Radio-Canada’s Struggling Ratings for Quebec Cinema: The Controversy Continues

2024-01-16 23:33:35

Radio-Canada recorded starving ratings on Sunday evening with a program devoted to Quebec cinema which was hosted by Karine Vanasse. This formula replaced the Gala Québec Cinéma, which the public broadcaster pulled the plug last year precisely citing the drop in audiences. However, during its last broadcast on Radio-Canada, the awards ceremony still attracted more than twice as many viewers as the special In a cinema near you, last Sunday.

Presented at 8 p.m., in the time slot that Everyone Talks About Normally occupies, In a Cinema Near You aimed to promote Quebec films that will be released in 2024. Several interviews with directors and key actors of Quebec cinema furnished this one-hour special.

But in the end, few viewers were there. According to preliminary data compiled by the Numeris firm and published by Le Soleil columnist Richard Therrien, In a Cinema Near You reached barely 188,000 people on Sunday evening. This is without a doubt one of the worst audiences ever achieved by Radio-Canada on a Sunday evening. And above all, it is much less than the 468,000 viewers who watched the Gala Québec Cinéma in 2022 during its last broadcast on Radio-Canada, in June, a period that is much less popular on television than the month of January.

After being dropped by the public broadcaster, the Gala Québec Cinéma was able to rise from its ashes in December on Noovo, a channel which usually has a much smaller reach than Radio-Canada or TVA. However, the ceremony hosted by Jay Du Temple last month still managed to attract 465,000 people in front of their televisions at the height of the evening, which remains much higher than In a cinema near you.

“Of course we always want more,” admitted France Beaudoin, who produced this special show. “The idea was to raise awareness of the films and the artisans in advance. We really received a lot of messages from people who told us they mightn’t wait to go see this or that film… We are proud of how it turned out. This does not seem to be at all what is being called into question. There are so many factors that come into play…” added the producer in writing.

Strong competition

France Beaudoin hopes that the show will at least be able to meet its audience on the Tou.tv platform. The management of Radio-Canada said it was satisfied with the program piloted by Karine Vanasse, who “fulfilled her mandate very well”, we took the trouble to point out.

We also remind you that the competition was strong on Sunday evening, between 8 p.m. and 9 p.m. The 10th anniversary special of La Voix on TVA crossed the million viewer mark, according to preliminary data. Broadcast just followingwards, the first interview in four years with fallen rocker Éric Lapointe exceeded 800,000 audience ratings.

That said, we can still think that the audiences for In a cinema near you did not meet the broadcaster’s expectations. Despite everything, Radio-Canada is committed to broadcasting another program next year dedicated to Quebec cinema. But this might occupy a time slot other than Sunday evening.

“We can confirm that another program focusing on current and future film productions will be included in Radio-Canada’s schedule next year. It will also be broadcast in prime time, but consideration is underway to determine whether it would be appropriate to include it on a date more likely to maximize its audience,” Marc Pichette, director of television, said by email. public relations of Radio-Canada.

Controversial decision

Radio-Canada caused an outcry by canceling the Gala Québec Cinéma last year. Many in the industry had accused the state-owned company of departing from its cultural mandate. The public broadcaster judged that a special program dedicated to cinema would be a better tool than a gala to promote local cinema.

The poor audience ratings garnered by In a cinema near you made Dominique Dugas, general director of Québec Cinéma, say that Radio-Canada was wrong. A televised gala remains the best formula for promoting local films, he is even more convinced today. “The program broadcast on Sunday by Radio-Canada was very good. As someone who cares regarding the influence of our cinema, I can only be saddened by the fact that few people were there. But it also shows that we were right to fight to save our gala. A special show can never replace a gala,” concludes Dominique Dugas.

Paradoxically, the past year was particularly good for Quebec cinema, which represented more than 10% of theatrical admissions in 2023, compared to 7% in 2022. At the box office, it was the year more lucrative since 2017.

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