MONTREAL – Quebecor Media’s TVA Group has closed its deal to buy French-language specialty channels Évasion and Zeste as part of its acquisition of parent company Serdy Media.
Évasion launched in 2000 with a schedule of travel, tourism, adventure and food discovery programs, while Zeste, which debuted in 2010, caters to viewers who love cooking, fine food and entertaining in style.
TVA Group said Wednesday that Évasion and Zeste complement its existing line-up of specialty channels which includes LCN, TVA Sports, AddikTV, CASA, MOI ET CIE, Prise 2 and Yoopa.
"Évasion and Zeste are two prestigious brands for consumers who are passionate about food and travel. We are very pleased to add these brands to our offering for our viewers and our advertisers", said France Lauzière, president and CEO of TVA Group and Chief Content Officer of Quebecor Content, in a statement. "We will deploy all necessary resources and effort to further raise their already high profiles and bring their content to more Quebecers."
The $24 million acquisition, announced last May, also includes the Serdy Video group of companies. The CRTC approved the change in ownership and effective control of the two discretionary television services back in January.
