There is no one more criticized in Quebec than the creators of Bye. Except perhaps the coach of the Canadiens.
That’s the price to pay when you produce a TV show watched by about 55% of the entire population of Quebec, and which gets 91% of the live ratings on French-language TV.
It’s normal to criticize Radio-Canada when the criticism is justified. He’s been given significant public funds, the crown corporation isn’t perfect, we don’t all have the same view of his tenure (which, let’s be honest, has always been a bit stretchy), and he’s healthy. to discuss the future of our public television.
But when the work is very well done, it must also be emphasized.
For its New Year’s Eve, Radio-Canada achieved resounding popular success. At a time when everyone has their noses on the social networks and Netflix of this world, it is one of the rare Quebec television events that reaches the majority of Quebecers, of all ages. Such an evening plays a unifying role for Quebec society, in a social context where divisions are increasingly important.
About 3.2 million Quebecers watched the Bye-bye 2022 live on the evening of December 31 (91% market share). The ratings ofInfoman 2022 (2.4 million live viewers, 77% viewing share), New Year’s Day Live (1.9 million, 65%) and See you next year (1.7 million, 61%) are also impressive.
We will have the final viewing figures in about ten days. But we already know with the preliminary figures that the Bye-bye 2022, Infoman 2022 and New Year’s Day Live will be the three most popular TV shows of 2022, across all networks. See you next year take fifth place.
As important as the ratings: there’s something for everyone in the December 31 Radio-Canada program.
Even Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre, who spent part of the year shunning the mainstream media, was Infoman. This confirms the essential status of our end-of-year shows.
the Bye Was it too spicy, not spicy enough, just spicy enough? Every viewer has their own opinion, and it’s (fortunately) impossible to please everyone.
By grafting to Bye the scathing humor and original ideas of Jean-René Dufort, the imitative talents of the team ofSee you next week and the unifying side of the France Beaudoin program which honors our artists, Radio-Canada has found the formula that works for the evening of the 31st. We cannot change such a winning formula.
To say that Radio-Canada had abandoned the tradition of Bye in the late 1990s for financial reasons. We forget that during the 2000s, it was presented only four out of ten years.
We are glad that the Bye has been back every year since 2010.
A downside: the financial mystery around these end-of-year emissions. The Crown corporation does not want to quantify the costs or say whether the operation is financially profitable. According to what we understand, it would be profitable for Radio-Canada: advertising revenues for the evening of December 31 would be higher than production costs. It is difficult to understand why there is not more transparency in this regard. (Even if Radio-Canada lost some money, it would be largely justified on the basis of ratings.)
The success of our end-of-year shows is even more spectacular when compared to English Canada, which has no tradition of bringing people together on the small screen to celebrate the New Year. On the evening of December 31, CBC aired a film then a special program with musical guests (792,000 viewers, 13% market share).
Two solitudes, two ways to celebrate the New Year.