Earlier this week, national media reported the closure of MaTV Montréal, which will cease operations in the near future. Interview with Télévision du Sud-Ouest (TVSO) General Manager Mélanie Leroux to find out what impact this decision will have on Vaudreuil-Soulanges community television.

"We've been informed that MaTV Montréal will go off the air and cease operations in one year's time, in August 2024. So we have twelve months to plan what to do next. We can see the blow coming and prepare to absorb it. We've been assured that the closure will affect only MaTV Montréal, and that the other parent stations, located throughout Quebec, will remain open, albeit with budget cuts," she says at the outset.

Did she see the axe coming? "We kind of suspected it, in the sense that Videotron stopped funding our operations about two years ago. At the time, TVA had seen its ratings decline due to the multiplication of competing companies and the arrival of new platforms offering varied content. The company wanted more money to finance the production of newscasts, so we had to find solutions to finance ourselves," she says. 

On a daily basis, original programs produced by TVSO, whose studios are located in Châteauguay, can be viewed via 609 for Videotron subscribers. The community TV station serves municipalities in the RCMs of Roussillon, Jardins de Napierville, Haut-Saint-Laurent, Beauharnois-Salaberry and Vaudreuil-Soulanges.

168 hours of additional content to produce

What impact will the closure of MaTV Montréal have on the regional channel? "In concrete terms, with the help of the six other local MaTVs in the Greater Montreal area, we will have to produce 168 hours of content, the equivalent of what this channel currently produces. This Wednesday, August 30, we had a meeting with MaTV general manager Steve Desgagné, who assured us that 609 will remain on the air and will continue to belong to Videotron and broadcast our content."

Ms. Leroux points out that two scenarios are on the table for the affected community TV stations, which will have to produce 168 hours of original content.

"The first is that the 7 local MaTV channels in Greater Montreal take over and share the 168 hours of content to be produced. For example, all our timeless programs like La Scène could be broadcast in the other markets and vice versa. We could also take programs from elsewhere and broadcast them in our region. The other solution is for MaTV's other parent stations to join us in sharing content. In that case, our timeless programs like La Scène could be broadcast throughout Quebec, as well as in Cap-de-la-Madeleine, and vice-versa. For the moment, we haven't made a decision on the preferred scenario," she adds.

More local content, such as the news bulletin or the morning show Dernière minute, will continue to be aimed at TVSO customers.

More live programs?

Adding live broadcasts could also be an option for TVSO. "At the moment, the only program broadcast live is Tél-Bingo, which is also our only source of revenue with the Ministère de la Culture. For the past two years, we haven't received any money from Videotron to keep TVSO running. So it's very important for us to keep this show going. With the closure of MaTV Montréal, we'll have 10 hours of original content to produce per broadcast season. Right now, we're at 5.5 hours of original content without tele-bingo. So we're looking at the option of doing more live shows."

What's the plan for the coming months? "We're well equipped technically, so we'll be cutting back on equipment purchases over the next few months to invest the money in manpower. That's what will enable us to meet demand."

Involving the community

Another of the solutions that could enable TVSO to have more content is input from the community. "We're also considering making room for local people who'd like to submit ideas for shows or podcasts. For example, we could broadcast a program that's on Youtube on our airwaves. All options are being explored," she concludes, optimistic about the future.