Reseau-Intervision Quebec 1980s Question

[bigoranget]

I've been working on a project to publish old TV Guide cable listings and channel guides from various providers across Canada. I've recently started working on listings for Quebec. Does anyone remember the Réseau Inter-Vision cable channels? These were cable channels that ran from the late 1970s until the late 1980s.


TVJQ la télé des jeunes -> Kids/Youth Channel, replace by Canal Famille in 1988
TVSQ tele des sports -> Sports channel, replaced by RDS in 1989
TVFQ 99 -> Replaced by TV5 in 1988
TVCQ cours universitaires et colltégiaux -> Eventually became CFTU in 1986
TVRQ télé-reportages -> Discontinued in 1983
TVEQ sciences et éducation -> Discontinued in 1983
TVAQ arts et spectacles -> Discontinued in 1984
TVIQ consommation et emploi -> Discontinued in 1983


It appears TVFQ 99 was widely available in Quebec but were the other channels available on systems other than Videotron? Were any of them available in Ottawa?

[mtlguy]

They were availbale on Cablevision Nationale in Montreal and Laval. That was eventually bough by Videotron, but some of those were Cablevision before they were owned by Videotron.
I think the first 4 for sure, not sure of the others.

[InMontreal]

I don't know if this was part of the Intervision system or not, but there was this home-shopping channel that worked like a L'Instant Gagnant show : There was a silly product on screen, there was a countdown in minutes, and a product left of let's say 400 items, then all of a sudden, that number dropped like if many people wanted to acquire it, convincing you to call now before they're all gone. One day, that channel disappeared from the lineup, I think 1987-1988. It was Encan quelque chose...

[bigoranget]

Here is some line-ups for Quebec. They all start at the first date available. You can toggle straight through to the last line-up published.

Cable TV Montreal/CF Cable Montreal/Videotron Montreal (West)
http://www.mcquarrieweb.ca/TVGuideWe...1977-09-01.php

Montreal Cablevision Nationale/Videotron Montreal (East)
http://www.mcquarrieweb.ca/TVGuideWe...1974-09-01.php

Videotron Sherbrooke
http://www.mcquarrieweb.ca/TVGuideWe...1993-09-01.php

Laurentien Cable Hull/Videotron Cable Hull
http://www.mcquarrieweb.ca/TVGuideWe...1983-02-01.php

Complete Index here.
http://www.mcquarrieweb.ca/TVGuideWe...nel-guides.php

[lostjon]

I don't know if this was part of the Intervision system or not, but there was this home-shopping channel that worked like a L'Instant Gagnant show : There was a silly product on screen, there was a countdown in minutes, and a product left of let's say 400 items, then all of a sudden, that number dropped like if many people wanted to acquire it, convincing you to call now before they're all gone. One day, that channel disappeared from the lineup, I think 1987-1988. It was Encan quelque chose...

Encan Sablier, yes I remember that, on channel 18 for Videotron subscribers in the Montreal area. When translated into English, Sandy Auction?

Anyways, although I was very young when it was on the air, I do recall some hourglass on the screen with the sand inside representing how much time was left. It lasted up until the first months sometime in 1989. Later that year, the service disappeared to make room for YTV, which made its entry to Videotron almost one year after it launched in September 1988. For most of that time, YTV was only available in Montreal for those who subscribed to the other cable provider at the time, CF Cable.

[InMontreal]

Bringing back this old thread to life...

TVFQ 99 launched Sept 16, 1979. Initially, original SECAM-format tapes were imported and shipped to the SETTE office in Brossard, converted to NTSC, and a series of tapes was set for the week. One year later, it had a spot on the canadian satellite and all cable providers in Quebec province could carry it. TV Listings printed its lineup since the channel launch.

So, I was looking at archives of past newspapers for listings of those other above-mentionned TVxQ channels, and could only find daily partial listings (mainly TVSQ & TVJQ) between may 1981 and january 1984 in La Presse at the BAnQ, but these channels except TVFQ were never printed in the Télé-Presse, the saturday companion. Le Devoir archives are also at BAnQ, but limited itself to OTA channels. Montreal Gazette at Google News had no interest in those channels...

AFAIK, Écho Vedettes had a seperate TV Listings released on saturdays, but that newspaper ain't archived yet. TV Hebdo could have potentially list them, but no digital archive found yet...

Any other source suggestion where I could find daily or weekly TV Listings for TVJQ ?

[bigoranget]

I have a few TV Hebdo magazines from 1987 and 1988 and neither TVSQ or TVJQ are listed.

Below is an example. TV Hebdo listed Super Ecran, First Choice, TSN, MuchMusic and MusiquePlus. I don't have any TV Hebdo magazines from 1983 but I'd assume C Channel and TVEC where probably listed. It did list TVFQ using the 99 numeric bullet.

http://www.vintagetvguide.ca/tv-hebd...=December51987

The thing I always wondered is was TVFQ the only channel that was widely distributed? I'm curious for example if channels like TVSQ and TVJQ were offered on cable systems outside of Montreal region. For example did the cable systems in Quebec, Hull and Sherbrooke carry these?