Natyf TV celebrates new must-carry status
Spirits were understandably high during the Natyf TV inauguration party on September 18 to celebrate its new must-carry status on basic subscriber options with all Quebec cable and TV service providers and to present an overview of the programming it will be offering for viewers to enjoy in the coming year. After months of gathering signatures – a total of 8236 – on petitions in favour of licensing the channel and more than 6000 comments with the same message submitted to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, the CRTC finally approved an application on August 31 for the French-language channel, with its emphasis on multicultural diversity, to be carried as a mandatory channel on all basic TV subscriber packages in Quebec.
Feelings of jubilation and achievement were palpable among the many guests present for the evening’s festivities. Industry professionals, supporters, friends, and others active in the audiovisual sector were on hand to applaud this important new chapter for the channel, which Jean-Yves Roux launched in 2018. Up until now, Natyf TV, distributed by Bell Media, was available only by subscription. With its focus on diversity and discovering different cultures, the channel had applied to the CRTC for a licence in 2022 that would make it accessible to all TV subscribers in Quebec.
After a hearing held in January of this year, where a number of other channels opposed Natyf TV’s application, an impressive wave of solidarity and mobilization quickly gained momentum. A widely shared petition was signed by thousands of supporters and thousands of messages of support were sent to the CRTC championing the channel for its blending of cultures, improving screen representation for racialized groups, and enabling the training and development of talent from these same communities both in front of and behind the camera. The MC for the evening made it clear that without this show of support, Natyf TV’s success would not have been possible.
Over the course of the evening, producers, artists, and filmmakers took to the stage to present productions that will be part of Natyf TV’s upcoming lineup. They also pointed out what made the channel unique for them: an inclusive management team that resembles and understands its target audience, with a vision to highlight the one-of-a-kind stories that need to be seen and heard.
Credit: Jordan Sully - Photo courtesy of Natyf Inc.
Ocho Productions founder and producer Daniela Mujica was first on stage. She was delighted to have a new player on the Quebec and French-language television scene. “Natyf TV fills a really big gap in the ecosystem by creating opportunities for many underrepresented communities to tell their stories. I have no doubt they will offer an exciting range of content that is varied, diverse, and of the highest quality, telling universal stories with a strong appeal to French-speaking audiences in every corner of the globe,” she said. “We often forget just how powerful stories are and how they can easily cross borders and reach an ever-widening audience.”
Actor and filmmaker Ayana O’Shun recently directed the feature documentary The Myth of the Black Woman. She spoke about the difficulties she encountered in trying to get mainstream broadcasters to understand the stakes and the raison d’être for the film: to set the record straight about harmful stereotypes of black women that still persist. O’Shun experienced no such blowback in making her pitch to Natyf TV because management there immediately understood the misconceptions the documentary exposed, and the vital importance of deconstructing dangerous myths of this nature. She also noted positive changes that have been taking place in the industry in recent years, especially within organizations like the Canada Media Fund.
Credit: Jordan Sully - Photo courtesy of Natyf Inc.
Producer and founder of Pimiento studio company Orlando Arriagada welcomed the positive long-term changes he sees coming as a result of the CRTC decision. “I’ve been producing for over twenty years, and I’ve seen that changes in the industry can be very slow. To see that we now have a channel like Natyf TV that will represent us, that will give those making their first film, their first documentary, or their first dramatic series a chance, where they wouldn’t have had a chance anywhere else, to me that’s a real driving force for change,” he said. “Natyf TV has a mission, a responsibility, and we all must get behind them because it’s something I want to last for a very long time.”
Comedian Renzel Washington, creator of the Bad Boys du Rire collective, emphasized how the increased presence on Quebec screens of content for and by members of underrepresented communities will have a normalizing effect. “Starting next year, there will be children seeing on TV what they experience in real life–for the first time,” he said. “It’s going to influence people in ways you can’t even imagine...when you start seeing yourself in what’s ‘normal’...hey, that’s what I’m here for.”
To round off the evening, Natyf TV founder and president Jean-Yves Roux and the channel’s programming director Nancy Dubuisson took the stage to thunderous applause. Dubuisson talked about how Natyf TV came to be and the bumpy road they had to travel. “Today is the reward for the endless sacrifices we had to make over the last five years. We were such a small team and we had to wear many hats to counter some very big challenges. Those were the years when we had to build up our credibility. Many doors were closed at first, and we got a ton of rejections,” she said. “Of course, it was all worth it, and we’re proud to say that now we’re recognized by most funding agencies.”
Roux commented that Natyf TV becoming a channel capable of triggering financing was one of the most crucial changes. He welcomes with open arms the opportunity to shake up Quebec’s media landscape, a system that is almost impossible to access and where only a handful of players share the pie. “We really needed an independent player in the game to shuffle the deck and open new doors,” he said.
