La Deux

La Deux was a generalist public television channel of the French Community of Belgium, owned by the public broadcaster RTBF (Radio-télévision belge de la Communauté française). It was launched on 1 March 1997, when Télé 21 split its programming between Eurosport 21 (a sports channel on cable) and La Deux, which carried cultural programmes, documentaries and live coverage of non-sporting events such as parliamentary commissions and the Queen Elisabeth Music Competition. The project had been initiated the previous year by RTBF general administrator Jean-Louis Stalport under the working name "Arc-en-ciel". Over its lifetime La Deux evolved through several rebrandings and programming strategies. In 1998, for the FIFA World Cup, RTBF broadcast all matches on both La Une and La Deux, and transmitters were redistributed so both channels could be received terrestrially across Wallonia and Brussels. The partnership with Eurosport ended on 1 March 1999. In 2001, Carine Bratzlavsky was appointed to reformat the channel, and a new version launched on 2 September 2002 with a stronger identity and a schedule targeting children, teenagers and adults. Further reorganisations followed in 2004 and 2005 (including a switch to 16:9), and under programmes director Yves Bigot the channel shifted toward American series, films, documentaries and humour. On 26 August 2020, RTBF announced that La Deux would merge with the radio station Pure to become Tipik, a single brand aimed at young adults; the change took effect on 7 September 2020, with the channel targeting viewers aged 25 to 39. Its slogan throughout its existence was "Deux fois plus de plaisir" ("Twice the pleasure").

La Deux was created as part of a restructuring of RTBF's second television channel, Télé 21. On 1 March 1997, Télé 21 split its output between Eurosport 21, a sports channel distributed exclusively on cable, and La Deux, which carried cultural programmes, documentaries and live coverage of non-sporting events such as parliamentary commissions and the Queen Elisabeth Music Competition. La Deux was broadcast on the former terrestrial and cable channels of Télé 21. The idea for the new channel had been launched the previous year by RTBF general administrator Jean-Louis Stalport under the project name "Arc-en-ciel". For the 1998 FIFA World Cup, RTBF decided to broadcast all matches on its two main television channels, La Une and La Deux. To give the widest possible audience access, transmitters were redistributed so that both channels could be received via cable and terrestrial networks across the entire territory of Wallonia and the Brussels-Capital Region. This arrangement was maintained beyond the World Cup by a decision of the Board of Directors on 13 July. On 1 March 1999, the partnership agreement between RTBF and Eurosport ended, along with the broadcast of Eurosport 21. On 1 October 2001, Carine Bratzlavsky was appointed to develop a reformatting project for La Deux. She had been coordinator-producer of Arte Belgique since 1995, the interface between RTBF and the European cultural channel, and had previously been responsible for Télé 21. In December 2001, as RTBF worked on new schedules for the January 2002 season, 21 March was proposed for the launch of the new La Deux. However, the resignation of RTBF general administrator Christian Druitte cast doubt on the timetable, and a postponement was considered. In March, it was confirmed that the new Deux would launch only at the start of the school year, and 2 September was finally set. The goal was to break the channel's messy, catch-all image by giving it a strong identity and making it a channel in its own right. Alongside the retention of older programmes such as Ici Bla-Bla (for children), many new programmes were announced. G'nôme, aimed at 9-14 year-olds, was followed by Tu passes quand tu veux (produced by Barbara Louys and presented by newcomers Maureen Louys and David Antoine), targeting teenagers. Also announced were Screen (devoted to cinema), Clips en ligne, and Extratime (devoted to indoor or urban sports, martial arts, etc.). The broadcast of Téva's Sex in the TV was also announced. La Deux reorganised its programming in January 2004 to complement La Une. In December 2005, the channel switched to 16:9 format. Following the arrival of Yves Bigot, former director of entertainment at France 2, as RTBF's programmes director, the channel's programming underwent a revolution: cult American series migrated from La Une to La Deux; American soap operas were scheduled in the afternoon; Thursday evenings became "Le meilleur de l'humour" with French-language comedians; Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday evenings were reserved for films with a bonus and analysis hosted by Cathy Immelen, RTBF's "Miss Cinéma"; Sunday and Monday evenings were reserved for documentaries; and the youth programme Ici Bla-Bla evolved with a virtual set. The channel, which had previously lacked a clear identity and had too variable programming, now ran on specific themes: documentaries, series and cult soap operas, cinema for film lovers, culture, music and society, and sport. On 26 August 2020, RTBF announced that the channel would merge with the radio station Pure to become Tipik, a single brand aimed at young adults. On 7 September 2020, La Deux became Tipik, targeting viewers aged 25 to 39. The channel's slogan since 1 March 1997 was "Deux fois plus de plaisir" ("Twice the pleasure"). Its capital was held 100% by the public audiovisual group RTBF.

• La Deux launches as Télé 21 splits into Eurosport 21 and La Deux

• RTBF broadcasts all FIFA World Cup matches on La Une and La Deux; transmitters redistributed

• Partnership with Eurosport ends; Eurosport 21 stops broadcasting

• Carine Bratzlavsky appointed to reformat La Deux

• New version of La Deux launches with stronger identity

• La Deux reorganises programming to complement La Une

• Channel switches to 16:9 format

• RTBF announces La Deux merges with radio Pure to become Tipik

• La Deux becomes Tipik, targeting viewers aged 25-39

Generalist public television channel for the French Community of Belgium, complementary to La Une.

• La Deux television channel

  Generalist public television channel

• Ici Bla-Bla

  Children's programme

• G'nôme

  Programme for 9-14 year-olds

• Tu passes quand tu veux

  Teen programme produced by Barbara Louys

• Screen

  Cinema programme

• Extratime

  Sports programme

1. 1Tipik - RTBF Actusrtbf.be
2. 2La Deux - Wikidatawikidata.org
3. 3La Deux - Wikipédiafr.wikipedia.org