A producer change later, it’s finally confirmed: The Upside Down will return to the air this fall. This turnaround could mark a new chapter in the eternal war between Quebecor and Bell Media.
The television meeting hosted by Stéphan Bureau will return to its Friday evening 8 p.m. time slot from September 22. This is a confirmation that we no longer expected. Neither Stéphan Bureau nor TVA had announced the return of the show, last spring, just before it left the antenna.
The show could return transformed since it will now be produced by Attraction, the box behind Les chefs!, Direct from the universe and Dans l’œil du dragon. Attraction succeeds Sphère Média (Belle et bum, Les petits tannants), which was behind the first season.
Initially, TVA had tried to concoct the project internally, but after a few months, the channel had entrusted the mandate to Sphère Média.
Executive vice-president varieties, lifestyle and documentary at Sphère Média, Renaud Chassé did not wish to comment on the change of production house between two seasons. “What I can tell you is that Sphere Media is very proud to have created this great set and very happy with the listening results that allowed the show to be renewed,” said the former -executive producer of The Upside Down.
Interesting fact: this change comes after the acquisition by Bell Media, a sworn enemy of Quebecor, of a minority stake in Sphère Média. The Hollywood Reporter reported the news last May.
Bell Media is not the only media empire to hold shares in production houses. Quebecor is an investor and minority partner in Déferlantes, which produces most of TVA’s big hits, including Chanteurs Masqués, La voix, La vrai nature, Sortez-moi d’ici! and Star Academy.
For its part, Bell Media continues to buy Pixcom programs to fill the Noovo schedule, which it owns. Among them are La guerre des fans, a new music show hosted by Phil Roy that will hit the airwaves this fall, and Contre-offre.
Quebecor continues to present Sphère Média programs, but these are orders placed before the company sold a minority stake to Bell Media. This selection includes Un zoo comme les autres, which has been very successful on TVA since 2018, IXE-13, a spy series with Marc-André Grondin, Julie Le Breton and Vincent Leclerc which should land on Club illico in a few months. , Le restaurant, a culinary competition led by Hélène Bourgeois Leclerc broadcast on Zeste, and 5 Gars pour moi, a romantic reality show offered on TVA.
Should we fear for the future of these titles? TVA did not respond to our questions on this subject.
Hostilities between Quebecor and Bell Media are also in full swing on other fronts. As of August 16, subscribers to Videotron, owned by Quebecor, will no longer be able to tune in to VRAK and Z, two Bell Media specialty channels.
Criticized by many viewers, this measure has not gone unnoticed by Bell Media, which “evaluates [its] options”. “This is a regrettable decision by Videotron which accentuates the difficult circumstances in which our company is currently operating,” the Canadian giant replied by email.
For its part, Videotron’s media relations team speaks of a choice based on “the evolution of the audience”, VRAK and Z having recorded declines in ratings in recent years. The “fair market value” of VRAK and Z would also be at issue. According to Videotron, the distribution conditions that apply to the two channels “do not reflect” their loss of popularity and “would have resulted in an unreasonable increase in cost” for customers.
