MONTREAL — Quebecor today released its 2020 Culture Report, which highlights the company’s contributions to Quebec’s cultural industries in 2020, including $230 million from its Videotron subsidiary and almost $234 million from TVA Group.
The report (available in French here) also describes Quebecor’s “pursuit of its ongoing commitment to Quebec culture and cultural workers in 2020” and “highlights the outstanding work of Quebecor’s collaborators and partners, who play an absolutely essential role in creating, disseminating, exporting and promoting Québec culture,” reads a press release.
The year “2020 will certainly be remembered as the year of the Covid-19 crisis, but it will also be remembered for the extraordinary fighting spirit displayed by the entire industry,” says Quebecor CEO Pierre Karl Péladeau, in the press release.
“The unprecedented circumstances only intensified our efforts, heightened our sense of responsibility to our culture, and strengthened our determination to be there for our artists and cultural workers. In this report, we are proud to share some of the most notable achievements of Quebecor and its subsidiaries, and relate how they contributed to our industry’s success and Québec’s cultural and economic vitality in 2020.”
Achievements include: launching its #Cultured’ici advertising campaign to support Quebec culture; airing original productions on TVA’s channels; creating the online platform Des livres, ça se livre to support Quebec writers and encourage readers to buy local books; launching TD musiparcs presented by Videotron in five Quebec cities in summer 2020 to help revive the entertainment industry; and adding a Culture d’ici section and a weekly Quebec film series on Helix to promote Quebec content.
Quebecor says its “massive spending” on the production of original French-language content “yielded more than 90 original productions broadcast on Club illico, TVA and its specialty channels in 2020.”
In addition, the company says it maintained its commitment to its partners in the cultural community during the Covid-19 crisis “even though most events were cancelled in 2020.”
Furthermore, “Quebecor’s subsidiaries gave Québec culture and emerging local artists pride of place in their telecommunications, television, media, book, entertainment and music offerings,” the press release says.
“Almost half of Quebecor’s philanthropic contributions went to support nearly 100 cultural organizations and events in the fields of film, literature, music and song, history, heritage, performing arts and visual arts across Québec,” the release adds.
