Greg, Anthony and Diane talk and talk and laugh and talk about the CRTC public hearings, the premieres of Package Deal, Saving Hope, The Bachelor Canada, and the Netflixization of The Trailer Park Boys, plus the battle of the Canadian streaming services.
Listen or download below, or subscribe via iTunes or any other podcast catcher with the TV, eh? podcast feed.
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The Amazing Race Canada, CTV
Teams race to the birthplace of Canadian Confederation, Charlottetown, where some Racers take a step back in time, while others step in something completely different. And there’s no horsing around as The Race comes to a dead heat. An encore presentation of this episode airs Saturday, Sept. 13 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on CTV.
From a media release:
– 25 communities from across Canada set to receive hockey-themed festivities and outdoor viewing parties, beginning with London, ON, October 11 & 12 –
– Live Sunday broadcasts from Sportsnet Mobile Studio to feature local NHL player profiles and grassroots stories each week, hosted by MacLean –
– Sunday night broadcasts culminate with NHL national game each week on City –
This hockey season, Canadians across the country will get to experience the game they love with the ones they love, along with one of Canada’s favourites – Ron MacLean – as Rogers today unveiled the 25 communities that will be part of the inaugural Rogers Hometown Hockey Tour presented by Scotiabank and Dodge.
Each week during the 2014/15 NHL season, the Rogers Hometown Hockey Tour will roll into a different community across the country with a weekend of free outdoor hockey festivities for all ages, culminating in an outdoor viewing party of an NHL game broadcast every Sunday, with MacLean hosting live onsite from the Sportsnet Mobile Studio.
“The passion for hockey in this country is unrivaled. Every Canadian has a connection to the game – it is part of our DNA, it is part of our communities,†said MacLean. “We’re excited to share in this season-long celebration of Canada’s favourite pastime, help grow the game and bring to life those great hockey stories every Sunday.â€
Each Weekend of the Tour:
Kicking off in London, ON on October 11 and 12, the Rogers Hometown Hockey Tour will bring together a community with deep hockey roots and deliver a jam-packed weekend of interactive games, activities and entertainment for the whole family, celebrating all things hockey in the heart of each town.
Rogers Hometown Hockey – Sunday Night Broadcast
From a media release:
Continuing the expansion of its primetime scripted development slate, award-winning content creator marblemedia (The Dating Guy) has announced a deal with production company OutEast Entertainment (Rogue, The Cover) to develop a scripted drama series based on the premium brand Ashley Madison.
The development deal will see both companies create a character-driven drama loosely based on the online dating site. The series is to be executive produced by Matt Hornburg, Mark Bishop,Steven Marrs, Alex Hertzberg and Noel Biderman, the CEO and Founder of Ashley Madison.
marblemedia and OutEast Entertainment are currently in pursuit of both Canadian and American writers for the project and will take the series to the marketplace as a script-to-series deal.
“Ashley Madison is a brand that offers a built-in and non-traditional audience that attracts international intrigue,†said Matt Hornburg, Co-CEO and Executive Producer, marblemedia. “Tapping into new audiences and discovering unique, complex worlds such as Ashley Madison allows us the opportunity to challenge audiences about taboo topics such as infidelity in a sophisticated and thought-provoking way.â€
“Just the name Ashley Madison conjures up thrilling images and a fascinating dialogue that we know will make for an incredible dramatic series,†said Steven Marrs, President & Managing Partner of OutEast Entertainment. “We’re truly ecstatic about the opportunity to work with marblemedia as we bring Ashley Madison to life in many unexpected ways.â€
“This new series is a great opportunity to challenge the traditional idea of monogamy, with the insights we’ve gained from analyzing the interactions between our more than 29 million members from around the world,†says Noel Biderman, CEO and Founder, Ashley Madison. â€We’ve become a cultural touchstone, routinely featured on major network news and referenced on hit TV shows, so having a TV series based on our business is a natural next step for us. We’re excited about this opportunity and I, personally, am looking forward to seeing our story told in this way.â€
Launched in 2001 and currently hosting more than 29 million members in 41 countries, Ashley Madison has become one of the most recognized brands in the online dating space through its originating of the married dating vertical, targeting both men and women looking to have discreet affairs.
Kudos to the folks over at the CBC for taking a crucial first step in the network’s reinvention by using the Toronto International Film Festival as a backdrop to let folks know about the upcoming television season and the brand overall.
Canada’s public broadcaster staked out the corner of King St. West and Blue Jays Way this past weekend, turning what used to be a condominium sales office into a welcome centre called Canada House stocked with snacks, virgin Caesars, phone recharging stations and cardboard fans emblazoned with the iconic network logo and the Twitter message “#FallForCBC.” The stars of CBC’s radio and TV shows rolled through as well, meeting fans, posing for pictures and promoting their projects all weekend long.
The network even had a cool little set-up where those featured folks held press conferences in front of groups of about 50 or so fans at a time. I sat in on the panel for Canada’s Smartest Person, and hosts Jessi Cruickshank and Jeff Douglas described how the interactive program will not only showcase the linguistic, physical, musical, visual, social and logical skills of selected finalists from across the country, but an app will challenge viewers at home.
I also got the chance to interview Dragons’ Den David Chilton and newest panelist Michael Wekerle for an online bit for TV-Eh (I’ll post that when it’s all been edited) and the pair swear the show’s upcoming Season 9 is deserving of your investment of time. Also appearing over the weekend were the stars of Mr. D, Murdoch Mysteries‘ Jonny Harris, Adam Beach, the folks behind The Book of Negroes–which has been adapted into a miniseries—and that Mamma Yamma thing.
The CBC knows it has some catching up to do with regard to connecting with newer and younger viewers. No longer able to sit back and allow NHL hockey to draw in numbers, they’re experimenting with content very unlike CBC. Dark western drama Strange Empire has got great buzz (the rough poster I was shown has a Deadwood feel), co-production sci-fi offering Ascension is definitely not typical CBC fare and historical drama Camp X promises to be thrilling.
Sure the network acknowledges this is somewhat of a rebuilding year, but there was a palpable optimism on Saturday that they are moving in the right direction with content and, even more importantly, connecting with an audience.
