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Vià
TypeFree-to-air television network
Country
France
Launch date
July 4, 2018; 6 years ago (July 4, 2018) (ViàRéseau)[1]
June 25, 2010; 14 years ago (June 25, 2010) (Médias du Sud)[2]
Former names
TVSud
Official website
viaoccitanie.tv
LanguageFrench

Vià (stylised as vià) is a French television network. It started as a southern regional network in 2010,[2] before going national in 2018,[1] and subsequently contracting again due to economic problems.[3]

History

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Origins

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When its national network Antennes Locales did not take off, Paris-based Groupe Hersant Média [fr] sold off its television stations to various regional investors. In 2009 TéléMiroir, based in the southern city of Nîmes, was sold to Christophe Musset and his associate Pierre-Paul Castelli,[4] who had previously partnered with GHM in free print publications.[5]

In 2010, Musset founded an umbrella company called Médias du Sud (French for 'Southern Media'[2]), and acquired more stations in the southern cities of Montpellier, Perpignan, and Marseille (the latter went off the air in 2016). Consequently, Musset's stations adopted the common branding TVSud (French for 'TVSouth'), followed by the name of their specific submarket.[6]

Musset also served as president of Télévision Locales de France, a trade association of French local televisions, between 2013 and 2017.[5]

Expansion

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In 2016 Musset proposed a new channel, tentatively named TVSud Toulouse and serving the eponymous regional capital. To gain access to his largest market yet, he secured an investment in Médias du Sud from fr:Bruno Ledoux, leading shareholder in print magazine Le Nouvel Économiste and local TV channel Télif (short for Télévision Ile-de-France).[7] Shortly before the Toulouse launch in September 2017, the TVSud channels were rebranded as ViàOccitanie (after the southern region of Occitanie where all four are based). Ledoux's Télif was similarly rebranded as ViàGrand Paris.[8]

Médias du Sud further expanded in May 2018 through the acquisition of Antilles Télévision (ATV), an embattled regional network consisting of three stations based in the French overseas departments of Guadeloupe, Guyane and Martinique. The channels were to be managed in cooperation with martiniquais businessman Xavier Magin.[9] In an effort to cut down costs, the financially crippled Guadeloupe and Guyane channels switched to simulcasting the Martinique broadcast, but they remained nominally separate entities, with a possible return to original programming at a later date.[10][11] The ATV channels would transition to the Vià branding in October 2018.[12][13][14]

National network

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Ledoux and Musset's next step was the creation of ViàRéseau, a network that would aggregate their own channels with independent stations under the Vià brand to form a true national footprint, allowing for the mutualization of certain production efforts and advertising sales.[8] The business plan was viewed as ambitious, since local programming in France has historically been dominated by France 3 (previously France Régions 3), a heavily subsidized public network.[8]

On July 4, 2018, the new network was officially launched, boasting a reach of 32 million potential viewers across 22 affiliates.[1][15]

In March 2019, Médias du Sud and Magin opted to cut their losses in the French Antilles market by officially closing down their offices in Guadeloupe and Guyane, rather than resuming their production of original content.[16] Later that month, Médias du Sud registered the trademark ViàGroupe, which would become the company's new name shortly after.[17]

Aborted merger and contraction

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In April 2020, French media regulatory authority CSA approved a merger plan between ViàGroupe's five channels and Altice's own nascent network BFM Régions.[18] BFM already held a minority participation in ViàGroupe's ViàOccitanie Toulouse.[15]

In December 2020, Altice rescinded its merger offer, alleging that it had discovered unexpected liabilities while examining the network's financials in prevision of the merger.[19][20] Days later, Ledoux's channel ViàGrand Paris went into receivership,[21] followed in January 2021 by ViàGroupe.[3] Their respective assets were sold to separate investors.

ViàGrand Paris went to an alliance between daily newspaper Le Figaro, and Lille area media company Groupe SECOM.[22] In early July 2021, it was replaced by Museum TV Paris, a local version of SECOM's national art channel Museum TV.[23]

The ViàOccitanie channels went to Groupe La Dépêche du Midi, publisher of the eponymous daily, although the Nîmes broadcast licence was subjected to a new tender by the CSA,[24] which La Dépêche du Midi won uncontested.[25]

With ViàRéseau's national infrastructure in disarray following the demise of its founders' companies, affiliates ViàLMTV Sarthe, ViàMoselle TV and ViàVosges have reverted to their original identity.[26][27]

Programming

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The failure of previous French local television ventures has been attributed to a lack of recognizable properties like sports,[28] a deficiency that Vià sought to address.[29]

Rugby league

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With most of France's top rugby league clubs based in the network's historic market of Occitanie, Vià has been a natural broadcasting partner for the sport. The national ViàRéseau network broadcast Team France games from the 2018 Rugby League European Championship.[30] Coverage of domestic club competitions such as the Elite 1 league and the Coupe de France has typically been shown on the ViàOccitanie subnetwork.[31][32]

Other sports

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Vià's first sports broadcasting agreement was with women's basketball team Lattes Montpellier, whose Euroleague games have been shown on the ViàOccitanie subnetwork since its days as TVSud.[6][33]

In May 2019, Vià broadcast volleyball's Ligue A Masculine finals.[34]
In the summer of 2019, the network expressed interest in a Game of the Week program featuring women's handball's Ligue Butagaz Énergie,[34] but the bid did not get past the preliminary stages and the broadcasting rights went to Sport en France.[35]

In 2021 and 2022, the ViàOccitanie channels broadcast live tennis from Montpellier's ATP 250 tournament. [36][37]

In 2022, ViàATV started broadcasting live stages from the Tour de Martinique, a road cycling race.[38]

Other programming

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Vià's flagship entertainment property was Bethewone, a short-lived interactive game show using a mobile app, broadcast during the fall of 2017. It was hosted by Julien Lepers, the former host of Questions pour un champion (the French version of Going For Gold).[39][40]

ViàRéseau channel roster

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Original channels, brought to the network by founding partners Musset and Ledoux:[15]

Third-party channels that adopted the Vià branding and participated in viàfrance.tv, a collaborative Internet news portal:[41][1]

  • ViàAngers
    Channel name has since reverted to Angers Télé
  • ViàLMtv Sarthe
    Channel name has since reverted to LMtv Sarthe
  • ViàMATÉLÉ (Saint-Quentin)
    Channel name has since reverted to MATÉLÉ
  • ViàMoselle TV
    Channel name has since changed to Moselle TV
  • ViaTéléPaese (Corsica)
    Channel name has since reverted to TéléPaese
  • ViàVosges
    Channel name has since reverted to Vosges TV

Channels that signed the network's protocol, but opted for a waiting period and did not transition to the Vià branding:[15]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Lacure, Florence (July 4, 2018). "Vià: Lancement du 1er réseau national de télévisions locales". viaoccitanie.tv. viàFrance. Retrieved September 13, 2021.
  2. ^ a b c "viàGroupe". societe.com. Médiapost. June 25, 2006. Retrieved September 14, 2021.
  3. ^ a b Isaac, Bary (January 28, 2021). "Les chaînes de télé locales du groupe Vià vont être déclarées en cessation de paiement". le24heures.fr. Institut supérieur de la communication, de la presse et de l'audiovisuel – Toulouse. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
  4. ^ "Télé Miroir Services (Nîmes): modification de capital". csa.fr. Conseil Supérieur de l'Audiovisuel - République Française. July 7, 2009. Retrieved April 22, 2021.
  5. ^ a b "Questionnaire épicurien: Christophe Musset". chefsdoc.fr. Agence Insight Com. December 20, 2017. Retrieved September 14, 2021.
  6. ^ a b "Médias du Sud aurait enfin trouvé la martingale de la télévision locale". latribune.fr. HIMA News. March 15, 2012. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
  7. ^ Valéry, Fabrice (March 23, 2017). "TV Sud confirme l'entrée à son capital de Bruno Ledoux". francetvinfo.fr. France TV. Retrieved September 13, 2021.
  8. ^ a b c Chaigneau, Cécile (September 26, 2019). "TVSud disparaît, vive ViàOccitanie…". latribune.fr. HIMA News. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
  9. ^ Monnerville, Pedro (May 20, 2018). "Le groupe Médias du sud annonce la reprise d'ATV et la mutualisation des moyens". la1ere.francetvinfo.fr. France TV. Retrieved September 3, 2021.
  10. ^ Lei-Sam, Katia (July 13, 2019). "En Guyane, la presse est en péril". mediapart.fr. Fonds pour une presse libre. Retrieved September 13, 2021.
  11. ^ "Les antennes d'ATV Guadeloupe et Guyane fermées". megazap.fr. Megazap Média. June 21, 2018. Retrieved September 15, 2021.
  12. ^ "viàATV: Rendez-vous le 11 octobre !". actu-medias.info. ActuMédias Outre-Mer. October 11, 2018. Retrieved September 14, 2021.
  13. ^ viàGuadeloupe on Facebook
  14. ^ viàGuyane on Facebook
  15. ^ a b c d Valéry, Fabrice (July 3, 2018). "Exclusif: 22 télés locales rejoignent le réseau Vià, créé en Occitanie". francetvinfo.fr. France TV. Retrieved September 13, 2021.
  16. ^ Lorand, Karl; Catan, Cédric (April 17, 2019). "Viaatv liquide ses filiales de Guadeloupe et de Guyane". rci.fm. Radio Caraïbes International. Retrieved September 13, 2021.
  17. ^ "Marque viàGroupe". inpi.fr. Institut National de la Propriété Intellectuelle. April 18, 2019. Retrieved September 14, 2021.
  18. ^ Chaigneau, Cécile (April 9, 2019). "Le CSA donne son feu vert au rapprochement entre le réseau Vià et BFM-TV". latribune.fr. HIMA News. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
  19. ^ Vialatte, Hubert (December 10, 2020). "TV: pas de réseau national pour Vià Régions". lesechos.fr. Groupe Les Echos–Le Parisien. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
  20. ^ Merlet, Pierrick (December 2, 2020). "Médias: BFM TV se désengage, la chaîne Vià Occitanie menacée ?". latribune.fr. HIMA News. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
  21. ^ "Via Grand Paris, la chaîne de Bruno Ledoux, en redressement judiciaire". lalettrea.fr. Indigo Publications. December 7, 2020. Retrieved September 14, 2021.
  22. ^ Alcaraz, Marina (March 19, 2021). "La télé locale ViàGrandParis rachetée par Secom et Le Figaro". lesechos.fr. Groupe Les Echos–Le Parisien. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
  23. ^ Natacha (July 7, 2021). "Museum TV Paris: la chaîne dédiée à la culture de la capitale est arrivée". alloforfait.fr. DBXCom. Retrieved September 12, 2021.
  24. ^ Dessort, Frédéric (April 12, 2021). "L'offre de La Dépêche du Midi retenue pour la reprise de Vià Occitanie". mediacites.fr. Médiacités. Retrieved April 21, 2021.
  25. ^ "Appel aux candidatures du 3 mars 2021 pour l'édition d'un service de télévision locale dans la zone de Nîmes et Alès: le candidat recevable". csa.fr. Conseil Supérieur de l'Audiovisuel - République Française. June 17, 2021. Retrieved September 13, 2021.
  26. ^ "viàMoselle TV devient Moselle TV". planetecsat.com. Planète CSAT. July 7, 2021. Retrieved September 13, 2021.
  27. ^ Mortier, Bruno (September 1, 2021). "LMtv Sarthe fait sa rentrée avec des nouveautés". ouest-france.fr. Groupe Sipa Ouest-France. Retrieved September 13, 2021.
  28. ^ Argouarch, Philippe (July 2, 2009). "Succès du deuxième été TIC à Rennes". abp.bzh. Agence Bretagne Presse. Retrieved September 3, 2021.
  29. ^ "Le réseau Vià vise des droits sportifs". lettreaudiovisuel.com. Audiovisuel Business System Media. February 19, 2019. Retrieved September 13, 2021.
  30. ^ "Comment suivre le match Irlande vs France demain samedi?". ffr13.fr. Fédération Française de Rugby à XIII. November 2, 2018. Retrieved September 14, 2021.
  31. ^ "Suivez la Finale du Championnat de France U19 et ELITE1 en direct". ffr13.fr. Fédération Française de Rugby à XIII. June 26, 2019. Retrieved September 14, 2021.
  32. ^ "Mariage de passion entre la FFR XIII et viàOccitanie". ffr13.fr. Fédération Française de Rugby à XIII. November 11, 2019. Retrieved September 14, 2021.
  33. ^ Edwige Lawson-Wade on Facebook
  34. ^ a b Lefèvre, Sandrine (September 4, 2019). "Handball: enfin un diffuseur pour le championnat féminin ?". leparisien.fr. Groupe Les Échos-Le Parisien. Retrieved September 3, 2021.
  35. ^ "La recherche d'un diffuseur TV progresse". handnews.fr. HandNews. September 5, 2019. Retrieved September 13, 2021.
  36. ^ Garnier, Sébastien (January 25, 2021). "L'Open de tennis de Montpellier à vivre gratuitement sur la chaîne ViaOccitanie". francebleu.fr. Radio France. Retrieved September 13, 2021.
  37. ^ "La diffusion des images de l'Open Sud de France: où voir et comment ça marche ?". midilibre.fr. Les Journaux du midi. 4 February 2022. Retrieved 16 February 2022.
  38. ^ Micholet, B. (9 July 2022). "Le Tour cycliste avec ses directs télés sur Martinique la Première et ViaATV". franceantilles.fr. Presse Antilles Guyane. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
  39. ^ Barké, Sébastien (October 2, 2017). "Exclu. Julien Lepers de retour avec le jeu BeTheWone: "C'est une première en France"". Télé-loisirs. Prisma Média. Retrieved September 14, 2021.
  40. ^ Barké, Sébastien (December 12, 2017). "BeTheWone: le jeu de Julien Lepers adopte un nouveau format". Télé-loisirs. Prisma Média. Retrieved September 14, 2021.
  41. ^ "Homepage". viafrance.tv. Médias du Sud. April 10, 2020. Archived from the original on April 10, 2020. Retrieved September 13, 2021.
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