Everything about Amazing Race Canada, eh?

Amazing Race Canada, Big Brother Canada

Insight Productions net No. 1 series for Canada

Jon Montgomeryresize

From a media release:

Insight Productions produced two of the biggest ratings hits of the year with CTV’s The Amazing Race Canada and Shaw Media’s Big Brother Canada.

With confirmed numbers now in, blockbuster hit The Amazing Race Canada is the most-watched Canadian program of the year with an average audience of 2.8 million viewers on CTV; the #1 Summer series overall; and the #2 television series in Canada behind only CTV’s The Big Bang Theory.* More than three million Canadians tuned in to see Mickey & Pete’s pantless victory lap in the season finale.

Shaw Media’s Big Brother Canada’s second season, which debuted last March, is the most-watched reality program across all specialty channels.** The show’s rabid fan base ensured that the Big Brother Canada finale outshone even hockey playoffs across specialty channels.*** Coming off the heels of a stellar second season, Big Brother Canada makes the move to Global for Season 3, debuting next year.

“Broadcasters and sponsors alike know that Insight shows deliver viewers week after week,” said John Brunton, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, and Executive Producer of both series. “That so many Canadians connected so passionately to these shows is a testament in part to Mark Lysakowski and Erin Brock’s phenomenal storytelling ability and exacting standards.”

As previously announced, casting for both Big Brother Canada and The Amazing Race Canada is now underway. For Big Brother Canada, visit www.bigbrothercanadacasting.ca. In person open casting calls begin on October 19 in Vancouver and Calgary, followed by stops in Regina, Halifax, St. John’s, Montréal, and Toronto.

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Amazing Race Canada

Link: Interview with Amazing Race Canada winners

From Nick Patch of the Canadian Press:

Q-and-A with winning ‘Amazing Race Canada’ team after Ottawa finale
The Golden Girls finally had to settle for silver. Heretofore unheralded Ontario buddies Mickey Henry and Pete Schmalz pulled out a shocking victory in “The Amazing Race Canada” finale on Sunday, preventing Olympic hockey stars Meaghan Mikkelson and Natalie Spooner from the top-of-podium finish that seemed their destiny during a memorably dominant run. Continue reading.

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Amazing Race Canada, Ratings

Ratings: Amazing Race Canada finale lands 2.7 million

From a media release:

On Top of The Hill: Season-High 2.7 Million Canadians Watch Mickey and Pete Become THE AMAZING RACE CANADA Champions on CTV

  • Live after-show special AFTER THE RACE wins timeslot with 1.8 million viewers
  • THE AMAZING RACE CANADA-related terms trend throughout the finale, post-show, and into the morning
  • THE AMAZING RACE CANADA and AFTER THE RACE are the Top 2 programs of the day

It took a flawless final leg in the nation’s capital to win THE AMAZING RACE CANADA, and best friends Mickey Henry and Pete Schmalz did just that, capping a remarkable second season for Canada’s #1 summer series. With delayed viewing data still to come, the nail-biting season finale was Sunday’s most-watched program with a preliminary overnight audience of 2.7 million viewers on CTV. With nearly one in three English-language Canadians watching TV last night tuning into THE AMAZING RACE CANADA, the broadcast was an overnight season-high audience for the program and the largest overnight audience on Canadian television since the season finale of THE BIG BANG THEORY in May.*

Immediately following the finale, the live after-show special AFTER THE RACE won the 9 p.m. hour with 1.8 million viewers, making it the most-watched Bell Media In-House Production on record. Renewed last night for a third season, and with casting now open, THE AMAZING RACE CANADA is once again the most-watched television program in Canada this summer with an average audience of 2.7 million viewers (final data).

Online, THE AMAZING RACE CANADA-related terms trended on Twitter in Canada throughout the finale, AFTER THE RACE, and into the morning, as fans flocked to social media to congratulate winners Mickey and Pete and reach out to all the Racers. More than 16,700 mentions of THE AMAZING RACE CANADA-related terms were tweeted in the 24 hours surrounding the broadcast, generating more than 28.1 million estimated impressions.

Also to note, according to Numeris (BBM Canada) preliminary data:

  • THE AMAZING RACE CANADA and AFTER THE RACE were the Top 2 programs Sunday with total viewers and all key demos.
  • Overall, 4.7 million unique viewers watched some part of the finale, which peaked at 3.3 million viewers in the final minute as Mickey and Pete celebrated their victory on the final Pit Stop mat with Jon and the 10 other teams.
  • The finale was the #1 program for the night (non-sports) in all markets among total viewers, A25-54, and A18-49.
  • The broadcast delivered shares of 27% (P2+), 30% (A18-34 and A25-54), and 32% (A18-49).
  • In Toronto, the finale and AFTER THE RACE are the Top 2 programs of the day among total viewers and all key demos.
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Amazing Race Canada, Featured

Review: And the Amazing Race winners are…

The only way to win the final Leg of The Amazing Race Canada is to be perfect and hope that your competitors make a mistake or falter. Best buds Mickey and Pete ran the perfect final Leg–and their competitors Meaghan and Natalie and Ryan and Rob struggled–and the boys from Muskoka, Ont., won The Amazing Race Canada.

The two fellows with the luxurious heads of hair arrived first on the mat at Ottawa’s Rideau Hall in front of host Jon Montgomery and those eliminated earlier this season, promptly pulled off their shorts and embraced. The friends, once they put their pants back on, will pocket $250,000, fly free for a year anywhere Air Canada flies worldwide in Business Class, plus two Chevrolet Silverado High Country Edition Pickup Trucks and a lifetime supply of gas courtesy of Petro Canada. Winter Olympians Meaghan and Natalie captured the silver medal while Ryan and Rob received bronze.

Rob and Ryan started the final Leg in first place after grabbing a cab upon arrival in Ottawa from New Brunswick but their cab driver headed to the wrong address and the other two teams passed them and they never made up the ground. Instead, they were forced to play catchup for the remainder of the Race. Meaghan and Natalie, meanwhile, got their inflatable kayak first but were out-raced to the water by Mickey and Pete. The boys’ knowledge of white water rafting–and the girls’ being rookies at it–meant they got ahead and never relinquished the lead. That said, things got very, very close several times and the leads could have switched at least twice.

A trip to John Diefenbaker’s Diefenbunker–a sprawling Cold War nuclear bunker outside of Ottawa–challenged teams to find miniature military models and if Natalie had been a little more diligent in her searches she would have been done first. Meaghan, meanwhile, had her own issues when her increasingly painful right hand was subjected to stress during a vertical rope climb to the top of the Canadian Museum of Nature. I was willing her to complete the task as quickly as possible, but she just couldn’t catch Mickey.

The final task–using  everyone’s memory to put together paintings of the countries the teams had visited–found all three teams in the same room and just minutes apart in completing it from one another.  Mickey and Pete appeared to arrive at Rideau Hall mere minutes before the other two teams did.

I’ve really enjoyed this second season of The Amazing Race Canada. Though I criticized producers for taking the show outside of the country, Legs to China and France (Juno Beach was a tear-jerker of a Pit Stop) enriched the show and made it an entertaining season.

The hour-long After the Race special hosted by James Duthie was a fairly lighthearted affair, revisiting key moments with all of the teams and announcing that there will indeed be a Season 3 of The Amazing Race Canada. They’re taking applications now.

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Amazing Race Canada

The Amazing Race Canada is casting for season 3

From a media release:

Mickey and Pete Win THE AMAZING RACE CANADA

Three-peat! CTV Orders Season 3 of THE AMAZING RACE CANADA; Casting Now Open

– Best buds from Muskoka, Ont. take home biggest grand prize in Canadian television history –
– Canada’s #1 summer series greenlit for another adventure in 2015 –
– Online audition videos and applications for Season 3 can now be submitted at CTV.ca/TheAmazingRaceCanada

Canada, get on your mark and get ready to race a third time! Following the riveting season finale of THE AMAZING RACE CANADA, which saw best friends Mickey Henry and Pete Schmalz win $250,000 in cold, hard, cash, the opportunity to fly free for a year anywhere Air Canada flies worldwide in Business Class, two Chevrolet Silverado High Country Edition Pickup Trucks, plus “Free Gas for Life” from Petro-Canada, host Jon Montgomery announced on behalf of CTV that casting for Season 3 of THE AMAZING RACE CANADA is now open. The announcement of the third season and casting call was made during the live after-show special AFTER THE RACE, featuring all 11 teams, and produced in front of a live studio audience from CTV’s headquarters in Toronto.

Fresh off an incredible second season as the second most-watched program of the year in Canada with an average audience of 2.7 million viewers, Race fans from across the country can now set their sights on their own once-in-a-life time chance to be part of Canada’s #1 summer series, and the biggest race this country has ever seen. Fans can go online now at www.CTV.ca/TheAmazingRaceCanada and submit an audition video and application for their chance to join host Jon Montgomery on the road. Potential teams are encouraged to showcase their personalities and explain why they want to be part of THE AMAZING RACE CANADA. The deadline for submission is Monday, November, 24 at 11:59 p.m. ET.

“Do you think you have what it takes to win?” asked Jon Montgomery to Canadians during tonight’s announcement on AFTER THE RACE. “If you do, casting starts right now. Just one word of advice,” he added, “THE AMAZING RACE CANADA is the adventure of a lifetime, and if you want to win, you better pick the right partner.”

“We’re still kinda in shock,” said Mickey. “I don’t think either of us was fully prepared to deal with actually winning the Race, you know?” “We were so close so many times, it was just our time that leg,” added Pete. “We basically did everything right from the get go and didn’t make any mistakes in Ottawa.”

“After two seasons we’ve had the most wild and unpredictable results you can imagine,” said John Brunton, CEO and Chairman Insight Productions. “We know that Canadians are eager to be a part of this sensational experience and we encourage anyone who thinks they have a shot to apply to be a part of the #1 show in Canada. The whole country’s invited, come one, come all.”

THE AMAZING RACE CANADA is looking for dynamic and enthusiastic teams of two who possess a strong personal connection. They must be articulate, competitive, interesting, outgoing, and adventurous. Teams will get the opportunity to participate in Detours, Roadblocks, U-Turns, and other challenges as they endure approximately 28 days of the Race in various conditions, environments, and climates.

Auditioning for THE AMAZING RACE CANADA is simple! Here’s how:

Step 1
Prepare a video for a submission that focuses on the positives and negatives of the relationship between teammates. The producers are eager to hear what makes a “pairing” tick.

Step 2
Take an up-close picture of the “team”, as well as an up-close picture of each individual, and send with the application online.

Step 3
Completely fill out the online application and upload the video and photos at www.CTV.ca/TheAmazingRaceCanada.

If the producers like the audition, they will be in touch!

Among the eligibility requirements that applicants should note about the Race:

Racers must be at least 19 years of age as of April 1, 2015.
Racers must be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident of Canada.

For more information about THE AMAZING RACE CANADA, viewers are encouraged to visit www.CTV.ca/TheAmazingRaceCanada for full casting details and FAQs, and follow @AmazingRaceCDA for all the latest news and information.

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