 Final logo used from 2016 to 2023 | |
| Country | Canada |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Nationwide |
| Headquarters | Montreal,Quebec |
| Programming | |
| Language | French |
| Picture format | 480i (SDTV) 1080i (HDTV) |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Astral Media (1988–2013) BCE Inc. (2013–2023) |
| Parent | Astral Broadcasting Inc. (1988–2013) Bell Media (2013–2023) |
| Sister channels | Noovo Z Canal D Canal Vie Cinépop MTV MTV2 Much |
| History | |
| Launched | September 1, 1988 |
| Replaced | TVJQ (1982–1988) |
| Closed | October 1, 2023 |
| Former names | Canal Famille (1988–2001) Vrak.TV (2001–2014) |
Vrak (stylized asVRΔK) was aCanadianFrench languagespecialty channel owned byBCE Inc. subsidiaryBell Media. The channel primarily broadcast live-action programming aimed at 13-to-35 age group audiences.
Launched in 1988 asLe Canal Famille,[1] it was originally conceived as French counterpart of theFamily Channel under the ownership ofAstral Media as well as rival broadcasterYTV, which was also then jointly owned byRogers Media andCUC Broadcasting at the time. The channel was later renamed to Vrak.TV in 2001 and then was acquired by Bell Media in 2013 upon the acquisition of Astral Media, while the channel's English counterpart and its sister channels were divested to DHX Media (now WildBrain) in 2014.
As with the English counterpart, Vrak.TV's programming heavily mirrored that of the American cable networkDisney Channel, with which Family held a licensing agreement. Vrak's programming lineup consisted mainly of domestic and foreign-imported live-action and animated series from Disney Channel, feature films from the Disney film library, classic films from other Canadian and American film studios, and specials while it outsourced many of its programs from the U.S., mostly fromNickelodeon. After Vrak was separated from Family, the license agreement ended in 2015; Disney then entered into a new licensing agreement withCorus Entertainment and launched newCanadian versions of La Chaîne Disney, along withDisney XD andDisney Junior while Vrak.TV, renamed to Vrak in 2014, changed its audience focus in 2016 to the ages 13–35 group due to the success of itsVrak2 block.
Vrak was originally licensed as a premium specialty service, which necessitated that it operate under a commercial-free format, but allowed it to operatemultiplex feeds but changed to air commercials from 2006 onwards.
After being removed from Vidéotron, the channel ceased operations on October 1, 2023, due to declining viewership and having been deemed "outdated" by Bell Media,[2] while its former English counterpart was closed on October 22, 2025.
The origins of the channel date back to 1975, whenTélécâble Vidéotron, then established inLongueuil and serving theSouth Shore of Montreal, already distributed around thirty channels, accessible via a converter.[3] Subscribers had to call to request the broadcast of a video document which would be broadcast on one of the eight channels according to the theme (sports, socio-cultural leisure, senior citizens, students, children, etc.). In January 1980, Videotron acquired Cablevision Nationale, which served the east of Montreal,Quebec City andSherbrooke, among others. A few months later, the Cablevision Nationale network was upgraded to allow the distribution of thirty channels, while the Inter-vision consortium made up of different cable distributors from the south of the province, set up at the corner of Pie-IX boulevards. and Rosemont in Montreal under the name Cablespec, takes care of the production and broadcasting of eight specialized channels under the responsibility of Jacques Lasnier.[4] The eight channels would have been launched on Saturday, October 18, 1980.[5]
The channel, initially calledEnfants et Jeunesse before adoptingTVJQ [fr] ("Télévision des Jeunes du Québec") in May 1982, presented children's programs produced in Quebec for the most part as well as European, American and Japanese animation series, as much as possible without violence, seeking to eliminate gender discrimination. It was established and distributed by a subsidiary of Videotron.[6]
TVJQ was on the air daily from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. Since 1979, Videotron subscribers could take turns enjoying a variety of interactive games starting at midnight (via a touchtone telephone), which occupied “channel 26” until the channel returned to the air. The games continued on Canal Famille until shortly after the launch ofVidéoway [fr] in January 1990. In the evenings from January 1983, educational and cultural programs aimed at adults were programmed.
From January 1982 to September 1985, the channel broadcast the showRadio-Vidéo, a block of video clips produced by Pierre Marchand, who in 1986 would become the creator of theMusiquePlus channel. Meanwhile, in October 1984, another block of music videos produced byMuchMusic was broadcast, a month after the channel's launch. In March 1986, Videotron obtained a “broadcasting license for the operation, on an experimental basis and for a temporary period, of a cable television network in order to distribute by satellite to affiliated cable television companies in the province of Quebec the service of special French-language programming “Télé des Jeunes”.[7] This license allows Videotron to have its TVJQ channel carried over by other cable companies elsewhere.[8] Videotron thus becomes the first cable company in Canadian history to simultaneously be a producer of television content.[8] CF Cable TV offered Videotron's TVJQ channel from 1987.[9] When MusiquePlus was launched in September 1986, the version received via satellite of TVJQ became MusiquePlus after 8 p.m. with a four-hour live programming block followed overnight 'a rebroadcast or a block recorded during the afternoon.[10] On the Videotron side, MusiquePlus evening programming took the position of MuchMusic while cultural programs aimed at adults were still broadcast on TVJQ until midnight. Blocks of 30 minutes produced by MusiquePlus were added to TVJQ's programming, replacing those of MuchMusic.
In 1986, the channel's spokesperson was Gargouille, a cartoon character created by Tristan Demers,[11] who would get his own show.
In 1987, Videotron submitted a request to the CRTC to convert its channel TVJQ to a full-service channel while continuing to target young people.[12] On December 1, 1987, the CRTC approved the license application for Premier Choix: TVEC for Canal Famille, and consequently refused the license renewal application for TVJQ.[13][14] The same day, the license application fromCHUM Limited and Radiomutuel for a dedicated MusiquePlus channel was approved.[15] TVJQ remained on the air until the arrival of Canal Famille.[16] TVJQ ceased operations on August 31, 1988.[17]
Licensed by the CRTC in 1987,Le Canal Famille was launched on September 1, 1988, as a replacement to TVJQ.[19] Le Canal Famille was created byPremier Choix TVEC which was already partially owned byAstral Media through its subsidiary Astral Bellevue Communications.[20][21]
Le Canal Famille, name translated asThe Family Channel, was also the name ofanother Canadian youth channel that also began airing in September 1988 and itself owned at 50% by Astral Bellevue Communications.[22][21]
At launch, the channel carried a few original shows from Quebec includingLa Garderie des amis,Hibou Chou Genou,Labo Labo, as well asBibi et Geneviève when the channel signed off at 7:00 p.m. (8:00 p.m on Fridays and weekends) and signed on at 7:00 a.m. Another original program,Mémoire Vive, joined the lineup in December 1988. There were also some shows previously broadcast onSuper Écran such asInspector Gadget andBibifoc, dubbed Canadian shows, popular former TVJQ series, some Japanese animated series and co-productions. The channel increased the number of its original productions in the following years.
The popularity of Videoway's interactive menus in the early 1990s prompted Super Écran to offer a second choice of films in the evening using Le Canal Famille after its closing at 7 p.m. After about twenty minutes of trailers and self-promotion of Super Écran, the channel becomes scrambled for the presentation of a film.
The heyday of Le Canal Famille was between 1990 and 1996. The channel benefited from a fashion effect and produced several low-budget classics such asFripe et Pouille,Les Zigotos,Sur la rue Tabaga and the most popular,Télé-Pirate which benefits from a weekly reach of 400,000 viewers.[23]
In 1994,Bibi et Geneviève moved toTQS. Le Canal Famille kept the reruns, but the contest block became exclusive to TQS.[24]
During the 1995-1996 season, Le Canal Famille changed its logo, attracted more young people on the air, suddenly targeted teenagers aged 12 to 17, and was subsequently renamed to simplyCanal Famille.[25] The channel airedRadio Enfer, the first Québecoissitcom for young people, andLe Studio, a comedy sketch series directed by Bruno Blanchet. This momentum continued the following year with the addition ofGoosebumps andGeneration W.[23]
Shortly after the launch of Canal D (also owned by Premier Choix) in 1995, which offered some classic television series, Canal Famille similarly saw the addition of series to its programming such asBewitched in the fall of 1995,Gilligan's Island in 1996,The Flying Nun in 1997 andFamily Affair in 1998.
In September 1997, theTélétoon channel (of which Premier Choix is 50% owner) was launched, offering 24-hour programming focused on cartoons for several age groups. Canal Famille lost around half of its market share, reduced its number of original productions and filled its programming with series produced byNickelodeon.
To counterattack Télétoon, Canal Famille broke from its "childcare" image and took a slightly more delinquent tangent. It aired more audacious concepts likeTurbulence Zone andDans une galaxie près de chez vous.[26]
In the fall of 2000, Canal Famille airedWatership Down as its only new feature. The rest of its programming was no longer renewed and consisted of reruns. Canal Famille's market shares among children aged 2 to 11 fell to 8.6% while they were around 25% before 1997.
To deal with the situation, Canal Famille decided to renew its image and 75% of its programming. On December 5, 2000, Astral announced that Canal Famille would be rebranded as Vrak.TV on January 2, 2001, would offer 75% renewed programming overnight (50% new features, 25% new episodes) and would henceforth be in operation from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.[27] instead of 7 p.m., allowing the channel to offer more mature series for teenagers.[28]
Canal Famille was replaced byVrak.TV on January 2, 2001, keeping the same channel frequency and still owned by Astral Media.[29] The desire to create Vrak.TV from the remains of Canal Famille would be a success. Audience ratings tripled in six months.[30] The channel switched to an ad-supported format in 2006 to coincide with the renewal of license the launch of its high definition feed on October 30, 2006.
Vrak.TV was separated from its sister channels in 2013 due to the acquisition of Astral Media byBell Media; Bell sold offFamily Channel, theFrench version of Disney Junior, theEnglish version of Disney Junior andDisney XD toDHX Media, andMusiMax andMusiquePlus toV Media Group.
Vrak.TV was simply renamed to justVrak on August 25, 2014 and launched a new block, Vrak2, aimed at a teen audience.[31]
On September 12, 2016, Vrak changed its audience focus to the ages 13–35 group due to the success of itsVrak2 block.[32] Some series targeting its former audience focus moved to other stations.
On August 16, 2023, Vrak andZ were removed from Vidéotron, the company that created the original channel it was based on 41 years earlier, while Bell removedYoopa from all of their TV services a day later. Yoopa shut down on January 11, 2024 and was replaced by a video simulcast of Groupe TVA'sQub Radio.
Two days later on August 18, 2023, Bell Media announced that the channel would be closing on October 1, 2023, owing to "challenges" in the broadcasting sector, lack of viewers and regulatory affairs deemed "outdated" by Bell Media.[2] On September 25, the CRTC confirmed it had revoked Vrak's licence at the request of Bell Media.[33] On October 1, 2023 at midnight ET, the channel quietly shutdown without ceremony after an episode ofEntre deux draps. Two years later, its former English counterpart shuttered on October 22, 2025.
Since its creation, the channel had aired animated series,teen sitcoms and light-hearted dramas. Many of them are French dubs of English-language programs such asBuffy the Vampire Slayer,Charmed,What I Like About You,Degrassi: The Next Generation,Gilmore Girls,One Tree Hill,The O.C.,Life with Derek,Smallville,SpongeBob SquarePants,That '70s Show,90210,Gossip Girl, and many others. It also aired programs fromDisney Channel; due to the launch ofLa Chaîne Disney byCorus Entertainment, the last remaining Disney Channel show on the channel,Bonne chance Charlie was removed from the schedule in September 2016. The channel also featured local Quebec French language productions, such asIl était une fois dans le trouble,Pin-Pon andUne grenade avec ça?. Other series that the channel popularized wereDans une galaxie près de chez vous andRadio Enfer. As of 2010, the channel had aired films weekly.
Initially, as required by theCanadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), the channel carried no commercials until 2006.[34] However, it aired promotional messages,interstitial programs (such as help segments known asR-Force (pronounced like "Air Force")), andpublic service announcements instead. The channel aired commercials from 2006-2023 with the launch of its HD feed and license renewal. Its former English-language counterpart (Family Channel) continued to be commercial-free until November 2016.
Unlike the other specialty channels, Vrak was the only channel on the air daily from 6 a.m. to midnight. When the station was Le Canal Famille, the station would close down at 7pm (8pm on weekends), sharing time with the flagshipSuper Écran channel (then also owned by Astral and now sharing Bell Media ownership with Vrak). In 2001, when the channel was revamped as VRAK.TV, its hours were increased to 10 p.m. (Super Écran followed on most systems). Vrak's closedown time at midnight went into effect in mid-2005.
On September 12, 2016, due to the channel's changes in audience focus, its animation programming completely disappeared from the channel, eventually, they reappeared on the channel in January 2017, starting withBob l’Éponge. By May 2019, all animated and children's programming had left the network's schedule, with comedy following in May 2022; the network's final schedule exclusively consisted of dramas.