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Flèche TV (meaning Arrow TV) is an American French-language broadcast television network that is owned by Arrow Television Entertainment. The network primarily features programs, the vast majority of which are produced by the network itself, aimed at French-American audiences.
Flèche TV's programming, production and advertising operations are headquartered in Lewiston, Maine. The network's operations are overseen by Swiss-born Jean Vuillermoz, the co-founder and president of Arrow Television Entertainment. The network is available in many media markets via low-power and some full-power over-the-air broadcast television stations, and on select cable television providers through either a local broadcast affiliate or the network's default national feed.
History[]
Flèche TV's history can be traced back to 1997, when Jean Vuillermoz, a Swiss French businessman, and Andy Clibburn, founder of the anime licensing company Gotaku, founded Arrow Television Entertainment and launched WARW-TV in Lewiston, Maine. The station, at first, mostly ran French language programs – originally consisting largely of French-dubbed American television series such as The A Team and Small Wonder and French-dubbed versions of British TV series from Channel 4 and the BBC such as Father Ted, Top Gear, and KYTV. The channel also ran a Saturday morning block of French-dubbed Japanese anime which included series such as Sailor Moon, Dragon Ball, and Saint Seiya.
In 1999, the Flèche TV network launched on TV stations in Boston, New York City, and Buffalo that Arrow had purchased, as well as WARW-TV.
From 2001-2003, the channel carried French-dubbed PBS programming, however the agreement with PBS was later terminated after PBS affiliate owner WGBH Educational Foundation launched Moi in association with Société Radio-Canada, AB Groupe, and American Public Television. The same year, it premiered the variety show Le monde de Geoffrey et Matthias, hosted by the French father-son duo Geoffrey and Matthias Duverger.