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TVOntario Question

Does anyone have some knowledge about a cable service that was operated jointly by TVOntario and Rogers? It was called "Galaxie" and it existed (from what I've been able to gather) during the early 1980s. Here's what else I know about the service: It operated for 4 hours a day, and in the case of Newfoundland-based listings from 1982 and 1984, signed on at 11:00 AM NT and signed off at 3:00 PM on weekdays and 1:00 to 5:00 PM on weekends.
 
Mike said:
Does anyone have some knowledge about a cable service that was operated jointly by TVOntario and Rogers? It was called "Galaxie" and it existed (from what I've been able to gather) during the early 1980s. Here's what else I know about the service: It operated for 4 hours a day, and in the case of Newfoundland-based listings from 1982 and 1984, signed on at 11:00 AM NT and signed off at 3:00 PM on weekdays and 1:00 to 5:00 PM on weekends.

It was available to non-Rogers systems as well...I have a Halifax Chronicle-Herald listing from the early 80s and Halifax Cablevision (now EastLink) was carrying it then.
 
According to the Canadian Communications Foundation website, they had such a channel available on cable in Toronto in the early 1980s, although they refer to it as TVO2. Probably the same thing.
 
e-dawg said:
Does anybody in Toronto watches the French version of TVO, (TFO) Rogers Cable 13?

Many years ago the french TVO had some english on Sunday nights that otherwise would not have aired at all on the regular TVO.

I think that ended and they went all french. Their stronger viewing audience is in areas around Eastern Ontario and closer to Quebec.

I (like most people anywhere from Toronto to Niagara falls) do not speak any french, so I can't give that station much support.
 
Yeziknoradio said:
Many years ago the french TVO had some english on Sunday nights that otherwise would not have aired at all on the regular TVO.

I think that ended and they went all french. Their stronger viewing audience is in areas around Eastern Ontario and closer to Quebec.

And in converse, while the French TVO (then "La Chaine Francois", now "TFO") had English shows on Sunday, TVO had French shows at the same time -- this way, Francophones without cable still had access to some French shows, while English TVO programming remained available to those with cable. As cable penetration increased in Ontario, the "switcheroo" was discontinued.

A couple of years back, TFO was spun off into its own agency, independent of TVO.
 
A couple of random thoughts about TVO & TFO...

It's interesting that no U.S. cable system I know of carries TVO, even though it's an excellent public broadcasting outlet and many programs are not Ontario or Canada-specific. Plenty of U.S. cable operators near the border carry CBC, some the local CTV outlet and maybe even a third station. But not TVO.

Is TFO on some low power TV stations in some parts of Ontario?

Is there a requirement of Ontario cable operators that they must carry TFO between channels 2 and 13, even in communities with only a few French speakers? Nearly every system I know of carries TFO on 13.

On a right wing radio talk show, I once heard a caller complain about the expense of the province paying for a full time French TV channel, TFO, even though only a small number of Ontario citizens are French-speaking.

Last time I checked, Montreal-area cable systems carry TVO on a higher tier level, although some years ago it was in the basic line-up, picking up Channel 24 from Ottawa. They still carry CJOH Ottawa-Cornwall in the basic line-up.


Gregg
[email protected]
 
Gregg said:
Is TFO on some low power TV stations in some parts of Ontario?

Yes, generally in areas where there is a sizable Francophone population, such as Sudbury, Hawkesbury and Pembroke -- the transmitters in these cities are medium-to-full-powered, while the others are low-powered or even peanut-whistles. Toronto or Ottawa have no local TFO transmitter, though it is available on cable.

Gregg said:
Is there a requirement of Ontario cable operators that they must carry TFO between channels 2 and 13, even in communities with only a few French speakers? Nearly every system I know of carries TFO on 13.

Yes there is -- the CRTC made it mandatory for cable systems in Ontario to carry TFO in the basic tiers. Apparently, this does not apply to satellite -- Shaw Direct dropped TFO last year, citing that most of their programs are available on Télé-Québec, which Shaw Direct carries.
 
Gregg said:
Is there a requirement of Ontario cable operators that they must carry TFO between channels 2 and 13, even in communities with only a few French speakers? Nearly every system I know of carries TFO on 13.

In London, TFO has been on Cable 19 since the mid-1990s. It was originally on Cable 36 when it signed on. I don't think it gets the same priority treatment as CBC's French service.
 
Gregg said:
It's interesting that no U.S. cable system I know of carries TVO, even though it's an excellent public broadcasting outlet and many programs are not Ontario or Canada-specific. Plenty of U.S. cable operators near the border carry CBC, some the local CTV outlet and maybe even a third station. But not TVO.

The cable company I had growing up in the southern suburbs of Detroit carried TVO into the 90s.
 
MikeB said:
Gregg said:
It's interesting that no U.S. cable system I know of carries TVO, even though it's an excellent public broadcasting outlet and many programs are not Ontario or Canada-specific. Plenty of U.S. cable operators near the border carry CBC, some the local CTV outlet and maybe even a third station. But not TVO.

The cable company I had growing up in the southern suburbs of Detroit carried TVO into the 90s.

Last I saw, the Detroit Free Press still carries listings for TVO, Channel 32 Windsor.
 
TVO/32 in Windsor can be seen over-air in much of the Detroit market, though not nearly as much as CBET/9 can be seen. (Of course, in 2010, you need a TV with an analog tuner for both.)

A's Windsor station, 60, is really not receivable in most of Detroit. But TVO isn't a difficult pickup.
 
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