TVA Sports
Encyclopedia
TVA Sports is a Canadian
French language
Category C
specialty channel
. The channel is owned by Groupe TVA, a publicly traded subsidiary of Quebecor Media.
TVA Sports is a general-interest sports channel and is being positioned as the first major competitor to RDS
, the only other general-interest French language sports channel in the country.
, and the company's backing of a return for the National Hockey League
in Quebec City
, including the acquisition of naming rights to a new arena in Quebec City
, which has been considered a potential home for a new NHL franchise.
On August 18, 2011, Rogers announced that Sportsnet would be establishing a partnership with TVA Sports to acquire programming and share production resources between the two channels. Rogers had originally planned on launching its own competing French sports channel, but has scrapped these plans in favour of the partnership with TVA Sports.
The channel launched on September 12, 2011 in both standard definition
and high definition
.
soccer, Ottawa Senators
hockey (25 games during the 2011-12 season), Toronto Blue Jays
baseball (60 games during the 2012 season), and Ultimate Fighting Championship
events.
TVA Sports will also serve as the official broadcaster of the Montreal Impact when it moves to Major League Soccer
in 2012 as the league's third expansion franchise in Canada.
(which is also owned by Quebecor Media, TVA's parent company) A carriage deal with Bell TV for TVA Sports was announced on November 22, 2011, part of a deal that also included Bell TV carriage of Mlle
, Yoopa
, and Sun News Network (Bell TV dropped the latter channel the previous May in a carriage dispute with Quebecor).
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...
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...
Category C
Category C services
A Category C service is a Canadian specialty television channel which, as defined by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, are services that provide programming in genres that are exempted from the CRTC's format protection rules and are subject to standard conditions of...
specialty channel
Specialty channel
A specialty channel can be a commercial broadcasting or non-commercial television channel which consists of television programming focused on a single genre, subject or targeted television market at a specific demographic....
. The channel is owned by Groupe TVA, a publicly traded subsidiary of Quebecor Media.
TVA Sports is a general-interest sports channel and is being positioned as the first major competitor to RDS
Réseau des sports
Réseau des sports , is a Canadian French language Category C specialty channel showing sports and sport-related shows. It is available in 2.5 million homes, and is owned by CTV Specialty Television Inc....
, the only other general-interest French language sports channel in the country.
History
The formation of TVA Sports was first announced at a press event in May 2011, where Quebecor announced its plans for the network, and some of its launch programming. Quebecor had made numerous attempts to acquire content for the network for several years prior to the launch, including an attempt to purchase a stake in the Montreal CanadiensMontreal Canadiens
The Montreal Canadiens are a professional ice hockey team based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The club is officially known as ...
, and the company's backing of a return for the National Hockey League
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
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...
, including the acquisition of naming rights to a new arena in Quebec City
New Quebec City Amphitheatre
New Quebec City Arena, called the Videotron Amphitheatre by some media outlets, in some media sources, is a description of a new multi-use indoor arena in Quebec City, Quebec that is currently in the planning stages. It will mainly be used for ice hockey, and other indoor sports, as well as music...
, which has been considered a potential home for a new NHL franchise.
On August 18, 2011, Rogers announced that Sportsnet would be establishing a partnership with TVA Sports to acquire programming and share production resources between the two channels. Rogers had originally planned on launching its own competing French sports channel, but has scrapped these plans in favour of the partnership with TVA Sports.
The channel launched on September 12, 2011 in both standard definition
Standard-definition television
Sorete-definition television is a television system that uses a resolution that is not considered to be either enhanced-definition television or high-definition television . The term is usually used in reference to digital television, in particular when broadcasting at the same resolution as...
and high definition
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...
.
Programming
Launch programming for TVA Sports will include coverage of UEFA Champions LeagueUEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...
soccer, Ottawa Senators
Ottawa Senators
The Ottawa Senators are a professional ice hockey team based in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...
hockey (25 games during the 2011-12 season), Toronto Blue Jays
Toronto Blue Jays
The Toronto Blue Jays are a professional baseball team located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Blue Jays are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball 's American League ....
baseball (60 games during the 2012 season), and Ultimate Fighting Championship
Ultimate Fighting Championship
The Ultimate Fighting Championship is the largest mixed martial arts promotion company in the world that hosts most of the top-ranked fighters in the sport...
events.
TVA Sports will also serve as the official broadcaster of the Montreal Impact when it moves to Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer is a professional soccer league based in the United States and sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation . The league is composed of 19 teams — 16 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada...
in 2012 as the league's third expansion franchise in Canada.
Carriage
Major carriers which added TVA Sports on launch included national satellite provider Shaw Direct, and regional cable provider VidéotronVidéotron
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...
(which is also owned by Quebecor Media, TVA's parent company) A carriage deal with Bell TV for TVA Sports was announced on November 22, 2011, part of a deal that also included Bell TV carriage of 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...
, 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....
, and Sun News Network (Bell TV dropped the latter channel the previous May in a carriage dispute with Quebecor).