Tag Archives: Corus

Big Brother Canada, ET Canada

ET Canada welcomes Big Brother Canada alums Brittnee Blair and Jedson Tavernier as new on-air reporters

From a media release:

ET Canada is proud to announce that former Big Brother Canada houseguests Brittnee Blair and Jedson Tavernier are set to join ET Canada as reporters beginning this November. Alongside hosts Cheryl Hickey and Sangita Patel, and reporters Carlos Bustamante, Morgan Hoffman and Keshia Chanté, Blair and Tavernier will help deliver the latest in entertainment news to Canadian audiences on the award-winning nightly broadcast, airing weeknights at 7:30 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT on Global.

Brittnee Blair is a well-known Canadian television personality, appearing as host of W Network’s Movie Date, and appeared as a houseguest on the third season of Big Brother Canada. A beacon and advocate for body positivity and self-love, Britnee is an international plus-size model, who prides herself on encouraging women of all shapes, colours, and sizes to embrace their own beauty. In her spare time, she travels the world discovering and connecting with new places and people, through local cuisine and experiences.

Jedson Tavernier is a Toronto-based model, social media creator, fitness enthusiast and TV personality. After five years of playing varsity basketball at the University of Western Ontario and graduating with two degrees in Kinesiology, Jedson transitioned his talents to entertainment, appearing on the ninth season of Big Brother Canada. Jedson also lends his talents to the Toronto Raptors social media team, and has appeared in various broadcast commercials and brand campaigns. When Jedson isn’t working, he loves to read, stay active, and inspire those around him.

ET Canada airs weeknights at 7:30 p.m. ET/ 7 p.m. PT on Global. For up-to-the-moment entertainment news, celebrity interviews and more, visit etcanada.com, and stream ET Canada live and on demand with STACKTV and the Global TV App.

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Featured, Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

Preview: HGTV’s Sarah’s Mountain Escape heads West for stress and adventure

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Happy anniversary HGTV Canada! Launching back in October of 1997, the Canadian specialty channel is celebrating 25 years on the air with some of its most iconic hosts featured in new series or new seasons of series.

One of those is Sarah Richardson. The OG of HGTV Canada has spent over two decades starring in programming for the network and her latest, Sarah’s Mountain Escape, is a doozy.

Kicking off on Wednesday, October 19, at 9 p.m. ET/PT on HGTV Canada, Sarah, her husband Alexander Younger and their two daughters tackle perhaps their biggest project to date: renovating a lodge in Whistler, B.C.

Like her 2017 venture, Sarah Off the Grid, Sarah’s Mountain Escape is part renovation series, part family escapade. Unlike Off the Grid, the building featured in Mountain Escape is going to strictly be an income property (Scott McGillivray would be proud) and has to pull in the biggest per-night amount it can. It’s a daunting task.

Sarah’s business ventures in Ontario mean she has to hire contractors in Whistler and rely on others to make sure the job gets done when they can’t be there. Wednesday’s debut is a tough slog, as Sarah and her family visit the 5,000 square foot 1970s Bavarian-style lodge for the first time since it was purchased. Things that were quaint, like chicken tchotchkes and quirky corners, are downright scary when observed in the sobering light of post-purchase and there were several moments when the family honestly thought they’d made a mistake. But half the fun of a show like this is seeing how projects are completed, and the initial step of a downstairs renovation is simply stunning to see.

Sarah’s Mountain Escape is going to be an adventure, and I’m here for it.

Sarah’s Mountain Escape airs Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on HGTV Canada.

Image courtesy of Corus Media.

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Industry News

Nelvana and Kids Can Press announce Blackwrite.ca for emerging Black storytellers and illustrators

From a media release:

Corus Entertainment Inc.’s (TSX:CJR.B) (“Corus Entertainment”) Nelvana, a world-leading international producer, distributor, and licensor of children’s animated and live action content, and Kids Can Press, an award-winning, internationally acclaimed children’s book publisher, announced today the Nelvana/Kids Can Press Talent Incubator: Black Write Edition, an initiative designed to discover, support, and mentor emerging Black storytellers and illustrators.

“Our goal with this talent incubator is to match promising Black creators with industry professionals from two of Canada’s leading children’s content companies in order to develop original work,” said Athena Georgaklis, Head of Development, Nelvana. “We want to give budding creators, particularly those currently outside of the children’s content ecosystem, the chance to develop their work and make essential connections in the television, animation, and publishing industries.”

“Stories for children can be a powerful space to explore new ideas and tackle compelling topics, while inspiring and educating,” said Naseem Hrab, Associate Publisher, Creative, Kids Can Press. “We know there are new stories and illustrations out there that should be shared and deserve a wider audience. It is our hope that this talent incubator reaches Black storytellers who are looking for that opportunity.”

Black storytellers and illustrators are invited to submit their story proposals or illustration portfolio through the blackwrite.ca website. Candidates who are selected will be paired with creative advisors in animation production or book publishing to develop and fully realize their work.

The outcome of the first edition of the incubator is to develop at least one original concept each for TV and book publishing as well as to foster community among new voices and industry professionals.

The deadline to submit is November 30.

Future editions of the talent incubator will focus on other underrepresented communities.

This initiative is part of Corus Entertainment’s comprehensive, multi-year Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Action Plan that aims to support diversity, equity and inclusion in the company’s workforce, business and content as well as industry partnerships.

The launch of blackwrite.ca will be supported by television and radio advertising on Corus’ network of TV and radio stations across Canada, starting today, September 15 and running until November 30.

To submit, check out blackwrite.ca.

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Industry News

Corus expands Canada’s #1 entertainment show with greenlight for ET Canada Weekend

From a media release:

Entertainment Tonight Canada, Canada’s #1 entertainment news series*, is expanding with the newly greenlit hour-long weekend edition of the show, ET Canada Weekend hosted by Sangita Patel. Airing Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. on Global, ET Canada Weekend premieres September 18th delivering in-depth celebrity interviews and exclusive features, while bringing Canadian audiences the biggest news stories of the week. The show will also stream live and on demand with the STACKTV or the Global TV App, in addition to full episodes of the weekday edition of ET Canada.

Since joining ET Canada in 2014, Sangita has been delivering entertainment news and travelling the globe to interview the biggest stars in Hollywood, including Julia Roberts, Dwayne Johnson, Viola Davis, George Clooney, Helen Mirren, and more. In 2019, Sangita was named as the face of COVERGIRL’s Simply Ageless Collection, and continues to serve as Canada’s COVERGIRL ambassador. Dedicated to utilizing her national platform to shine a light on organizations close to her heart, she is a supporter of Pathways to Education, Children’s Wish and ONE Campaign. Most recently, Sangita spearheaded ET Canada’s HELP INDIA broadcast special when India was battling the nation’s worst COVID-19 crisis, bringing together some of the biggest names in entertainment to help raise over $135,000 for the Humanitarian Coalition’s emergency response efforts.

Sangita Patel has been upped to host ET Canada Weekend, while continuing to serve as entertainment reporter for ET Canada weeknights on Global. More details regarding the premiere of ET Canada Weekend coming soon.

ET Canada Weekend also presents new opportunities for brands to integrate with the nation’s top destination for entertainment news amongst women 25-54. From on-air to digital, ET Canada offers a full-service suite of innovative integration opportunities with an in-house creative hub, massive reach, top talent, industry-leading insights, and next generation data. For more information on brand integrations, contact tempo@corusent.com.

ET Canada will premiere its 17th season on Tuesday September 7, airing weeknights at 7:30 p.m. ET/ 7 p.m. PT on Global, hosted by Cheryl Hickey.

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Big Brother Canada

Global Announces Casting Details For Big Brother Canada Season 10

From a media release:

The search for Canada’s next batch of houseguests starts now! Today, Global and Insight Productions announced that casting is open across the country for Season 10 of Big Brother Canada. Coming to Global in 2022, Big Brother Canada is calling Canadians far and wide to apply at BigBrotherCanada.ca for their chance to win big on Canada’s award-winning reality show.

Beginning today, Canadians can apply online at BigBrotherCanada.ca for their chance to become a #BBCAN10 houseguest, competing in a series of extreme challenges in one of the most high-stakes social experiments ever. Fans can also nominate friends on social media by tagging @bigbrotherca and using #FutureHOH for a chance to get noticed by Big Brother Canada’s casting team.

Apply in three simple steps:

  • Record a short video of yourself explaining why you have what it takes to be one of the next houseguests on Big Brother Canada
  • Visit the official casting site at BigBrotherCanada.ca
  • Upload a photo of yourself, along with your video and some basic information

To qualify, houseguest hopefuls must be 19 years of age by February 1, 2022 and submit their applications by November 19, 2021. For more information, including a full list of rules and eligibility, head to BigBrotherCanada.ca.

Commissioned by Corus Entertainment, Season 10 of Big Brother Canada is produced by Insight Productions Ltd. (a Boat Rocker company) in association with Corus Entertainment and Banijay. Executive Producers are John Brunton, Erin Brock, Eric Abboud, and Arisa Cox.

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