Support at an All Time High for French-Language Educational Programing in Canada, according to National Survey

Groupe Média TFO hopes to meet this demand by expanding its
award winning programing across the country

TORONTO, May 13, 2015 /CNW/ - This historic trend is without precedent. A vast majority of Canadians, 88 per cent of Canadians living in provinces with little access to French television programing say they strongly support offering more shows to French speakers and Francophiles.  The survey, by Ipsos Marketing for Groupe Média TFO, also reports that a significant number, 56 per cent, said they would be interested in watching a French educational television channel, if it was offered by their service provider.

Groupe Média TFO is a premium destination for children and audiences seeking educational and innovative content in French. It operates multiple platforms, including the TFO television channel that devotes 70% of its schedule to youth programming. The company recently applied to the CRTC to both renew its existing licence and expand its reach across Canada. It has asked the CRTC for "must-offer status" to make its educational television service a mandatory offering by cable and satellite distribution systems across Canada. Customers could then choose to subscribe to TFO, once it is available.

"The CRTC received 712 interventions regarding our licence renewal, and 709 of those letters were extremely supportive of the work we do and of our applications," said TFO President and CEO Glenn O'Farrell. "The three who opposed our plans to expand TFO's educational television programming reach are large cable companies who are already carrying our signal."

Those that wrote the CRTC had comments like "I live in Alberta... It is important for me that my children get as much exposure to French-language TV shows as possible, so they can expand their French vocabulary..." ; "We live in New Brunswick and we are big consumers of TFO shows. It would be a catastrophe if this TV channel were no longer offered in our area."

"If you consider our deep, existing support captured in the hundreds of submissions made to the CRTC, plus the huge, national appetite for access to educational French-language programming, and in particular the offering found on TFO, it is clear TFO should be given the opportunity to serve all Canadians" O'Farrell added.

The Ipsos survey asked respondents whether they were interested in their broadcast distributor providing access to educational programing in French. Fifty-six per cent said yes. And of that number, 77 per cent with children in French immersion programs strongly favoured more choice for quality French children's shows

The Ipsos survey found that 55 per cent of respondents would like to know more about TFO, and 31 per cent of those said that they would certainly or probably subscribe to TFO, if they had the opportunity. In fact, 73 per cents of respondents who would subscribe would be interested in the TFO channel if it was available at a cost of $3 per month.

"TFO has demonstrated that it is first in class globally when it comes to producing innovative, quality French language educational programing for children," said O'Farrell. "The Ipsos survey of over 1,000 Canadians adds considerable weight to the interventions that were written in support of our licence renewal and application for expansion. We strongly believe that the time has come for all cable and satellite television service providers to add TFO to their offerings. Canadians deserve no less."

Groupe Média TFO believes every kid can be a smarty pantalon. After all, every smarty pantalon is a kid full of life, promise, and ambition. That's why we work hard to give wings to their passion to help them discover the full horizons of their imagination through award-winning content in French. Childhood is a journey and our content enhances what they learn in school and gives them meaningful experiences that enrich their lives.

GROUPE MÉDIA TFO

RESULTS OF IPSOS SURVEY: GAUGING INTEREST RELATIVE TO SUBSCRIBING TO TFO CHANNEL

Web survey of 1,112 respondents from Atlantic and Western provinces conducted in April 2015.

• 86% of respondents are cable or satellite television subscribers.
  
• 88% of respondents felt that it was important for Canadian Francophones and francophiles to have access to a minimum choice of television services in French.
  
• 56% of respondents said they would like to have access to educational television programs in French through their cable or satellite television service provider.
  • This proportion rises to 77% for people with children registered in a French immersion program at school.

After presentation of a short video offering an overview of the TFO channel's programming, the following results were obtained:

• 55% of respondents said they were interested or very interested in finding out more about TFO.
  • This level of interest is the same in all the provinces and regions surveyed.
    
• 31% of respondents say they are interested in subscribing to TFO.
  • This proportion rises to 52% for parents who have children in French immersion, and to 47% of respondents interested in French culture.
    
• Interesting fact, 29% of non- television service subscribers who were interested in finding out more about TFOstated that having French-language services (like TFO) offered could make them consider subscribing to a television service.
  
• 74% of respondents who would subscribe would be willing to pay for a package of French-language services at a cost of $5 for 10 channels.
  
• 73% of respondents who would subscribe would be interested in the TFO channel if it was available at a cost of $3 per month.

SOURCE Ontario French Language Educational Communications Authority (TFO)

Touria Karim, 416.968.8225 / 416.453.4388, [email protected]

Related Links

www.tfo.org