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It launched in 1986, with network-owned stations and affiliates existing throughout Quebec; it can also be received in some other parts of Canada by satellite or cable. The network is owned and operated by Remstar Corporation.
The history of TQS goes back to 1968, when the CRTC first expressed interest in the establishment of a third French language commercial television service in the province of Quebec along with the existing Radio-Canada and the loose association of independent stations that eventually became TVA. However, at that time 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. to operate TV stations in Montreal and in Quebec City, however nothing came of this project.
On November 15, 1984, the CRTC launched another call for applications, and in 1985 the CRTC held public hearings in Montreal to examine competing applications from partners Cogeco Inc. (60.3%) and Moffat Communications (39.7%), and another application by the Pouliot family, owners of Montreal's CTV affiliate, CFCF-TV and radio stations CFCF-AM (now CINW) and CFQR-FM. Both applications applied to launch television stations in both 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. TQS was authorized to operate a French language TV station in Montreal with an effective radiated power of 566,000 watts on channel 35. While it was denied an application for a station in Quebec City, it was allowed to set up a repeater there.
The network was launched in 1986 as Télévision Quatre Saisons (Four Seasons Television). The network 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. However, the network was known for advertising in English on its then-sister radio stations. It was, however, able to upgrade its Quebec City repeater to a full-fledged station in 1989.
In 1995, the Pouliots sold TQS to Quebec cable company Vidéotron, who already owned TVA, Quebec's other private commercial network. Due to monopoly ownership concerns, Vidéotron immediately turned around and sold TQS to Quebecor, a newspaper publisher.
Quebecor acquired Vidéotron itself 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) and Cogeco, another cable company. Cogeco owned 60% of the venture and handled most of the operations, while CTVglobemedia owned 40%. The acquisition, in a sense, reunited it with CFCF, which had been bought by CTV a year earlier.
Bankruptcy protection
On December 18, 2007, TQS filed for protection from its creditors in a bankruptcy-court filing. 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 newspaper La Presse reported on January 15 that Rogers Communications and RNC Media were each interested in acquiring some individual stations within the network, although RNC Media later denied the report and Rogers declined to comment.[1] On February 25, 2008, the network confirmed that it had received four purchase bids, although it did not disclose the identities of the bidders.[2]
Remstar takeover
On March 10, 2008, the Quebec Supreme Court approved the sale of TQS to Remstar Corporation, a Montreal-based television and film producer and distributor.[3] Creditors, who were owed more than $33 million, voted to accept the Remstar proposal in May.[4]. The CRTC approved the application on June 26, 2008. [5][6]
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. [7] While the CRTC ultimately 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 license renewal hearing in 2011.[8]
At the network's fall upfronts presentation for 2009, the network announced a repositioning plan, to include new daily news programs hosted by Gildor Roy and Mario Dumont. The network will also undergo a name change, although the new name has not yet been announced.[9]
It has long been a distant third in the ratings to TVA and Radio-Canada. Most of its affiliates are on UHF, and operate at moderate-to-low power compared to their TVA and Radio-Canada counterparts. However, it has produced a number of major hit series in Quebec.
News
From the network's launch to its 2008 restructing, the nightly Le Grand Journal formed the core of TQS's news programming. Jean-Luc Mongrain anchored the program from 1999 until its final edition aired on August 29, 2008.
News programming continues in a reduced form on TQS, now produced by independent producer ADN5. News summaries of approximately three minutes are inserted into the network's morning and noontime programming, along with a 30-minute newscast weekend evenings.
Sports
TQS has in the past carried regional NHL games, including those of the Montreal Canadiens, on weeknights, and was for some time the major broadcast partner of the Quebec Nordiques until their move to Denver. This ceased when the Canadiens decided to strike an exclusive deal with RDS in 2002.[citation needed]
In early 2005, due to its part-ownership at the time by CTVglobemedia, TQS was part of the consortium that won the Canadian broadcast rights to the Vancouver2010 Winter Olympics, and the 2012 Summer Olympics. This was considered a serious coup, as the CBC (including Télévision de Radio-Canada) had previously won Olympic broadcast rights from the 1996 Summer Olympics through to the 2008 Summer Olympics. TQS, as an over-the-air network, will nominally be the primary French broadcaster, although much of the on-air talent will come from RDS, and the consortium's French-language website (RDSolympiques.ca) has been named for the cable channel rather than TQS. CTV, TSN, and Rogers Sportsnet will provide English-language coverage.
Movies
The network is known to many English Canadian viewers for Bleu Nuit, a showcase of softcore pornography broadcast late Saturday nights, similar to the old Baby Blue Movies that once aired on Toronto's Citytv. In fact, TQS was once considered the French counterpart of Citytv.
Dramas and téléromans are in blue; news programs are in cyan; comedies are in red; game shows and reality shows are in yellow; variety, interview, and music programs are in orange; sports programming are in green; movies are in purple; and magazines are in brown.
Coverage
Unlike TVA, TQS does not have mandatory cable carriage rights outside of 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 of Quebec, although some communities in northern and easternOntario and in New Brunswick receive TQS affiliates on cable. The affiliate in Gatineau is part of the Ottawa market, and is available in nearly all of eastern Ontario on cable, while most of Northern Ontario receives the affiliates from either Gatineau or Val-d'Or. The network affiliate in Rivière-du-Loup also has a rebroadcaster in Edmundston, New Brunswick, the network's only over-the-air transmitter outside of Quebec.
On June 4, 2007, TQS launched an HD simulcast of its Montreal station CFJP for cable subscribers. In December 2007, TQS officially launched a transmitter in Montreal making the HD simulcast of CFJP available over-the-air.
TQS HD is available nationally via satellite and on digital cable as well as for free via DTT using a regular TV antenna and a digital tuner (included in most new TVs) on the following channels:
Montreal: 42
Network identity
Slogans
Since 1998, TQS has branded itself as le mouton noir de la télé, or "the black sheep of television", a slogan that could serve as the network's acknowledgement (or perhaps a badge of pride) that its history of financial difficulties, edgy programming, and limited availability outside Quebec have not always given it a prestigious place in the TV industry or in the eyes of the viewing public.[10]
1987-1989: On grandit ensemble! (We grow together!)
The current TQS logo, which uses the lowercase form "tqs", was first adopted in fall 2006. While some network publicity materials now use the lowercase form in text, the uppercase form also remains common.
1986-1993 logo
1993-1998 logo
TQS' logo from 1997 with new network slogan, "Allumée depuis 10 ans" (Turned on for 10 years)
TQS' alternate logo with an actual Black Sheep, from 1998.
