Groupe Média TFO

Groupe Média TFO is a public media organization created by the government of Ontario, Canada,^[1] which produces and distributes French-language educational content,^[2] available on various platforms, including the TFO television channel, TFO Éducation and various YouTube channels. Groupe Média TFO manages a television channel, 200 websites, 20 mobile applications and games, 15 subscription platforms and 14 social media platforms.

Apart from its educational and youth content (for audiences aged 2 to 17), Groupe Média TFO produces and broadcasts cultural^[3] and current affairs content for adults. The group is the only French-language, multimedia network in Canada with its headquarters outside of Quebec.^[4]

History

Before 1987, a few hours of daily French programming was offered by TVOntario. On January 1, 1987, Ontario's educational French-language television channel, called La Chaîne, was officially launched.^[5][6] In 1995, La Chaîne was renamed TFO. TFO was originally created to provide content applicable to the French-language education system in Ontario. Services has since expanded to include EduLulu, a public evaluation service for mobile educational applications, designed for francophones and anglophones from Ontario and elsewhere.

In 2006, the Ministry of Education for Ontario created a public media corporation – the Ontario French-Language Educational Communications Authority (OTÉLFO) – and provided funding for digital technologies and HD to meet the needs of Ontario's francophone linguistic minority.^[7] TFO, the OTÉLFO's television channel, offers programming focused on education, with shows for children, teens and adults.^[8]

Starting in 2010, in response to increasing use of smartphones, tablets, computers, and smart boards, as well as new ways of watching televised content, such as binge-watching,^[9] TFO's board of directors initiated a technological shift to provide content for these platforms.^[10][11] In September 2010, Glenn O'Farrell was named president and CEO of the OTÉLFO.^[12] In January 2011, l'OTÉLFO, by then publicly known as Groupe Média TFO began the development YouTube channels, including Mini TFO, a children's channel.^[13] Groupe launched a Mini TFO application in Apple's App Store.^[14] To extend its programming for the Francophone community, Groupe Média TFO began a collaboration in 2012, with La Cité collégiale.^[15]

In 2013, Groupe Média TFO organized the Sommet des tablettistes, an international conference on the impact of new technologies on education,^{[16][17][18][19]} and in April 2014 initiated the EduLulu project, an evaluation service for educational applications in Canada.4^[20][21]

TFO adapted its educational content designed for teachers to the digital environment, and the result was TFO Éducation, an interactive service offering teachers a collection of about 5,000 educational tools. The service has been licensed by 12 French-language school boards and 60 English-language school boards in Ontario^[22][23]

In 2015 TFO submitted a proposal to the CRTC that all BDUs and satellite TV providers in Canada be required to include the channel in their lineup. The CRTC declined the proposal.^[24]