Réseau Pathonic

Réseau Pathonic (the "Pathonic Network"; often shortened to Pathonic) was a French-language television network operating in the Canadian province of Quebec from approximately 1986 to 1990.[1] The network was owned by Pathonic Communications Inc., controlled by the family of Paul Vien with 51%, and Télé-Métropole (owners of CFTM-TV Montreal) with 34%, with the remaining 15% owned by others.[2] Although Pathonic was a Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC)-licensed network within Quebec, its operations and coverage would be more comparable today to a television system rather than a full-fledged network.

The network consisted of the following stations, all of which were purchased by Pathonic in 1979:

All of these stations were owned by Pathonic with the exception of CIMT, which was, and still is, owned by Télé Inter-Rives. However, Pathonic held a 45 percent stake in Télé Inter-Rives.

All of the stations in the Pathonic network were also affiliated with TVA. However, these stations often aired programming substantially different from other TVA affiliates – even though Télé-Métropole, owner of CFTM-TV, was the major minority shareholder. In those days, TVA, much like CTV at the time and Global in the early-2000s, did not have what could be considered a main network schedule. The differences between schedules were strong enough that CHLT was carried on nearly all cable systems in Montréal from the early-1980s onward; CHLT's over-the-air signal covers most of the Greater Montreal area. The closest parallel to this in English Canada was the now-defunct Baton Broadcast System (BBS; in operation during the 1990s), as most of its stations were also CTV affiliates.

The network is believed to have been dissolved shortly after Pathonic Communications merged with Télé-Métropole in 1990, creating the present-day TVA network and chain of stations.[3] The sale unified the ownership of most of TVA's major affiliates (except outlets owned by Radio-Nord and Télé Inter-Rives, the latter whose 45% share is now owned by TVA) and ultimately unified the network's schedule.

Pathonic Communications also owned CKMI-TV, an English-language station in Quebec City which was affiliated with CBC Television until 1997 (and which is now a Montreal-based Global owned and operated station).

References
  1. History of CFCM-TV at the Canadian Communications Foundation website, updated 2009-05-01, accessed 2009-09-02
  2. History of CHLT-TV at the Canadian Communications Foundation website, updated 2009-07-01, accessed 2009-09-02
  3. Decision CRTC 90-631, 1990-07-09
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