Recent fall seasons in Quebec have seen increasingly heated showdowns between its two big networks, market leader TVA and public broadcaster Radio-Canada.

In 2005/06, there was a major battle for Sunday night, as SRC’s hit talk show Tout le monde en parle (Everyone’s Talking) went up against TVA’s wildly popular take on American Idol, Star Académie.

But in 2006/07, there look to be no major face-offs. TVA is war-weary – likely due to declining profits at its parent Quebecor – and this season is banking on old favorites, while SRC is in full battle gear as it launches 11 new series – five of them this fall.

‘I’ve been working to change the schedule since I started three years ago, so that there’s something for everyone. Each year I try something new, and it’s taking shape,’ says Mario Clement, director-general of TV programming for SRC. ‘We like to take risks with new writers and directors. This year’s lineup reflects that.’

Mondays at 7:30 p.m., SRC brings back its hit sitcom Rumeurs, by Sphère Média Plus, leading into the popular teleroman L’Auberge du chien noir at 8 p.m. and the much-anticipated 13-ep comedy C.A., about the erotic lives of four friends, produced by Novem Télévision. At 9:30 p.m. is Tout sur moi, a new 13 x 30 reality comedy from Cirrus Communications.

The slick look of shows like C.A. is aimed at hip, thirtysomething urbanites, says Clement.

‘Gone are the days of the kitchen sink drama where everything happened around the kitchen table,’ he says. ‘The look has changed. It’s more modern and cinematographic, so it gives the impression that it’s for a younger audience.’

Tuesdays, SRC will run the second season of the popular weekly hour-long soap Providence and the new 13 x 60 dramatic comedy Les hauts et les bas de Sophie Paquin – about a single mother whose life suddenly goes to pieces. Both are produced by Sphère Média Plus.

SRc’s flagship drama for this fall is the 13-episode boxing story Le 7e round from Productions Pixcom Trois, which begins on Thursday, Oct. 5. The public broadcaster was also set to air the 3 x 120 René Lévesque, beginning on Sept. 14, looking to improve on its dismal recent ratings in English Canada (see story, p. 6).

The pubcaster put $60 million into drama production for 2006/07 and has an estimated 16% of the province’s French-speaking viewers, compared to 30% for TVA. TQS has around 12%, Télé-Québec has 4%, with the rest going to cable channels and the like.

Other than the sixth installment of the hour-long hockey drama Lance et compte: La revanche (He Shoots, He Scores: The Revenge) – by Communications Claude Héroux and debuting Wednesday, Sept. 20 at 9 p.m. – TVA isn’t promoting any big television events this year. In fact, the network has only one new show on its slate this fall, the reality Chaîne d’artistes by Bubbles Télévision, in which well-known Quebec artists engage in an activity together.

‘Our programming this fall is very strong and based on shows we know that viewers will like. The public knows what they will see on TVA. It’s reassuring,’ says the network’s VP of programming France Lauzière.

In addition to bringing back one of Quebec’s most popular weekly soaps, Annie et ses hommes – Mondays at 8 p.m. starting Oct. 2 – TVA will also air the second season of the hour-long crime drama Le Négociateur, produced by Sovimage, Mondays at 9 p.m. starting Oct. 23.

Lauzière says TVA is taking a break from developing new big-budget series, which, in Quebec, are defined as programs that cost more than $800,000 per hour to produce.

‘They are expensive to make and they can be a hard sell,’ says Lauzière. Last April, CEO Pierre Karl Péladeau created a mini crisis in the industry when he commented publicly that big-budget dramas were getting too expensive for TVA to produce.

TQS and the provincially funded Télé-Québec have lower operating budgets and typically shy away from dramas. This season, TQS is celebrating its 20th anniversary with a sharp new logo, but nothing much different in terms of programming.

Its big ratings grab is the voyeuristic reality Loft Story, now in its third season. Produced by TQS program director Robert Montour, it offers six male and six female apartment dwellers to spy on, and will make its season bow on Sunday, Sept. 24 at 7 p.m. Loft Story’s weekly Sunday night ‘gala’ will challenge Toute le monde en parle on SRC, which starts its third season on Sept. 17, and TVA’s repackaged Sunday night variety show On n’a pas toute la soirée, also debuting Sept. 17 at 7:30 p.m.

The scripted drama Sexy cam is back on Saturdays at 10:30 p.m. on TQS, as is one of the network’s only sitcoms, 450, Chemin du Golf, Wednesdays at 7:30 p.m.

More than 40% of Télé-Québec’s programming is oriented to children and youth, but the pubcaster also produces a number of current affairs and lifestyle shows, including the high-profile weekly debate show Il va y avoir du sport, hosted by former SRC radio host Marie-France Bazzo. Beginning Oct. 16, Bazzo will also host Bazzo.TV, a new daily current affairs and culture show.

Starting on Sept. 22, popular La Presse columnist Yves Boisvert will host a new Friday evening public affairs magazine, Dernière édition, with Journal de Montréal political writer Michel C. Auger. Director of programming Louise Gendron is particularly enthusiastic about the debut of La vie en vert, a type of green consumer show.

‘One of Télé-Québec’s goals is to be green,’ says Gendron. ‘We hope this show will help people make good choices for the environment in their daily lives.’