Ici Radio-Canada Télé

Ici Radio-Canada Télé (stylized as ICI Radio-Canada Télé, and sometimes abbreviated as Ici Télé) is a Canadian French-language free-to-air television network. It was spun off from Ici Radio-Canada Première and is owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, also known in French as Société Radio-Canada. This makes it part of Canada’s national public broadcaster. Its main competitor in English is CBC Television.

The network’s headquarters are located at the Nouvelle Maison de Radio-Canada in Montreal. This building also houses the network’s main station, CBFT-DT, and the master control for all of its stations across Canada. Until 2012, Ici Radio-Canada Télé was the only francophone network in Canada that could broadcast directly in every province through terrestrial signals.

Programming

Main article: List of programs broadcast by Ici Radio-Canada Télé

This television network is very popular in French-speaking Canada. It has fewer big competitors than its English counterpart, CBC Television. For many years, it had lower ratings than another network called TVA, but its ratings have improved with unique sitcoms and a popular talk show called Tout le monde en parle.

The main news program is Le Téléjournal, which airs every night at 10:00 p.m. Local news programs also use the Téléjournal name. All news broadcasts on Radio-Canada use the Téléjournal name.

The network offers many types of shows, including science and technology programs, and coverage of agricultural topics. It also broadcasts sports events, such as hockey games and the Olympic Games.

Popular entertainment shows include variety shows like Tout le monde en parle, sketch shows, and dramas. On New Year's Eve, the network airs Bye Bye, a comedy special.

For children, the network has a morning programming block called Zone Jeunesse and Zone des petits. One of the most popular children's shows was Passe-Partout, which aired for many years.

Regional programming focuses on arts and culture, especially in areas outside Quebec like Atlantic Canada and Western Canada.

Stations and affiliates

See also: List of Ici Radio-Canada Télé stations

Radio-Canada is one of Canada's three main French-language TV networks. Until 2012, it was the only network that broadcast across all Canadian provinces using regular TV signals. Except for Atlantic Canada, where one station covers all four provinces, Radio-Canada has at least one main station in every province. These stations reach big cities in both French and English Canada. Smaller markets in Quebec get their shows from privately owned stations called affiliates.

Unlike CBC Television, Radio-Canada's affiliates mainly show the network's programs all day without changes, except for local news and ads. In 2007, Radio-Canada stopped working with three regional affiliates in Sherbrooke, Trois-Rivières, and Saguenay. These stations were owned by Cogeco, a company that also owned a rival network called TQS (now Noovo).

By the end of 2007, TQS had money problems. The next spring, Radio-Canada agreed to buy these stations directly. The deal was approved in June 2008. Only two stations, in Rouyn-Noranda and Rivière-du-Loup, stayed as private affiliates.

In February 2009, the president of CBC/Radio-Canada talked about money problems and said some services might need to close, merge, or be sold. He said the economic situation made them look closely at all their activities. It was not clear yet how this would affect stations. Radio-Canada used to have many smaller stations that rebroadcast its signal, but they were all closed by 2012.

Digital terrestrial television transition

Main article: CBC Television § Over-the-air digital television transition

See also: List of defunct CBC and Radio-Canada television transmitters

The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation switched its main station signals to digital by August 31, 2011. By July 31, 2012, all old-style television signals were turned off. Now, the network uses 27 digital signals for its English and French channels.

Slogans and branding

For most of its history, this television network was called Radio-Canada. In TV guides, it was often called SRC for short. In the 1990s, the network tried using SRC as its name, but it switched back to Radio-Canada soon after.

In 2013, the network changed its name to Ici Télé. Many people did not like this change because it was confusing and seemed to forget the historic Radio-Canada name. Because of this, the network added the Radio-Canada name back, and the official name became Ici Radio-Canada Télé.

Slogans

• 1966–1973: Regardez bien regardez Radio-Canada (Watch carefully, watch Radio-Canada)
• 1973–1979: Partout pour nous, Radio-Canada est là (Radio-Canada is everywhere for us)
• 1979–1980: Faut voir ça (Must see that)
• 1980–1981: Je choisis Radio-Canada (I choose Radio-Canada)
• 1981–1982: Radio-Canada d'abord (Radio-Canada first)
• 1982–1983: Soyez au poste (Be at the station)
• 1983–1985(?): Vous méritez ce qu'il y'a de mieux (You deserve the best)
• 1985: La Télévision de l'heure (The television of the hour)
• 1989–1990: Pour Vous Avant Tout (Everything for you)
• 1994–2006: (System cue/closedown): Le réseau national (The national network/Public broadcasting)
• 1992–late 2004: Ici Radio-Canada (This is Radio-Canada)
• 2005: Vous allez voir (You are going to see/You will see)
• 2006: Ici comme dans la vie (Here as in life) and Radio-Canada, source d'information (Radio-Canada, source of information) for news promos
• 2007: On l'aime déjà (We already love it)
• 2008: Bienvenue à Radio-Canada
• 2009: Mon monde est à Radio-Canada (My world is on Radio-Canada)
• 2013: Tout est possible (Everything is possible)
• 2016: Pour toute la vie Ici Radio Canada Télé (For life, Ici Radio Canada Télé)
• since 2022: Plein la vie (full of life)

Ombudsmen

The person who helps solve problems for Radio-Canada is called an ombudsman. Since July 2021, this role has been filled by Pierre Champoux. Before him, others held this position, including Guy Gendron, Pierre Tourangeau, Julie Miville-Dechêne, Renaud Gilbert, Marcel Pépin, Mario Cardinal, and Bruno Gauron.

High-definition television

On March 5, 2005, Télévision de Radio-Canada started showing its Montreal station CBFT-DT in high definition. Later, they added high-definition broadcasts in Quebec City (CBVT-DT), Ottawa (CBOFT-DT), Toronto (CBLFT-DT), and Vancouver (CBUFT-DT). You can watch these shows on cable or through digital TV.

Starting September 10, 2007, the network and its news channel RDI began showing all shows in a widescreen format. They added a black border around the edges for viewers using older TV sets.

International coverage

Some popular shows like Virginie and Le Téléjournal are shown on international French-language channels such as TV5Monde.

Like its English counterpart CBC Television, Ici Télé's stations can be watched over-the-air in parts of the northern United States. This includes areas in eastern Maine through CBAFT-DT Moncton or CKRT-DT Rivière-du-Loup, northern and central New England through CKSH-DT Sherbrooke, and border regions of New York and Vermont through stations like CBFT-DT Montreal, CBOFT-DT Ottawa-Gatineau, or CBLFT-DT Toronto. It can also be seen in northwest Washington through CBUFT-DT Vancouver.

Notable staff

Some important people who work for Ici Radio-Canada Télé are:

• Marcel Desjardins — the main editor and director for televised news
• Pierre Dufault — a sports journalist
• Pierre Nadeau — a journalist, television presenter, and producer