded, we are told that we are a right-wing chain,” he chokes.

For him, the subjects treated, "which were not sufficiently covered on other television channels", are "all the themes of everyday life".

To hear Gérald-Brice Viret, the change of editorial line therefore has no place, given the audience figures and the place taken by the channel in the French audiovisual landscape, even if it means act in place of the ugly duckling.

"There is a way of doing it which is different on CNews", claims Gérald-Brice Viret.

"The proof is that the viewers are there and it's a hit."