Cyril Hanouna is going through a very difficult time. Between criticism, sanctions and threats on the C8 frequency, the star presenter is accumulating bad news.
Cyril Hanouna is not in the best of shape. And he is not at the end of his troubles. For the past ten days, the star host of C8 has been suffering one setback after another, culminating in the results of the legislative elections, which unexpectedly turned to the (very slight) advantage of the left. The man who ostentatiously campaigned on television, but also on the radio, against the New Popular Front and in particular La France Insoumise, had sworn to leave France if the latter won (on June 12 on his show TPMP). A promise that was insistently reminded to him on social networks all week. To help him keep his word, the site L’Esprit Critique even launched an online kitty entitled “Goodbye Cyril”, in order to finance his departure. An initiative that made fun of the host’s statements.
Because Cyril Hanouna is far from unanimous. In recent days, he has caused unease at Europe 1, where he arrived in mid-June for a political show on the legislative elections. The radio station was formally notified just ten days later, on June 27, by Arcom, the media regulatory authority, which considered that the host lacked “moderation” and “honesty”. Hanouna has also been criticized by many left-wing personalities, such as the singer Zaho de Sagazan, who has associated him with a “demonization of the left and de-demonization of the far right by the media for weeks […] “absolutely filthy” and even addressed him “a big, really big fuck”. Remarks which earned him a sanction from the management of Europe 1, who decided to boycott his pieces…
But the hardest blow for Hanouna came from his own channel. Faced with the multiple slip-ups of TPMP, regularly pinned by Arcom, C8 has indeed decided to deprive the show of live broadcasts at the start of the school year and to broadcast it with a slight delay. A major change for this program that has built its success on its ability to create buzz live. Cyril Hanouna will now have to do without this major asset.
It must be said that C8 is also under threat. The Council of State has just confirmed the record fine of 3.5 million euros imposed on the channel after Cyril Hanouna himself insulted LFI MP Louis Boyard last November. Another fine of 500,000 euros was also validated following comments made by a guest on TPMP about an alleged drug made from children’s blood consumed by celebrities. In total, Cyril Hanouna’s excesses have already cost C8 more than 7.5 million euros.
But the worst may be yet to come. While the DTT broadcasting licenses expire in 2025, C8 is struggling to convince Arcom to renew its frequency. During her hearing before the regulator on Tuesday, she had to defend a particularly heavy record and commit to putting new safeguards in place. Not sure that this will be enough to reassure an Arcom exasperated by the host’s repeated escapades.