TV, eh?

From Etan Vlessing of the Hollywood Reporter:

• Canadian sitcoms, reality TV outdo dramas
  The funny thing about Canadian TV nowadays are sitcoms and light reality fare are outperforming edgy homegrown dramas in primetime. The March 5 two-hour series premiere of the CTV police drama “The Bridge” from E1 Television debuted Friday night with 998,000 viewers, just shy of the 1.009 million viewers that tuned in to the recent series premiere for the CBC’s P.I. drama “The Republic of Doyle.” Read more.

From John Doyle of the Globe and Mail:

• 10 TV shows that mattered in 2009
  “From hockey lunks to modern families, our critic’s picks of the best stuff to hit the small screen this year.” Read more.

From BBM Canada:

• Top programs – Total Canada
  #18 Dragons’ Den (1.746 million)
  #19 Battle of the Blades (1.736 million)
  #22 Flashpoint (1.589 million)
  #30 Heartland (1.210 million)

From Bill Brioux at TV Feeds My Family:

• CBC Puts Cherry on Full Winter Launch
  “Cherry said he had a blast working Battle of the Blades last month as a judge, but said one guy associated with that show just isn’t getting enough credit. “I know I’m going back on everything I’ve ever said about the guy, but Ron MacLean held that whole show together,” sez Grapes. MacLean truly was the cool head who kept Blades on ice, so consider that oversight corrected here.” Read more.

From BBM Canada:

• Top programs – Total Canada
  #15 Dragons’ Den (2.075 million)
  #16 Battle of the Blades (1.878 million)
  #20 Flashpoint (1.771 million)
  #28 Heartland (1.278 million)

From Dan Barnes of the Edmonton Journal:

• The girls did make the guys look great’
  “With ice and not much else in common, hockey and figure skating have long been strange bedfellows. But a CBC-TV series, Battle of the Blades, married the two winter sports in prime time this year.” Read more.

From a media release:

CBC-TV’S BATTLE OF THE BLADES RENEWED FOR SECOND SEASON

• Groundbreaking Canadian series a ratings and advertising success story

CBC Television announced today that its hit series BATTLE OF THE BLADES, featuring world-class figure skaters and former NHL’ers, will return next fall for a second season. The 14-episode series sold out to live audiences every week, and wrapped up on Monday, Nov. 16 with an unconfirmed television audience of 1.736 million tuning in for the one-hour results finale.

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From Bill Brioux at TV Feeds My Family:

• Battle of the Blackout: Iced by Rogers?
  “The BBM Canada overnight estimates have an asterisk next to CBC’s Blades numbers, which currently stand at 1,754,000 viewers.” Read more.

From the Globe and Mail:

• CBC’s string of reality-show success: Public broadcaster has found ratings gold in home-grown Battle of the Blades and British imports
  “When CBC’s Battle of the Blades debuted Oct. 4, nearly two million viewers tuned in to watch the novel and sometimes awkward pairings of figure skaters and hockey stars. It was second highest premier for a homegrown CBC series since Little Mosque on the Prairie, and the ratings held strong throughout the show’s seven weeks, averaging 1.7 million viewers each episode. It’s the latest in a string of reality hits for the publicly funded broadcaster, which has found past success by poaching reality concepts from Britain and selling them to Canadian audiences.” Read more.

From Robyn Doolittle of the Toronto Star:

• Jamie Salé and Craig Simpson win Battle of the Blades: But ‘transmission difficulties’ leave Rogers customers in the dark
  “Jamie Salé and Craig Simpson became the first ever winners of Battle of the Blades, but Rogers Television customers in Toronto missed seeing most of Monday night’s hotly anticipated live finale.” Read more.

From a media release:

JAMIE SALÉ AND CRAIG SIMPSON ARE DECLARED THE WINNING PAIR OF THE BATTLE OF THE BLADES

• Winners receive $100,000 for donation to The Spinal Cord Injury Treatment Centre (Northern Alberta) Society

The results are in and Canadian viewers have spoken. After seven weeks of intense competition, Jamie Salé and Craig Simpson were declared the final winners of the BATTLE OF THE BLADES, as voting results were revealed during tonight’s broadcast of the series finale. Salé and Simpson receive $100,000 for donation to their charity of choice: The Spinal Cord Injury Treatment Centre (Northern Alberta) Society (SCITCS).

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From Bill Brioux at TV Feeds My Family:

• Millions Ignore Canadian TV Awards
  “Apparently there was some sort of Canadian TV awards show on Saturday night. It drew 303,000 viewers on Global according to BBM Canada overnight estimates. Word is it was held in Calgary. Another 50,000 caught it on Showcase.” Read more.

From Rosie DiManno of the Toronto Star:

• Battle of the Blades mostly about the babes
  “They’re chicks with shticks. Figure skating savvy and showtime dazzle: Olympic gold, world gold and silver, performance platinum.” Read more.

From Lindsey Ward of Sun Media:

• Blade stars down to final cut: It was all love and tears and — gasp! — perfect scores at the Battle of the Blades
  “Considering they were skating on thin ice, the Battle of the Blades’ top-3 couples sure weren’t afraid to turn up the heat last night.” Read more.

In the Season Finale the results of Canada’s vote is announced and the Battle of the Blades Champion is revealed.

The final decision will be in the hands of Canadians, Sunday, Nov. 15, as they choose who of the remaining three pairs will win BATTLE OF THE BLADES, at Toronto’s historic Maple Leaf Gardens. Results will then be announced during a full-blown ice extravaganza, which is set for the series finale, Monday, Nov. 16. Both shows start at 8 p.m., on CBC Television.

From Lindsay Ward of Sun Media:

• Battlelines drawn in ‘Blades’
  “After six weeks of performances, we’re left with three retired pucksters and their beautiful pro skaters: Craig Simpson and Jamie Sale, Claude Lemieux and Shae-Lynn Bourne and Stephane Richer and Marie-France Dubreuil.” Read more.

From BBM Canada:

• Top Programs – Total Canada
  #16 Dragons’ Den (1.820 million)
  #17 Flashpoint (1.816 million)
  #18 Battle of the Blades performance (1.810 million)
  #26 Heartland (1.282 million)
  #29 Battle of the Blades results (1.143 million)

From the Canadian Press:

• Hockey vets learn to really skate
  “Former world figure skating champ Paul Martini never envisioned how far the men of Battle of the Blades would come when the reality TV show began.” Read more.

From Michael Oliveira of the Canadian Press:

• Finalists say it’s been a long haul as ‘Battle of the Blades’ finale looms
  “CBC-TV’s Battle of the Blades concludes Sunday and Monday, and the coaches and finalists say it’s been a long, draining experience with no shortage of ups, downs and surprises. What sounded like a joke of an idea at first – take eight retired hockey players and see how they do in figure skates – bloomed into a ratings hit. Tickets to the live performances at Toronto’s Maple Leaf Gardens became a hot commodity.” Read more.