TVA (TV network)
Encyclopedia
TVA is a privately owned French language
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...

 television network
Television network
A television network is a telecommunications network for distribution of television program content, whereby a central operation provides programming to many television stations or pay TV providers. Until the mid-1980s, television programming in most countries of the world was dominated by a small...

 in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

. The network is currently owned by Groupe TVA Inc. , a publicly traded subsidiary of Quebecor Media. TVA is believed to be short for Téléviseurs associés or Télédiffuseurs associés, depending on the source (both can be roughly translated to "Associated Telecasters"; however, only the initials are used on-air). The name reflects TVA's roots as a cooperative
Cooperative
A cooperative is a business organization owned and operated by a group of individuals for their mutual benefit...

 network owned by its affiliates.

Headquartered in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...

, the network only has affiliates in Quebec, although certain affiliates have transmitters serving parts of New Brunswick
New Brunswick
New Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only province in the federation that is constitutionally bilingual . The provincial capital is Fredericton and Saint John is the most populous city. Greater Moncton is the largest Census Metropolitan Area...

 and Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....

. However, since becoming a national network in 1998, it has been available on cable across Canada.

As the first private network in French-speaking Canada and having originally been a cooperative, TVA is often considered to be the French counterpart of CTV
CTV television network
CTV Television Network is a Canadian English language television network and is owned by Bell Media. It is Canada's largest privately-owned network, and has consistently placed as Canada's top-rated network in total viewers and in key demographics since 2002, after several years trailing the rival...

; indeed, CTV and TVA have similar logos, with the same geometric shapes (circle, square, triangle) in three different colours, though the two networks have never been jointly owned.

Overview

TVA traces its roots to 1963, when CJPM-TV
CJPM-TV
CJPM-DT is the TVA owned and operated station in Saguenay, Quebec. Its studios and transmitter are located in the former city of Chicoutimi....

 in Chicoutimi (now part of Saguenay
Saguenay, Quebec
Saguenay is a city in the Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean region of Quebec, Canada, on the Saguenay River, about north of Quebec City....

), a station only a few months old and in need of revenue, began sharing programs with the biggest privately owned francophone station in Canada, CFTM-TV
CFTM-TV
CFTM-DT channel 10, is the flagship of the TVA television network, located in Montreal, Quebec.-History:It opened on February 19, 1961, a few weeks after CFCF-TV went on the air for the first time. It was owned by Joseph Alexandre DeSève and his company, Télé-Métropole...

 in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...

. They were joined by CFCM-TV
CFCM-TV
CFCM-TV is the TVA owned and operated station in Quebec City. Its studios and transmitter are co-located on Myrand Street in the former suburb of Sainte-Foy...

 in Quebec City
Quebec City
Quebec , also Québec, Quebec City or Québec City is the capital of the Canadian province of Quebec and is located within the Capitale-Nationale region. It is the second most populous city in Quebec after Montreal, which is about to the southwest...

 in 1964 after CFCM lost its Radio-Canada
Télévision de Radio-Canada
Télévision de Radio-Canada is a Canadian French language television network. It is owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, known in French as Société Radio-Canada. Headquarters are at Maison Radio-Canada in Montreal, which is also home to the network's flagship station, CBFT-DT...

 affiliation. While the three stations shared programs for many years, it was not until 1971 that the informal link became a proper network, TVA, with CFTM as the flagship station. The network began the first private French-language network news service in Canada in 1972. Between 1973 and 1983, seven more stations joined the network.

When the network was formally organized in 1971, its affiliates ran it as a cooperative, much like CTV operated for many years. In 1982, the cooperative became a corporation with the station owners as shareholders.

For many years, TVA's schedule was very similar to that of what CTV offered before Baton Broadcasting took over the network (and similar to what Global
Global Television Network
Global Television Network is an English language privately owned television network in Canada, owned by Calgary-based Shaw Communications, as part of its Shaw Media division...

 offers today) in that it did not have what could be called a main schedule aside from news. For instance, Pathonic Communications
Réseau Pathonic
Réseau Pathonic was a French-language television network operating in the Canadian province of Quebec from approximately 1986 to 1990. The network was owned by Pathonic Communications Inc., controlled by the family of Paul Vien with 51%, and Télé-Métropole with 34%, with the remaining 15% owned by...

, which owned the TVA affiliates in Quebec City, Sherbrooke, Trois-Rivières
Trois-Rivières
Trois-Rivières means three rivers in French and may refer to:in Canada*Trois-Rivières, the largest city in the Mauricie region of Quebec, Canada*Circuit Trois-Rivières, a racetrack in Trois-Rivières, Quebec...

 and Rimouski and provided programming to the affiliate in Rivière-du-Loup; offered programming that was radically different from that offered on CFTM. The differences were enough that Sherbrooke's CHLT-TV
CHLT-TV
CHLT-TV is the TVA owned and operated station in Sherbrooke, Quebec.The station went on the air for the first time on August 12, 1956. It was owned by La Tribune, the city's major newspaper, along with CHLT radio. Like most television stations in Quebec, it was a dual affiliate of both CBC and...

, whose over-the-air signal reaches Montreal, was carried on Montreal cable
Cable television
Cable television is a system of providing television programs to consumers via radio frequency signals transmitted to televisions through coaxial cables or digital light pulses through fixed optical fibers located on the subscriber's property, much like the over-the-air method used in traditional...

 systems. However, CFTM dominated the network to an even greater extent that Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...

's CFTO-TV
CFTO-TV
CFTO-DT, broadcast on channel 9 and cable 8, is a television station in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, owned by Bell Media. Currently branded as CTV Toronto, it is the flagship station of the CTV Television Network, and was one of the charter members of the network when it was launched in 1961. It...

 dominated CTV, contributing as much of 90% of the network's programming. That was not surprising as Montreal has always been the centre of French-language broadcasting in Canada.

In 1989, Télé-Metropole, which owned CFTM and CJPM, bought out Pathonic and changed its name to Groupe TVA Inc., a subsidiary of cable company Vidéotron
Vidéotron
Vidéotron GP is a Canadian integrated telecommunications company active in cable television, interactive multimedia development, video on demand, cable telephony, wireless communication and Internet access services. Currently, the company primarily serves Quebec, as well as the francophone...

. The other station owners sold the outstanding shares of the network in 1992. Nine years later, Quebecor became owner of TVA.

TVA also owns Le Canal Nouvelles
Le Canal Nouvelles
Le Canal Nouvelles is a Canadian French language Category C 24 hour headline news specialty channel owned by Groupe TVA, a division of Quebecor Media...

 (LCN), Canada's only private French language headline news channel. When TVA completes its broadcast day, the TVA stations simulcast LCN until TVA's next broadcast day begins. As well, the company owns a magazine publishing division unit, a film production and distribution house, and a number of other Internet and cable properties, many of which are often used to cross-promote TVA series and events.

For most of the last 30 years, TVA has been more popular than Télévision de Radio-Canada
Télévision de Radio-Canada
Télévision de Radio-Canada is a Canadian French language television network. It is owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, known in French as Société Radio-Canada. Headquarters are at Maison Radio-Canada in Montreal, which is also home to the network's flagship station, CBFT-DT...

, the French-language counterpart of CBC Television
CBC Television
CBC Television is a Canadian television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster.Although the CBC is supported by public funding, the television network supplements this funding with commercial advertising revenue, in contrast to CBC Radio which are...

. All but 10 of the 50 most popular television shows in Quebec come from TVA. For many years, TVA's reach outside of Quebec was only a fraction of that of Radio-Canada, despite its popularity. The only stations with significant viewership outside of Quebec were CHOT-TV
CHOT-TV
CHOT-DT is a television station in Gatineau, Quebec, Canada. It is affiliated with the TVA network, and also serves Franco-Ontarians in the neighbouring city of Ottawa, Ontario. Its studios are located in the former city of Hull. The station broadcasts on channel 40, and it is owned by RNC Media...

 of Hull
Hull, Quebec
Hull is the central and oldest part of the city of Gatineau, Quebec, Canada. It is located on the west bank of the Gatineau River and the north shore of the Ottawa River, directly opposite Ottawa. As part of the Canadian National Capital Region, it contains offices for twenty thousand...

 (now part of Gatineau), CIMT-TV
CIMT-TV
CIMT-TV is a television station. It is the TVA affiliate in Rivière-du-Loup, Quebec.-History:The station was launched on September 17, 1978...

 of Rivière-du-Loup and CHAU-TV
CHAU-TV
CHAU-TV is a television station. It is the TVA affiliate in Carleton-sur-Mer, Quebec and is owned by Télé Inter-Rives.The original owner of CHAU was Dr. Charles Houde of La Télévision de la Baie des Chaleurs, who put the station on the air for the first time on October 17, 1959 as a dual CBC/SRC...

 of Carleton-sur-Mer. CHOT also serves Ottawa
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...

 and has been available on most cable systems in Northeastern Ontario
Northeastern Ontario
Northeastern Ontario is the region within the Canadian province of Ontario which lies north and east of Lakes Superior and Huron.Northeastern Ontario consists of the districts of Algoma, Sudbury, Cochrane, Timiskaming, Nipissing and Manitoulin; and the single-tier municipality of Greater...

 since the early 1980s, owing to its large Franco-Ontarian
Franco-Ontarian
Franco-Ontarians are French Canadian or francophone residents of the Canadian province of Ontario. They are sometimes known as "Ontarois"....

 population. CIMT and CHAU both operate rebroadcasters in New Brunswick, and between them provide nearly the entire province with TVA service. However, TVA did provide a cable feed known as TCTV starting in 1981, consisting of most of CFTM's programming and local news from other TVA stations.

However, in 1998, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission made it compulsory for all cable systems in Canada to carry a TVA station, in order to give Canada's francophone minority communities a second French-language programming choice. The station offered is usually the network's flagship, CFTM. With few exceptions, the cable companies that already carried other TVA affiliates continued to carry those stations after TVA carriage became mandatory.

TVA also provides a time-shifted feed for cable companies in Western Canada
Western Canada
Western Canada, also referred to as the Western provinces and commonly as the West, is a region of Canada that includes the four provinces west of the province of Ontario.- Provinces :...

. However, this feed is little more than an electronic delay of CFTM's programming, rebroadcast three hours later to viewers in Western Canada through a separate feed.

Although TVA is a full-fledged network, its network feed is basically a retransmission of CFTM, with opt outs by local affiliates for local news, commercials and locally produced programming. While this allows TVA to air more network programming than any other Canadian network (the basis for its longtime slogan, Le sens de la télé or "The Meaning of Television"), it also means that CFTM usually can't interrupt its programming for news or weather bulletins in Montreal without interrupting the entire network.

Other services

In 2004, TVA's parent Groupe TVA and fellow Quebecor subsidiary Sun Media
Sun Media
Sun Media Corporation is the owner of several widely read tabloid and broadsheet newspapers in Canada and the 49 percent owner of Sun News Network...

 jointly acquired CKXT-TV
CKXT-TV
CKXT-DT was a broadcast television station based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and serving much of southern and eastern Ontario, owned by Quebecor Media through its Groupe TVA unit. At the time of the station's closure on November 1, 2011, the station was serving as an over-the-air simulcast of...

 in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...

, an independent station once known as Toronto One, in 2004. The company's first English-language television station, it continues to be run as an independent station, not as a TVA affiliate, although it was rebranded "Sun TV" for Sun Media's local newspaper, the Toronto Sun
Toronto Sun
The Toronto Sun is an English-language daily tabloid newspaper published in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is known for its daily Sunshine Girl feature and for what it sees as a populist conservative editorial stance.-History:...

. In early 2005, TVA confirmed to The Globe and Mail
The Globe and Mail
The Globe and Mail is a nationally distributed Canadian newspaper, based in Toronto and printed in six cities across the country. With a weekly readership of approximately 1 million, it is Canada's largest-circulation national newspaper and second-largest daily newspaper after the Toronto Star...

that it would continue to look for other expansion opportunities in English Canada
English Canada
English Canada is a term used to describe one of the following:# English-speaking Canadians, as opposed to French-speaking Canadians. It is employed when comparing English- and French-language literature, media, or art...

, although as of 2008 no further purchase announcements have been made by the company. As of April 18, 2011, CKXT-TV simulcast the programming of Sun News Network, an English version of LCN.

Groupe TVA also operates a number of cable specialty channels, including addikTV (formerly Mystère), ARGENT, Casa (formerly Les idées de ma maison télé), LCN
Le Canal Nouvelles
Le Canal Nouvelles is a Canadian French language Category C 24 hour headline news specialty channel owned by Groupe TVA, a division of Quebecor Media...

, Mlle
Mlle (TV channel)
Mlle is a Canadian French language Category B specialty channel. Mlle airs lifestyle and entertainment programming aimed at women . It is owned by Groupe TVA, a division of Quebecor Media.Mlle launched on May 2, 2011 in both standard and high definition...

, Prise 2
Prise 2
Prise 2 is a Canadian French language Category B specialty channel with programming featuring television series and films mainly from Quebec and the United States from 25 years ago. It is owned by Groupe TVA, a division of Quebecor Media. The channel launched on February 9, 2006....

, Shopping TVA
Shopping TVA
Shopping TVA is a Canadian French language cable television home shopping and infomercial channel. Shopping TVA is currently owned and operated by Groupe TVA; a division of Quebecor Media Inc....

 and Yoopa
Yoopa
Yoopa is a Canadian French language Category B specialty channel. Yoopa launched on April 1, 2010 in both standard and high definition. It is owned by Groupe TVA and features programming targeted toward preschoolers, aged 2 to 6....

. Groupe TVA is also a majority owner of The Cave, which it co-owns with Shaw Media
Shaw Media
Shaw Media is the television broadcasting division of Shaw Communications. Shaw Media owns the Global Television Network, which broadcasts via 11 television stations, as well as various specialty channels including HGTV Canada, Showcase, Food Network Canada, and History Television.Despite also...

; it also equally owns Mystery TV
Mystery TV
Mystery TV is a Canadian English language Category A specialty channel which presents movies and television series of the mystery and suspense genres...

 with Shaw Media, with Shaw Media being managing partner. Groupe TVA is also a minority owner of Évasion
Evasion
Evasion may refer to:*Évasion, a Canadian French-language travel and adventure television channel*Evasion , a deceptive act*Evasion , to avoid government mandate through specious means...

, with Serdy Direct as majority owner.

Slogan

  • Current: "C'est vrai" (It's Real)
  • Past: "Le sens de la télé" (The Meaning of Television)
"Le réseau d'ici" (The Network from Here)
"Le meilleur de la télé" (The Best of Television)

TVA HD

On February 1, 2007, TVA launched an HD
High-definition television
High-definition television is video that has resolution substantially higher than that of traditional television systems . HDTV has one or two million pixels per frame, roughly five times that of SD...

 simulcast of its Montreal station CFTM-TV
CFTM-TV
CFTM-DT channel 10, is the flagship of the TVA television network, located in Montreal, Quebec.-History:It opened on February 19, 1961, a few weeks after CFCF-TV went on the air for the first time. It was owned by Joseph Alexandre DeSève and his company, Télé-Métropole...

. TVA HD is available via satellite, digital cable or DTT
Digital terrestrial television
Digital terrestrial television is the technological evolution of broadcast television and advance from analog television, which broadcasts land-based signals...

. A simulcast of Quebec station CFCM-TV
CFCM-TV
CFCM-TV is the TVA owned and operated station in Quebec City. Its studios and transmitter are co-located on Myrand Street in the former suburb of Sainte-Foy...

 was launched in 2009, and a simulcast of Sherbrooke station CHLT-TV
CHLT-TV
CHLT-TV is the TVA owned and operated station in Sherbrooke, Quebec.The station went on the air for the first time on August 12, 1956. It was owned by La Tribune, the city's major newspaper, along with CHLT radio. Like most television stations in Quebec, it was a dual affiliate of both CBC and...

 was launched July 19, 2010, available only on Vidéotron cable in their respective areas. TVA has not yet launched any digital transmitter for any of their station, waiting for the digital transition deadline of August 31, 2011.

Owned and operated

  • Montreal
    Montreal
    Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...

     - CFTM
    CFTM-TV
    CFTM-DT channel 10, is the flagship of the TVA television network, located in Montreal, Quebec.-History:It opened on February 19, 1961, a few weeks after CFCF-TV went on the air for the first time. It was owned by Joseph Alexandre DeSève and his company, Télé-Métropole...

  • Quebec City
    Quebec City
    Quebec , also Québec, Quebec City or Québec City is the capital of the Canadian province of Quebec and is located within the Capitale-Nationale region. It is the second most populous city in Quebec after Montreal, which is about to the southwest...

     - CFCM
    CFCM-TV
    CFCM-TV is the TVA owned and operated station in Quebec City. Its studios and transmitter are co-located on Myrand Street in the former suburb of Sainte-Foy...

  • Rimouski - CFER
    CFER-TV
    CFER is a television station. It is the TVA affiliate in Rimouski, Quebec.The station was launched on June 4, 1978.CFER also has a rebroadcast transmitter in Sept-Îles, CFER-TV-2, broadcasting on Channel 5 with 100 kW of power.-External links:**...

  • Saguenay
    Saguenay, Quebec
    Saguenay is a city in the Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean region of Quebec, Canada, on the Saguenay River, about north of Quebec City....

     - CJPM
    CJPM-TV
    CJPM-DT is the TVA owned and operated station in Saguenay, Quebec. Its studios and transmitter are located in the former city of Chicoutimi....

  • Sherbrooke - CHLT
    CHLT-TV
    CHLT-TV is the TVA owned and operated station in Sherbrooke, Quebec.The station went on the air for the first time on August 12, 1956. It was owned by La Tribune, the city's major newspaper, along with CHLT radio. Like most television stations in Quebec, it was a dual affiliate of both CBC and...

  • Trois-Rivières
    Trois-Rivières
    Trois-Rivières means three rivers in French and may refer to:in Canada*Trois-Rivières, the largest city in the Mauricie region of Quebec, Canada*Circuit Trois-Rivières, a racetrack in Trois-Rivières, Quebec...

     - CHEM
    CHEM-TV
    CHEM-TV is a Canadian television station. It is the TVA owned and operated station in Trois-Rivières, Quebec.The station was founded on August 29, 1976 and was owned by Telemedia. It was originally a semi-satellite of CHLT-TV in Sherbrooke, and has been a TVA station for its entire existence. ...


Affiliates

  • Carleton-sur-Mer
    Carleton-sur-Mer, Quebec
    Carleton-sur-Mer is the fifth largest town of the Gaspésie's south shore, in southeastern Quebec, located on route 132, along Baie des Chaleurs.- Culture :* attracts over 20,000 spectators to see local and international artists...

     - CHAU
    CHAU-TV
    CHAU-TV is a television station. It is the TVA affiliate in Carleton-sur-Mer, Quebec and is owned by Télé Inter-Rives.The original owner of CHAU was Dr. Charles Houde of La Télévision de la Baie des Chaleurs, who put the station on the air for the first time on October 17, 1959 as a dual CBC/SRC...

     (Télé Inter-Rives
    Télé Inter-Rives
    Télé Inter-Rives is a broadcasting company based in Rivière-du-Loup, Quebec. The company operates three stations in Rivière-du-Loup in a rare "triple-stick" :* CKRT 7/5/13...

    )*
  • Gatineau
    Gatineau
    Gatineau is a city in western Quebec, Canada. It is the fourth largest city in the province. It is located on the northern banks of the Ottawa River, immediately across from Ottawa, Ontario, and together they form Canada's National Capital Region. Ottawa and Gatineau comprise a single Census...

     - CHOT
    CHOT-TV
    CHOT-DT is a television station in Gatineau, Quebec, Canada. It is affiliated with the TVA network, and also serves Franco-Ontarians in the neighbouring city of Ottawa, Ontario. Its studios are located in the former city of Hull. The station broadcasts on channel 40, and it is owned by RNC Media...

     (RNC Media)
  • Rivière-du-Loup - CIMT
    CIMT-TV
    CIMT-TV is a television station. It is the TVA affiliate in Rivière-du-Loup, Quebec.-History:The station was launched on September 17, 1978...

     (Télé Inter-Rives)*
  • Rouyn-Noranda - CFEM
    CFEM-TV
    CFEM-DT is a TVA television affiliate in Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec, and is the youngest of the TVA network affiliates, having launched in 1979. CFEM is owned by RNC Media, which also owns CKRN-DT in Rouyn-Noranda and CFVS-DT in the neighbouring city of Val-d'Or....

    (RNC Media)


* - TVA's parent, Quebecor, owns a 45% stake of Télé Inter-Rives.

External links

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