TV, eh? | What's up in Canadian television | Page 881
TV,eh? What's up in Canadian television
Industry News

Multicultural TV for All Canadians

From a media release:

OMNI Television announced today that it has filed an application with the CRTC to operate a new national multilingual and multicultural channel called OMNI Regional, the first of its kind in Canada. The national channel would be comprised of four feeds: Pacific, Prairies, and East, which would mirror OMNI’s local stations in those regions, and ICI Quebec, made possible due to a strategic partnership with Montreal ethnic television station International Channel/Canal International (ICI) to serve French-language ethnic communities in the province of Quebec. If approved by the CRTC, OMNI Regional would have priority access to basic TV packages (pursuant to section 9(1)(h) of the Broadcasting Act).  Today’s local OMNI stations in Toronto, Edmonton, Calgary, and Vancouver would continue to operate as free over-the-air channels, as would ICI’s local station in Montreal.

As part of its proposal, OMNI Television is committing to bringing back four daily newscasts in Italian, Mandarin, Cantonese and Punjabi, making it the only national ethnic programming service in Canada to provide daily newscasts, seven days a week, in multiple languages.

OMNI Television’s proposal also includes the following:

  • A commitment to devote 80% of OMNI Regional’s schedule to ethnic programming – a 20% increase over current – and maintaining the requirement to devote 50% of the schedule to third-language programming;
  • A commitment to devote a minimum of 40% of OMNI Regional’s annual revenues to the production of Canadian programming;
  • A commitment to maintain local daily current affairs shows in Mandarin, Cantonese and Punjabi languages;
  • The creation of a national cultural affairs series produced in Alberta that is designed to showcase important cultural and social contributions from Canada’s ethnocultural communities;
  • A commitment to re-establish in-house production in all of the markets served by OMNI’s OTA stations; and
  • The creation of four regional feeds that comprise the national network will be specifically tailored to ethnic Canadians living in B.C., the Prairies, Eastern Canada and Quebec by including English and French-language ethnic programming as well as third-language programming produced by local independent producers that reside in those regions.

OMNI Television expects the CRTC to post its application for public comment shortly.

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail
Featured, Still Standing

Still Standing celebrates more Canadian small towns in Season 2

Jonny Harris is back with Still Standing, celebrating small-town Canada with big laughs. Returning Tuesday with what’s quickly becoming a summer staple for CBC, the likable Harris sheds his Constable Crabtree duds and spikes his hair to hit the road, shining a spotlight on communities of folks ekeing out a living in the place they call home.

Tuesday’s return finds the young Newfoundlander in British Columbia, where the 800 citizens of Skidegate are struggling to keep their Haida culture intact amid a history of boom and bust.

Shop owner Rose Russ discusses the local artisans, tourism and an economy that once did well thanks to fishing and logging; Haida elder Diane Brown gives a history of the area and reveals she is one of a mere handful who still know their ancient language; and Jags tells of the once-thriving community of Skedans that was decimated by smallpox.

As with Season 1, Harris successfully tells the history of the community he’s visiting without a hint of malice. He’s there to point out the hard and good times, but there’s no meanness in his comedy. There are references to Europeans arriving in the area and promptly stealing totem poles (“How are you going to show that off to your friends and not look like a complete a-hole?”). And it’s not all bad news in Skidegate: Ben Davidson is a renowned local artist creating Haidi works, a heritage centre promises to educate the youth on their history and language and the Skidegate Saints kick butt on the basketball court.

Upcoming stops in Still Standing‘s season include Omemee, Ont., Inuvik, NWT., and Georgetown, PEI.

Still Standing airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. on CBC.

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail
Baroness von Sketch Show

Link: Should I even write about female-centric comedy?

2 Comments

From John Doyle of The Globe and Mail:

Link: Should I even write about female-centric comedy?
It’s a good comedy show, not a great one. The sketches are swift, the jokes good, but to me it too often amounts to mere drollery. Any sketch show is going to be hit-and-miss. Some of the real hits in Baroness von Sketch Show are MacNeill engaging, sometimes very bravely, in brilliant physical humour. She’s gifted in doing the physical gag, and often hilarious. All of the women are hilarious at times and in the dozens of sketches there are bound to be real gems. Continue reading.

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail
Baroness von Sketch Show

Links: Baroness von Sketch Show

From Lauren La Rose of The Canadian Press:

Link: ‘Baroness von Sketch’ offers twist on comic format
The Canadian quartet behind CBC’s “Baroness von Sketch Show” is quick to give kudos to shows that helped popularize comedy sketches on the small screen.

Yet while acknowledging the lingering influence of series like “SCTV” and “The Kids in the Hall,” the all-female cast is hoping to bring a fresh perspective to a familiar format. Continue reading.

From A.R. Wilson of DigitalJournal.com:

Link: CBC’s Baroness von Sketch Show original, relatable fun
The four comedians behind CBC’s new all-female comedy series Baroness von Sketch Show — Aurora Browne, Meredith MacNeill, Carolyn Taylor, and Jennifer Whalen — had only one rule when writing material for the show: Make it relatable. Continue reading.

From Brad Oswald of the Winnipeg Free Press:

Link: Sketch Marks
The new CBC summer series Baroness von Sketch Show appears to be earning its roster spot. The first two instalments of its six-episode run are fast, smart and consistently funny, boasting a hits-to-misses percentage that inspires favourable comparisons to some of TV’s sketch-comedy Hall of Famers. Continue reading.

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail

Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

Link: ‘Border Security’ TV show canned after federal watchdog finds privacy violation

1 Comment

From Jim Bronskill of The Canadian Press:

Link: ‘Border Security’ TV show canned after federal watchdog finds privacy violation
Canada’s border agency is pulling the plug on the controversial reality TV program “Border Security” after the federal privacy commissioner found the agency violated the rights of a construction worker filmed during a raid in Vancouver. Continue reading.

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail