MusiquePlus
Encyclopedia
MusiquePlus is a Canadian
French language
Category A specialty channel
owned by Astral Media
operating from Montreal
, Quebec
.
MusiquePlus is devoted to music
and music related programming from various genres including pop
, rock
, RnB
and focuses on a younger demographic than its sister station, MusiMax
. It is the French language equivalent to MuchMusic
which is now owned and operated by Bell Media, and was once its sister station until it was fully purchased by Astral Media.
The channel has only discretionary status outside of Quebec, meaning that cable companies may choose to offer it if there is a sufficient local audience for French programming, but are not required to do so. Within Quebec, however, the channel has mandatory cable carriage rights.
); it consisted of music videos and interviews and performances that were taped from a studio on Boulevard St. Laurent in Montreal. Four hours of this programming was created by MuchMusic in Toronto and sent to Vidéotron
for broadcast in Quebec to subscribers of MuchMusic. This programming repeated once daily. At the time MusiquePlus was owned 100% by CHUM Limited
as a division of MuchMusic, but was not yet licensed by the CRTC.
In 1987, the CRTC approved a licence for MusiquePlus and on September 1, 1988, MusiquePlus launched as a 24 hour channel under the ownership of CHUM Limited and Radiomutuel with both companies holding an equal 50% each.
In June 1999, Astral Media announced they would make a takeover of Radiomutuel and soon gained control of Radiomutuel's assets including MusiquePlus shortly thereafter.
In July 2006, CTVglobemedia announced they would make a takeover bid to buy CHUM Limited. Initial plans were to keep MusiquePlus and MusiMax although shortly CTVglobemedia announced that they would sell MusiquePlus. On April 11, 2007, Astral announced that they will be acquiring the remaining 50% in MusiMax and MusiquePlus from CTVglobemedia. The sale was completed June 30 of that year. Later in September 2008, Astral then gave MusiquePlus a new logo, moving away from the MuchMusic style branding.
feed of MusiquePlus called MusiquePlus HD, although most of its content is 480i video upscaled to 1080i. It is currently only available on Vidéotron
Cable.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
French language
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
Category A specialty channel
Specialty channel
A specialty channel can be a commercial broadcasting or non-commercial television channel which consists of television programming focused on a single genre, subject or targeted television market at a specific demographic....
owned by Astral Media
Astral Media
Astral Media Inc. is a Canadian media corporation. It is Canada's largest radio broadcaster with 83 radio stations in eight provinces, and is a major player in premium and specialty television in Canada, including The Movie Network, Super Écran, Family, Teletoon, Canal D, Canal Vie, VRAK.TV,...
operating from Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
.
MusiquePlus is devoted to music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
and music related programming from various genres including pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
, rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
, RnB
RNB
RNB is a three-letter abbreviation with multiple meanings, as described below:* Nankai Broadcasting – , a broadcasting station in Ehime Prefecture, Japan* Rhythm and blues* Contemporary R&B* Russian National Library...
and focuses on a younger demographic than its sister station, MusiMax
MusiMax
MusiMax is a Canadian French language Category A specialty channel owned by Astral Media operating out of Montreal, Quebec.MusiMax is devoted to music and music related programming focusing more on adult contemporary, soft-rock, classic rock and lighter music than its sister station, MusiquePlus...
. It is the French language equivalent to MuchMusic
MuchMusic
MuchMusic is a Canadian English language Category A specialty channel owned by Bell Media. MuchMusic is dedicated to music-related programs, pop and youth culture.-History:...
which is now owned and operated by Bell Media, and was once its sister station until it was fully purchased by Astral Media.
The channel has only discretionary status outside of Quebec, meaning that cable companies may choose to offer it if there is a sufficient local audience for French programming, but are not required to do so. Within Quebec, however, the channel has mandatory cable carriage rights.
History
Launching on September 2, 1986, MusiquePlus first originated with only an eight hour schedule, sharing channel space with TVJQ (a predecessor of VRAK.TVVRAK.TV
VRAK.TV is a Canadian French language Category A specialty channel aimed at youth audiences. VRAK.TV is currently owned by Astral Media.-History:...
); it consisted of music videos and interviews and performances that were taped from a studio on Boulevard St. Laurent in Montreal. Four hours of this programming was created by MuchMusic in Toronto and sent to Vidéotron
Vidéotron
Vidéotron GP is a Canadian integrated telecommunications company active in cable television, interactive multimedia development, video on demand, cable telephony, wireless communication and Internet access services. Currently, the company primarily serves Quebec, as well as the francophone...
for broadcast in Quebec to subscribers of MuchMusic. This programming repeated once daily. At the time MusiquePlus was owned 100% by CHUM Limited
CHUM Limited
CHUM Limited was a media company based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada from 1945 to 2007. Immediately prior to its acquisition, it held full or joint control of two Canadian television systems — Citytv and A-Channel — comprising 11 local stations, and one CBC Television affiliate, one...
as a division of MuchMusic, but was not yet licensed by the CRTC.
In 1987, the CRTC approved a licence for MusiquePlus and on September 1, 1988, MusiquePlus launched as a 24 hour channel under the ownership of CHUM Limited and Radiomutuel with both companies holding an equal 50% each.
In June 1999, Astral Media announced they would make a takeover of Radiomutuel and soon gained control of Radiomutuel's assets including MusiquePlus shortly thereafter.
In July 2006, CTVglobemedia announced they would make a takeover bid to buy CHUM Limited. Initial plans were to keep MusiquePlus and MusiMax although shortly CTVglobemedia announced that they would sell MusiquePlus. On April 11, 2007, Astral announced that they will be acquiring the remaining 50% in MusiMax and MusiquePlus from CTVglobemedia. The sale was completed June 30 of that year. Later in September 2008, Astral then gave MusiquePlus a new logo, moving away from the MuchMusic style branding.
Musique Plus HD
On August 23, 2010 Astral launched a HDHigh-definition television
High-definition television is video that has resolution substantially higher than that of traditional television systems . HDTV has one or two million pixels per frame, roughly five times that of SD...
feed of MusiquePlus called MusiquePlus HD, although most of its content is 480i video upscaled to 1080i. It is currently only available on Vidéotron
Vidéotron
Vidéotron GP is a Canadian integrated telecommunications company active in cable television, interactive multimedia development, video on demand, cable telephony, wireless communication and Internet access services. Currently, the company primarily serves Quebec, as well as the francophone...
Cable.
Music and programming
In the early beginnings of MusiquePlus, much of its programming relied heavily on music videos which came from a much more diverse selection of genres due to the fact that MusiquePlus was the only French language music service available at the time. As the channel grew over time, dependence on music videos decreased and programming began to include films, reality TV series and more. Also with the launch of MusiMax which was licensed to target an older demographic, MusiquePlus could focus on a younger audience and cater its music programming to them.International distribution
- Saint Pierre and Miquelon - distributed on SPM Telecom systems.
Current
- Claude RajotteClaude RajotteClaude Rajotte is a well-known DJ/VJ/,music critic from Montreal, Canada. Rajotte is currently working for MusiquePlus -Life:...
- Chéli Sauvé Castonguay
- Mathieu Dorion
- Frédéric Bastien Forrest
- Patrick LangloisPatrick LangloisPatrick "Pat" Langlois is a photographer and music journalist.-Simple Plan:He was most commonly associated with the pop punk band Simple Plan. friend of the band who was responsible for merchandising , and also acted as webmaster, photographer, and videographer...
- Réjean "Rej" Laplanche
- Fanny Lefort
- Tatiana Polevoy
- Denis Talbot
- Nicolas Tittley
Past
- Annie-Soleil Proteau
- Babu
- Francis Bay
- Sonia BenezraSonia BenezraSonia Benezra is a Canadian TV and radio interviewer and personality and actress who formerly hosted shows on MusiquePlus, MusiMax, MuchMusic and MuchMoreMusic. She hosted a daily live talk show on the French-language TQS television, also open to English-speaking entertainment figures, for five...
- Geneviève Borne
- Tobie Bureau-Huot
- Marc Carpentier
- Nabi Alexandre Chartier
- Véronique CloutierVéronique CloutierVéronique Cloutier is a popular French Canadian TV and Radio personality. She is the daughter of producer Guy Cloutier and the sister of Stéphanie Cloutier. She has hosted various programs on Radio-Canada, including La Fureur, Véro and Paquet Voleur...
- Marc Coiteux
- Virginie Coossa
- Izabelle Desjardins
- Benoit Dufresne
- Yanie Dupont-Hébert
- Philippe Fehmiu
- Abeille Gélinas
- Stéphane "Gonzo" Gonzalez
- Patrick Groulx
- Louis-José HoudeLouis-José HoudeLouis-José Houde is a French-Canadian comedian, who mostly does stand-up comedy and also has his own TV show. Recently Houde has broken into acting in feature films, such as the 2006 hit movie, Bon Cop, Bad Cop and the 2009 hit movie De père en flic...
- Pierre Landry
- Mathilde Laurier
- Benoît Lefebvre
- Rebecca Makonnen
- Mathieu Marcotte
- Patrick Marsolais
- Elsie Martins
- Marie PlourdeMarie PlourdeMarie Plourde is a French-Canadian journalist and television personality originally from Grand-Mère, Quebec, and now residing in Montreal.She was one of the first VJs on the early days of MusiquePlus. She now writes a column in Le Journal de Montréal and hosts various television programs.More...
- Juliette PowellJuliette PowellJuliette Powell is a Canadian television host, producer and author. She was the Miss Canada titleholder in 1989, that contest's first Black Canadian winner....
- Valérie Roberts
- Paul Sarrasin
- Malik Shaheed AKA Versatile
- Valérie Simard
- Catherine Vachon
- Joanne Vrakas