Sylvie Sauvageau is director of media buying with Carat Stratégem in Montreal.

The recent fall presentations by Quebec’s French-language television networks have, for the most part, left us hungry for more. Come September, you’ll find a good deal less new programming in the TV guide than was the case last year, when both Television Quatre Saisons and Télé-Québec revamped more than 80% of their lineups.

TVA

TVA is betting heavily on a new evening soap called Rue L’Espérance, starring Serge Postigo, who left Societe Radio-Canada’s 4 et demi (one of the public broadcaster’s strongest shows) to head the cast of this series. With its focus on the world of today’s 20-30 age group, the well-plotted, emotionally appealing Rue L’Espérance is clearly bidding for a chunk of the 4 et demi audience.

The only addition to TVA’s lineup of drama series is Fortier, starring Sophie Lorain, one of the most popular female figures from Omerta (another successful SRC series). She’ll play a police psychologist whose specialty is the criminal mind. The series will consist of five separate stories, each developed as a pair of one-hour episodes.

In years past, the adventure/game show Fort Boyard was a safe ratings bet for TVA. This season, TVA is offering a new show in the same genre: Les Forges du désert. The brainchild of the same team behind Fort Boyard, it’s set in the Jordanian desert, with lots of action on horseback (and camel hump). There’s also Le Bonheur est dans la télé, a high-concept 30-minute show authored by Stéphane Laporte (Bye Bye 98), which offers viewers a taste of entertainment from across the entire TV spectrum.

TVA will, naturally, be keeping all of its big winners on the air, including Le Retour, Les Machos, La Poule aux oeufs d’or and Piment fort.

SRC

On Radio-Canada this season, viewers will find Réseaux II and L’Ombre de l’épervier II, the sequels to two of last year’s highest-profile drama series. There’s also a new series, Chartrand et Simonne, which tells the story of radical labour leader Michel Chartrand and his wife Simonne Monet-Chartrand, herself a major figure in Quebec’s feminist movement. Luc Picard and Geneviève Rioux star.

The comedy series Catherine returns for a second season as SRC’s prime-time opener on Fridays. It’s followed by the game show La Fureur – one of 1998-99’s major sensations, with audiences that started at 1.3 million, and peaked at 2 million-plus.

Another noteworthy new offering is Gypsies, a romance series written expressly for TV by best-selling author Arlette Cousture (Filles de Caleb, Ces enfants d’ailleurs).

The daily quiz show Les détecteurs de mensonges, with host Patrice L’Écuyer, is making a major comeback this year. Too bad it’s slotted for 5:30 p.m. In its heyday, it aired at 7 p.m., but the popular soap Virginie now owns that slot.

Also worth watching for is a docudrama about the life of hockey great Maurice ‘Rocket’ Richard, slated to air as part of Les Beaux Dimanches.

SRC will maintain a secure grip on Monday-night audiences again this year, with reruns of La Petite Vie followed by 4 et demi.

TQS

In years past, TQS audiences came to expect massive programming turnover whenever the new season rolled around. This year, however, TQS seems to have finally found its groove, offering virtually the same program lineup as last season.

Continuing in its efforts to court the younger audience, TQS will again run a good deal of thematic prime time, with humour on Tuesdays and cop shows on Friday nights. At the same time, the network has toned down its offerings, dropping two controversial shows, Black Out au Lion d’Or and Dieu reçoit …, and replacing them with the U.S. sitcom Friends, the game show Une fois c’t’un gars and the sketch comedy series Les Mecs comiques. TQS will also keep up its popular tradition of airing blockbuster Hollywood films.

Télé-Québec

Last year Télé-Québec recast 95% of its schedule in an effort to strengthen the network’s position in the conventional TV market. It’s a strategy that seems to have worked, so don’t look for any major changes this season. Shows such as Ciel! mon Pinard, Droit de parole and Improvissimo will all be back, along with the network’s repertory cinema feature. Télé-Québec also continues to woo preschoolers with a roster of offerings that includes Teletubbies.

Specialty channels

Licences for four new French-language specialty services have just been awarded: Le Canal Z, Le Canal Histoire, Le Canal Évasion and Le Canal Fiction. All four are scheduled to go on air in January 2000.

Certainly, their presence may cause some movement of audience share (especially since cable companies are likely to offer a free trial period). But it’s doubtful that other channels will experience an audience loss sufficient to cause concern.

On the whole, we’re confident that relative market share will not change noticeably this year, either for conventional or specialty channels. TVA will hold its own as leader, with SRC running a close second and TQS maintaining a solid third-place position.

Also in this report:

– Nothing worthy of Y2K: Last TV season of the millennium offers little that’s groundbreaking or exciting p.B3

– U.S. nets emphasize stability, consistency p.B4

– Lawyers, lovable dogs and Rob Lowe: Family dramas and teen-friendly shows dominate the new season’s offerings p.B7

– Local advertisers face distinct challenges: Single-market buys difficult in Toronto and English Montreal p.B10

– Vancouver: The best of times, the worst of times: New stations, new data are positives, but buyers also face harsh realities p.B12

– Specialities adopting smarter strategies: As the share of viewing that they deliver grows, cable channels are under pressure to prove their value to buyers p.B14

– What’s in store from the specialities p.B17