TFO
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TFO is a French language educational public television network in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is owned and operated by TVOntario, and is the only French-language television network in Canada which operates entirely outside of Quebec.
TFO is available only on cable in most areas of the province, although the network does also broadcast over the air in some communities in Eastern and Northern Ontario with significant Franco-Ontarian populations. All cable companies in Ontario are required to carry the network regardless of its local broadcast availability. TFO is also carried via satellite on Bell ExpressVu channel 137 and StarChoice channel 763.
TFO launched in 1987 as La Chaîne Française, and was rebranded as TFO (short for Télé-Française d'Ontario) in 1994.
Prior to the launch of La Chaîne, TVO broadcast in French on Sundays from noon until sign-off. For the first several years of La Chaîne's operations, this continued and La Chaîne broadcast in English during the same time block, because TFO was only available on cable and the government wanted to ensure that Franco-Ontarian viewers without cable still had access to a block of French-language programming. As transmitters were added in a variety of French-speaking communities, the practice was eventually discontinued.
TFO is also available to cable viewers in New Brunswick, as the government of New Brunswick does not have the financial resources to offer its own French-language public television network. Consequently, all program announcements on TFO provide airtimes for both Ontario and Acadie. TFO has also applied to the CRTC for mandatory cable carriage in Quebec, but was refused because Quebec already has a similar service, Télé-Québec. However, some cable companies in Quebec do offer TFO at their own discretion.
As part of a restructuring of TVOntario announced by the McGuinty government on June 29, 2006, TFO is expected to be taken over by a new, separate provincial Crown corporation with separate management and its own budget. The date of this change has not been announced, although the government has asked the TVOntario board to prepare a transition plan by the end of 2006.
TFO transmitters
All of the station's broadcast transmitters have the call sign CHLF, followed by a number to denote their status as rebroadcasters. The network's first broadcast transmitter was added in Sudbury in 1989. However, for CRTC purposes the transmitter CHLF-2 in Hawkesbury is listed as the station's primary broadcast transmitter, possibly because this transmitter reaches into the Montreal television market.
Besides Sudbury, Hawkesbury and Pembroke, all other communities that receive TFO on the regular airwaves are isolated communities in Northern Ontario, many of which also receive the Ontario Legislature channel over the regular airwaves as well.
- Brethour - 26
- Evanturel - 22
- Greater Sudbury - 25
- Greenstone (Longlac) - 17
- Greenstone (Nakina) - 9
- Harris Township - 16
- Hawk Junction - 19
- Hawkesbury - 39
- Jogues - 22
- Kaboni - 28
- Kirby's Corner - 51
- Lac-Ste-Thérèse - 32
- New Osnaburgh - 20
- Oba - 17
- Pembroke - 17
- Sultan - 28
- Summer Beaver - 11
- Val Rita - 28
Programming
Programs that have aired on TFO include:
External links
| Educational Television Stations in Canada | ||
|---|---|---|
| Télé-Québec - Canal Savoir - Télé-Française d'Ontario - TVOntario - Saskatchewan Communications Network - Access Alberta - Knowledge Network - Canadian Learning Television |
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