ТVА: Канаданың франкоязык телеарнасының тарихы мен дамуы

Privately owned French language television network in Canada

TVA traces its roots to 1963, when CJPM TV in Chicoutimi, a station only a few months old and in need of revenue, began sharing programs with the largest privately owned francophone station in Canada, CFTM TV in Montreal. They were joined by CFCM TV in Quebec City in 1964 after CFCM lost its Radio Canada affiliation to newly launched CBVT. While the three stations shared programs for many years, it was not until September 12, 1971, that the informal link became a proper network, TVA, with CFTM as the flagship station. 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 (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 many years, TVA's reach outside Quebec was only a fraction of that of Radio Canada. The only stations with significant viewership outside Quebec were CHOT TV of Hull (now part of Gatineau), CIMT TV of Rivière du Loup and CHAU TV of Carleton sur Mer. CHOT also serves Ottawa and has been available on most cable systems in Northeastern Ontario since the early 1980s, owing to that region's large Franco Ontarian population. CIMT and CHAU both operate rebroadcasters in New Brunswick, and CHAU's main transmitter covers portions of the province as well. Between them, CIMT and CHAU provide nearly all of New Brunswick 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. 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. However, some cable companies in Eastern and Northern Ontario continue to offer Gatineau's CHOT, while most New Brunswick cable companies still carry CIMT or CHAU. TVA also provides a time shifted feed for cable companies in Western Canada. However, this feed is just an electronic delay of CFTM's programming, rebroadcast three hours later in Pacific Time 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, it also means that CFTM usually cannot interrupt its programming for news or weather bulletins in Montreal without interrupting the entire network.

In 2004, TVA's parent Groupe TVA and fellow Quebecor subsidiary Sun Media jointly acquired CKXT TV in Toronto, an independent station once known as Toronto One under its previous owner, Craig Media, in 2004. The company's first English language television station, it continued to be run as an independent station, not as a TVA affiliate. It was rebranded "Sun TV", after Sun Media's local newspaper, the Toronto Sun. In early 2005, TVA confirmed to The Globe and Mail that it would continue to look for other expansion opportunities in English Canada, but no further purchase announcements have been made by the company. On April 18, 2011, CKXT TV began to simulcast the programming of a new news channel, Sun News Network, considered to be an English version of LCN. CKXT ceased operations on November 1, 2011, and the Sun News Network continued only on cable and satellite television providers until being discontinued in 2015. Groupe TVA also operates a number of specialty channels, including addikTV, Casa, Évasion, LCN, Moi et Cie, Prise 2, QUB, and TVA Sports. The company previously operated kids' channel Yoopa from its launch in April 2010 until its demise in January 2024. Groupe TVA was also a majority owner of The Cave (now History2), which it co owned with Shaw Media; it also equally owned Mystery TV (now Crime & Investigation) with Shaw Media, with Shaw Media being managing partner. TVA sold its share in both channels to Shaw in November 2011. The company launched an online radio network QUB Radio in 2018, and launched a TV simulcast in January 2024.

On February 1, 2007, TVA launched an HD simulcast of its Montreal station CFTM DT. TVA HD is available via satellite, digital cable or DTT. A simulcast of Quebec station CFCM DT was launched in 2009, and a simulcast of Sherbrooke station CHLT DT was launched July 19, 2010, initially available only on Vidéotron cable in their respective areas.

City of licenseStationChannelTV (RF)Year of affiliationOwned since Montreal CFTM DT 10.1 (10) 1971 1971 Quebec City CFCM DT 4.1 (17) 1971 1990 Rimouski CFER DT 11.1 (11) 1978 1990 Saguenay CJPM DT 6.1 (46) 1971 1982 Sherbrooke CHLT DT 7.1 (7) 1974 1990 Trois Rivières CHEM DT 8.1 (8) 1976 1990

City of licenseStationVirtualchannelPhysicalchannelYear ofaffiliationOwner Carleton sur Mer CHAU DT 5.1 5 1980 1983 Télé Inter Rives Gatineau/Ottawa CHOT DT 40.1 40 1978 RNC Media Rivière du Loup CIMT DT 9.1 9 1978 Télé Inter Rives Rouyn Noranda CFEM DT 13.1 13 1979 RNC Media