TVA (TV network)
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| Type | Broadcast television network |
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| Country | Canada |
| Availability | Quebec, most of New Brunswick, parts of Ontario and northern New York and New England via antenna, nationally via cable and satellite |
| Slogan | C'est vrai (It's true) |
| Owner | TVA Group |
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Launch date
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September 12, 1971 |
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Official website
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TVA (French) |
TVA is a privately owned French language television network in Canada. The network is owned by TVA Group, a publicly traded subsidiary of Quebecor Media. TVA is believed to be short for Téléviseurs associés or Télédiffuseurs associés, depending on the source (both can be roughly translated to "Associated Telecasters;" however, only the initials are used on-air). The name reflects TVA's roots as a cooperative network owned by its affiliates, though this era ended in 1992.
Headquartered in Montreal, the network only has terrestrial stations in Quebec, although parts of New Brunswick and Ontario are within the broadcast ranges of TVA stations. However, since becoming a national network in 1998, it has been available on cable across Canada.
TVA traces its roots to 1963, when CJPM-TV in Chicoutimi (now part of Saguenay), a station only a few months old and in need of revenue, began sharing programs with the biggest 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. 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 network began the first private French-language network news service in Canada in 1972. Between 1973 and 1983, seven more stations joined the network.
When the network was formally organized in 1971, its affiliates ran it as a cooperative, much like CTV operated for many years. In 1982, the cooperative became a corporation with the station owners as shareholders.
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Wikipedia