 | |
| Type | Terrestrialtelevision network |
|---|---|
| Country | Canada |
| Broadcast area | Nationwide |
| Headquarters | Montreal,Quebec Quebec City,Quebec |
| Programming | |
| Language | French |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Bell Media |
| Sister channels |
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| History | |
| Launched | September 7, 1986; 39 years ago (September 7, 1986) |
| Former names |
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| Links | |
| Website | www |
Noovo is aCanadianFrench-languageterrestrialtelevision network owned byBell Media, a division ofBCE Inc. Originally launched in 1986 as Télévision Quatre‑Saisons (TQS), it rebranded to "V" in 2009 and to "Noovo" on August 31, 2020.[1] The rebrand unified the conventionalTV channel and itsdigital platform Noovo.ca under one integrated brand, targeting younger audiences andFrancophonepop culture inQuébec.[2]
The network was launched in 1986 asTélévision Quatre-Saisons (TQS), and was known by that name untilRemstar, which had bought the network in 2008, renamed itV on August 31, 2009.[3] It was the namesake and flagship property of V Media Group (now known asRemstar Media Group), a separate company majority-owned by Remstar ownerMaxime Rémillard (partially through Remstar). V was acquired by Bell Media in May 2020, after which it was renamedNoovo on August 31, 2020.[4] The name "Noovo" is a stylized phonetic spelling of "nouveau", the French word for "new".
In 1968, theCanadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) first expressed interest in the establishment of a third French-language commercial television service in the province ofQuebec to compete withTélévision de Radio-Canada and the loose association of independent stations that eventually becameTVA. However the CRTC did not call on applications for licences.
In 1972, the CRTC said it was prepared to receive licence applications in order to authorize a third commercial television service in Quebec, although it was not until 1974 when the CRTC granted licences to Télé Inter-Cité Québec Ltée.[5] to operate TV stations inMontreal (channel 29) and inQuebec City (channel 2).[6] Télé Inter-Cité found itself unable to launch the network due to materials shortages and delays in equipment delivery; the CRTC granted a time extension to 1976. Civitas Corp., owner of several radio stations in Quebec and a denied applicant for the same channels a year earlier, filed to buy Téle Inter-Cité, but the CRTC denied the purchase and noted that the proposal to reduce local programming commitments substantially altered the original accepted application.[7] Unable to go forward due to what it called "economic reasons", the firm surrendered the licences for revocation in 1976.[8]
On November 15, 1984, the CRTC launched another call for applications in response to a bid from Cogeco.[9] In 1985, it held public hearings in Montreal to examine competing applications from partners Cogeco Inc. (60.3%) andMoffat Communications (39.7%), and another application by the Pouliot family, owners of Montreal'sCTV affiliate,CFCF-TV and radio stations CFCF (laterCINW, now defunct) and CFQR-FM (nowCKBE-FM). Both applications applied to launch television stations in Montreal and Quebec City. On September 6 of that year, the CRTC approved the application of the Pouliot family and its company, Réseau de Télévision Quatre-Saisons Inc., noting its existing facilities in Montreal and more realistic revenue projections compared to Cogeco.[10] TQS was authorized to operate a French-language TV station in Montreal with an effective radiated power of 566,000 watts on channel 35. The CRTC initially denied the Quebec City bid on grounds of insufficient local advertising revenue;[11] it was, however, allowed to set up a full-time rebroadcaster of the Montreal station there.
The network launched on September 7, 1986, as Télévision Quatre-Saisons ("Four Seasons Television").[12] The flagship was CFJP-TV in Montreal, with CFAP-TV in Quebec City as a full-time rebroadcaster. The network had affiliates in five other cities. As part of the launch, the existing expansion plans to add two storeys to the CFCF building were expanded with another two floors.[13] The network—already lean, employing 125 additional personnel on top of CFCF's 500[14]—spent most of its earlier years in severe financial trouble. At one point, the revenues from CFCF-TV were all that were keeping the network afloat. It was, however, able to launch affiliates inVal-d'Or in 1987 andRivière-du-Loup in 1988, as well as upgrade its Quebec City rebroadcaster to a full-fledged station in 1989. In its early years, it was known for advertising in English on its then-sister radio stations.
In 1995, the Pouliots sold their media holdings to Quebec cable companyVidéotron, who already ownedTVA, Quebec's other private commercial network. Due to monopoly ownership concerns, Vidéotron immediately turned around and sold TQS toQuebecor, a newspaper publisher. Around this time, the network began branding primarily as "TQS"; for its first decade on the air, most verbal references had used "Quatre-Saisons."
Quebecor acquired Vidéotron in 2001, and put TQS back on the market. Later in 2001, TQS was bought by a joint venture of CTVglobemedia (then known as Bell Globemedia) andCogeco, another cable company. Cogeco owned a 60 percent controlling interest in the venture and handled most of operations, while CTVglobemedia owned 40 percent. The acquisition, in a sense, reunited it with CFCF, which had been bought by CTV a year earlier.
On December 18, 2007, TQS filed for bankruptcy protection. At this point the network was given 30 days in which to reorganize and revamp itself, with the goal of finding a viable solution to pay off its creditors. On January 16, 2008, a judge extended the grace period for an additional 45 days.
Montreal's newspaperLa Presse reported on January 15 thatRogers Communications andRNC Media were each interested in acquiring some individual stations within the network, although RNC Media later denied the report and Rogers declined to comment.[15] On February 25, 2008, the network confirmed that it had received four purchase bids, although it did not disclose the identities of the bidders.[16]
On March 10, 2008, theQuebec Superior Court approved the sale of TQS to Remstar Corporation, a Montreal-based television and film producer and distributor.[17] Creditors, who were owed more than $33 million, voted to accept the Remstar proposal in May.[18] The CRTC approved the application on June 26, 2008.[19][20]
Remstar announced on April 23, 2008, that 270 jobs would be cut at TQS, while the information services division would be abolished entirely — thus eliminating all newscasts from the network starting in September 2008.[21] While the CRTC ordered Remstar to retain local news programming on the network, it did take the network's precarious financial situation into account by allowing a reduced amount of local news programming until the network's licence renewal hearing in 2011.[22]
At the network's fallupfronts presentation for 2009, the network announced a repositioning plan, including a shedding of the TQS moniker and its black sheep logo in favour of the name "V", complete with a black-and-gold circle logo with a stylized letter V. The V name reflected the channel's new mission of "vedettes" (stars), "vitesse" (speed), "voyages" (trips), and "vice ou vérité" (vices or truths). Some people jokingly hypothesised that "V" was chosen to honor Rémillard's then girlfriend,Karine Vanasse.[23]
The new program lineup included the daily news and discussion programsLe show du matin, hosted byGildor Roy, andDumont 360, hosted byMario Dumont. V's rebranding took effect on August 31, 2009, at 6 amET after the infomercial block.[24][25]
In July 2019, V Media Group announced that the network would be sold to CTVglobemedia's successorBell Media pending CRTC approval, leaving the company to focus on its specialty channelsElle Fictions andMax.[26] Bell proposed the addition of expanded in-house news programming, and will also provide advertising and master control services for Elle Fictions and Max.[27]
The sale was approved on April 3, 2020; as a condition of the purchase, the CRTC stated that all five V stations must air five hours of local programming per-week through the 2020-2021 broadcast year, and expanding to eight-and-a-half hours per-week in Montreal and Quebec City by 2021–2022. At least half of all local programming must be locally-reflective.[28] The sale was closed on May 15, 2020.[29]
On August 19, 2020, Bell Media announced that the network would be rebranded asNoovo on August 31, taking its name from V's streaming platform of the same name.[4]
The network has long been a distant third in the ratings to TVA andIci Radio-Canada Télé. During the analogue era, most of its affiliates operated on theUHF band, and operated at moderate-to-low power compared to their TVA and Radio-Canada counterparts. Even in digital, most V affiliates do not have nearly the reach of their TVA and Radio-Canada counterparts. However, it has produced a number of major hit series in Quebec.
From the network's launch to its 2008 restructuring, the nightlyLe Grand Journal formed the core of Noovo's news programming when it was named TQS. As with the channel per-se, Le Grand Journal failed to establish itself as a hard competitor to the very popular TVA and Radio-Canada newscasts, trying on several different formats to mixed success; however, it launched the careers of many Quebec TV news presenters who would later land bigger jobs at other radio and TV outlets.
The newscast would become a factor on the ratings when popular anchor and political commentatorJean-Luc Mongrain was hired as lead presenter in 1999, and the show adopted a harded-edge, tabloid and more aggressive approach, with a mix of hard news, commentary and heavy viewer interaction;[30] the move coincided with TQS moving all of its daily programming to a street-front studio at Quebecor's headquarters.[31] He anchored the program from August 30, 1999, until its final edition aired on August 29, 2008.
The 10 p.m. edition, presented by Denis Lévesque, became increasingly known for its aggressive and often confrontative debates on hot topics, leading to it regularly beatingLe Téléjournal on the ratings.[32] Lévesque left TQS shortly before the start of the 2005 season, over a controversy regarding the hiring of presenter Isabelle Maréchal to serve as commentator and newsreader; in an interview withLa Presse, he told he didn't want to do "spectacle information", as Maréchal was mostly known for presenting entertainment programming.[33][34] Eventually, she anchored the 10 p.m. edition during that season, before being replaced byBenoît Dutrizac, freshly hired fromTélé-Québec, who anchored a 10 p.m. news talk show,Dutrizac, focusing on interviews and analysis, with the news element relegated to the final part of the slot. The format was not a success, with a conventional news bulletin reinstated in 2007, with Esther Bégin being hired fromLCN and presenting it until the closure of the news service.[35]
News programming continued in a reduced form on V, however, outsourced to independent producer ADN5. News summaries of approximately three minutes were inserted into the network's morning and noontime programming, along with a 30-minute newscast weekend evenings. In 2012, the provision on news programming was taken over by a newly formed production division of Montreal-based publishing companyTranscontinental,[36] which took over the production of these updates, alongside producing a newly created news-orientedmorning show,Ça commence bien !, which attempted to attract viewers away from TVA'sSalut, Bonjour! by showcasing content from the group's print and magazine brands. Even after suffering three different host transitions and numerous format changes to make it look closer to its rival, the show would be ultimately unsuccessful and eventually cancelled in 2015.[37] By 2017, the network's news programming evolved after production was taken over by another producer, Attraction Images, now as a full-fledged half-hour bulletin under the titleNVL (an abbreviation of "nouvelles", the French term for news), featuring a voiceover anchorless format that blended both network-wide and regionalized news reports similar to the current format ofCityNews on the English CanadianCitytv network.
As part of the sale to Bell Media, the company stated that it planned to add in-house newscasts on all five O&O stations, with 90 minutes per-day on weekdays in Montreal and Quebec City, 60 minutes elsewhere, and half-hour weekend newscasts in all markets.[27] On March 11, 2021, Bell announced the details of its revamp of the network's news programming under the titleLe Fil (lit. 'The Wire'). The new in-house program, which replaced the outsourcedNVL, debuted on March 29, airing twice daily on weekdays: an hour-long news block at 5 p.m., with a half-hour national edition anchored by Noémi Mercier from the Bell Media building atPapineau Avenue in Montreal, followed by half-hour regional editions anchored by Mercier in Montreal, and by Lisa-Marie Blais in Quebec City; and a half-hour block at 10 p.m., consisting of ten minutes of national headlines anchored by Michel Bherer, followed by 20 minutes of regional news anchored by Bherer in Montreal and by Blais in Quebec City. On weekends, a single national edition airs at 9 a.m., structured more as anewsmagazine than as a newscast, anchored by Meeker Guerrier in Montreal.[38] The network's other owned-and-operated stations carry their own regional editions, all broadcast from a centralised studio in Quebec City with Blais anchoring, but still featuring footage and two-ways from locally based reporters; its affiliate stations will continue to produce their own local newscasts in lieu of the regional editions.
Lacking the resources of its well-established competitors, Noovo is leveraging the resources of theÉnergie,Rouge and Boom-branded local radio stations owned by Bell Media to complement its own reporting; the combined resources are being promoted under the Noovo Info moniker.[39]Le Fil would have a more informal and personality-based style in comparison to its competitors, with a focus on long-form and human interest stories, analysis and commentary, as well as viewer interaction on social media.[40] Initial reviews were mixed, praising the story selection and unique presentation, but criticising the over-recycling of segments and lack of appropriate imagery during news briefs, as well as no international news, sports or weather segments.[41] Due to low ratings, the early evening edition began adding over time some more conventional elements to increase the pace, whilst retaining some of the magazine elements, making it closer to a conventional newscast.[42]
In May 2022, Mercier announced her departure fromLe Fil after signing a deal with Bell Media to produce and present long-form documentaries for the network; she was later replaced by formerLCN anchor andTVA reporter Marie-Christine Bergeron, who took over the anchor chair on August 29.[43] The appointment of Bergeron led to the broadcast increasingly taking on a more conventional format, with more live reports and breaking news coverage; additionally, Michel Bherer began presenting a debate and analysis program,Les débatteurs de Noovo, after the late edition ofLe Fil, which launched on September 12.[44][42][32]
On August 28, 2023, Noovo renamed its news bulletin toNoovo Info (lit. 'Noovo News') to align its online and its TV news operations.[45]
In August 2024, Marie-Claude Paradis-Desfossés, a journalist formerly associated withTVA Nouvelles, was announced as joiningNoovo Info.[46] In the same month, the network also reintroduced a half-hour noon newscast, titledNoovo Info 12.
In December 2024, Bell Media announced that it would merge its French and English language newsrooms in Quebec, bringing the Noovo Info and radio news operations together withCTV News Montreal andCJAD.[47]
Noovo has long aired a nighttime sports show, beginning withSports Plus (1986–1998), then110% (1998–2009), followed byL'attaque à 5 (2009–2010).
Its carriage of live sporting events began withSuper Bowl XXI in 1987. It has carried games of theNational Hockey League, including theQuebec Nordiques from 1988 to 1994 and theMontreal Canadiens from 1994 to 2002. It also aired games of theMontreal Expos from 1994 to 1998.[48] Noovo carries boxing events organized by Groupe Yvon Michel.[49]
In February 2005, the network acquired rights to the2010 Winter Olympics and2012 Summer Olympics as part ofCanada's Olympic Broadcast Media Consortium (a joint venture of CTVglobemedia andRogers Media) as the French broadcast television partner, in partnership withRDS (a sister via CTVglobemedia's stake at the time).[50] It shared morning coverage of the 2010 Winter Olympics with RDS, followed by its own afternoon and evening programming.[51] As the network's carriage was limited outside of Quebec (unlike previous rights holderTélévision de Radio-Canada), the non-profit public affairs networkCPAC (which has must-carry status nationwide) received special authorization from the CRTC to simulcast the coverage in order to ensure nationwide availability.[52][53][54]
The network is known to many viewers forBleu Nuit, a showcase of softcorepornography which formerly broadcast late Saturday nights, similar toThe Baby Blue Movie that once aired onToronto'sCitytv.
The network's prime time schedule currently consists predominantly of reality and non-fiction programming, scheduled aroundJulie Snyder's nightly talk showLa Semaine des 4 Julie (The Week of the 4 Julies) at 9 p.m. Scripted entertainment programming currently consists primarily ofdubbed versions of English Canadian or American comedy or drama series, rather than original francophone comedy or drama; however, a few Quebec-produced comedy or drama series are also broadcast, includingPour toujours, plus un jour (Forever, Not Another Day),Mon ex à moi (My Ex),Entre deux draps (Pillow Talk) andMax et Livia (Max and Livia).
Since the rebranding of the TQS network to V, on August 31, 2009, V's threeowned and operated stations (O&Os) outsideMontreal andQuebec City have dropped all non-network programming and become de facto repeaters of flagshipCFJP-DT in Montreal. Unlike O&O stations, non-owned affiliates of the network, such asCFGS-DT inGatineau/Ottawa,CJPC-DT inRimouski,CFTF-DT inRivière-du-Loup andCFVS-DT inVal-d'Or/Rouyn-Noranda, continue to broadcast local programming.
Unlike TVA, Noovo does not have mandatory cable carriage rights outside Quebec, but may be offered at a cable company's discretion if there is a sufficient local market for French-language television programming. Consequently, the network is not widely available outside Quebec, although some communities inOntario,New Brunswick andNova Scotia receive Noovo affiliates on cable.
CFGS-DT inGatineau is part of theOttawa television market, and is carried in both analogue anddigital on cable systems in nearly all ofEastern Ontario.Eastlink systems inNortheastern Ontario also carry CFGS in both analogue and digital.Rogers Cable systems inCentral andSouthwestern Ontario and theGreater Toronto Area, offer CFGS on their digital tier.CFTF-DT inRivière-du-Loup has arebroadcaster inEdmundston,New Brunswick—the network's only over-the-air transmitter outside Quebec—and is carried in both analogue and digital across most of northern New Brunswick.
To ensure that the network's coverage of the2010 Winter Olympics reached francophone viewers outside Quebec, its coverage was simulcast onCPAC, which has mandatory carriage on the basic service of all Canadian cable and satellite providers, from February 12 to 28, 2010.[52]
In its first year post‑rebrand, Noovo experienced a 10 % increase in overall audience and a 13 % rise in average viewing time—its largest viewership increase to date inQuébec’s privateFrench‑language market according to Numeris data.[55] The network achieved strong demographic penetration among 18‑ to‑34‑year‑olds, a key target group foradvertisers.[56]
Notes:
| City of licence | Station | Channel TV (RF) |
|---|---|---|
| Montreal | CFJP-DT | 35.1 (35) |
| Quebec City | CFAP-DT | 2.1 (39) |
| Saguenay | CFRS-DT | 4.1 (38) |
| Sherbrooke | CFKS-DT | 34.1 (16) |
| Trois-Rivières | CFKM-DT | 34.1 (16) |
| City of licence | Station | Virtual channel | Digital RF channel | Year of affiliation | Owner |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gatineau/Ottawa | CFGS-DT | 34.1 | 34 | 1986 | RNC Media |
| Rimouski | CJPC-DT (satellite of CFTF-DT) | 18 | 27 | 1987 | Télé Inter-Rives |
| Rivière-du-Loup | CFTF-DT | 29.1 | 29 | 1988 | |
| Val-d'Or/Rouyn-Noranda | CFVS-DT | 15.1 | 25 | 1987 | RNC Media |
Beginning in 1997, TQS branded itself asle mouton noir de la télé (English:theblack sheep of television), a slogan that could have served as the network's acknowledgment (or perhaps a badge of pride) that its history of financial difficulties, edgy programming, and limited availability outside Quebec had not always given it a prestigious place in the TV industry or in the eyes of the viewing public.[57] The black sheep slogan was discontinued with the network's rebranding from TQS to V at the end of August 2009.
 | This section needs to beupdated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(September 2020) |
Noovo has a 21% revenue share of the French-speaking private television market. The private francophone sector generates revenue of $361 million which equates to $75 million for Noovo.[58]
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