Tag Archives: Industry News

Canada’s public broadcaster launches CBC Gem streaming service

From a media release:

 CBC today announced the launch of CBC Gem, the national public broadcaster’s new streaming service, offering more than 4000 hours of live and on-demand programming for free. Available now as Canada’s destination for acclaimed, authentically Canadian programming and a curated selection of best-in-class content from around the world, CBC Gem provides live and on-demand access to CBC’s full programming slate spanning drama, comedy, factual entertainment, documentaries, arts, kids, sports and national and local news programming, including the ability to live stream CBC TV at any time with access to 14 CBC channels and their local newscasts across the country. The streaming service also offers French-language programming from ICI Radio-Canada.

CBC will also collaborate with new partners in order to expand the CBC Gem streaming library and offer additional Canadian and international content. A new partnership between CBC and homegrown success story Wattpad, the global multiplatform entertainment company for original stories and the world’s most popular social storytelling platform, will offer emerging Canadian writers the opportunity to create exclusive content for CBC Gem, with more details to be confirmed in the new year. The streaming service also offers more than 100 acclaimed Canadian feature films, available ad-free in partnership with Telefilm Canada, with a selection of films from the National Film Board of Canada, including Indigenous projects, to be added in the coming year.

The growing streaming library available on CBC Gem is supported by ongoing acquisitions from key Canadian distribution partners, including A71 Entertainment, Elevation Pictures, eOne, levelFILM and Mongrel Media, and international partners BBC Studios, Fremantle International, ITV Studios Global Entertainment and Sky Vision.

CBC Gem is available for free as an App for iOS and Android devices and online at cbcgem.ca, and on television via Apple TV and Google Chromecast. An ad-free premium membership is also available for $4.99 per month, which also provides access to a live stream of CBC News Network.  All children’s programming is always provided ad-free within CBC Gem.

CBC Gem is exclusive to Canada. All content is available with Closed Captioning, and Described Video is available for most on-demand content.

CBC Member – FREE (registration required):

  • Live stream CBC TV, including access to all 14 local channels from across the country and their news broadcasts
  • Watch current and past seasons of favourite shows on demand
  • Resume watching programs on any device
  • Ad-free children’s programming

CBC Member – Premium:

For $4.99 a month (with the first month free of charge), Canadians can upgrade their viewing experience to enjoy additional features and content:

  • Watch on-demand episodes without ads
  • Live stream CBC News Network 24/7

CBC Gem Programming Highlights:

  • All episodes of new CBC original drama NORTHERN RESCUE (10×60), starring William Baldwin and Kathleen Robertson, will be available to stream exclusively in Canada on CBC Gem starting Friday, March 1.
  • Past and current seasons of CBC series, including acclaimed comedies KIM’S CONVENIENCE, BARONESS VON SKETCH SHOW and SCHITT’S CREEK; factual entertainment favourite THE GREAT CANADIAN BAKING SHOW; crowd-pleasing dramas MURDOCH MYSTERIES, ANNE WITH AN E and HEARTLAND; and classic CBC hits like THE KIDS IN THE HALL and BEING ERICA.
  • Renowned programming from around the world including: FORTITUDE (Season 1) with Stanley Tucci; international hit THE GREAT BRITISH BAKING SHOW (Seasons 1-8); LUTHER starring Idris Elba (Seasons 1-4); PORTLANDIA (Seasons 1-5); TOP OF THE LAKE: CHINA GIRL; THE TUDORS (Seasons 1 – 4); miniseries VANITY FAIR; and BAFTA Award-winning series WALLANDER (Seasons 1-4) with Kenneth Branagh; with Emmy Award®-winning LITTLE DORRIT starring Claire Foy (The Crown) available later this month.
  • CBC News award-winning news and investigative programming available live and on demand, including THE NATIONAL, MARKETPLACE, THE FIFTH ESTATE and POWER AND POLITICS, in addition to livestream access to 14 local news broadcasts across the country.
  • More than 500 hours of Canadian and international documentary storytelling, including CBC DOCS POV’s critically acclaimed 14 & Muslim; THE NATURE OF THINGS three-part series Equus: Story of the Horse; CBC Docs Special Presentation In Search of a Perfect World with Peter Mansbridge; and CBC SHORT DOCS’ Fast Horse, Sundance Film Festival 2019 selection and Best Documentary Work Short Format winner at the 2018 imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival.
  • More than 200 hours of ad-free children’s programming, including CBC Kids’ favourites ADDISON, BECCA’S BUNCH, DOT,THE FURCHESTER HOTEL and TRUE AND THE RAINBOW KINGDOM.
  • CBC Sports’ ROAD TO THE OLYMPIC GAMES available live and on demand, with upcoming highlights including FIS World Cup Alpine, Cross Country, Freestyle Skiing, Ski Jumping and Nordic Combined; IBSF World Cup Bobsleigh and Skeleton; and the ISU World Figure Skating Championships 2019 from Saitama, Japan.
  • More than 100 buzzworthy Canadian feature films, representing the best of contemporary Canadian film, available ad-free in partnership with Telefilm Canada. Titles include: Barney’s Version(2010, Richard J. Lewis), Cairo Time (2009, Ruba Nada), Meditation Park (2017, Mina Shum), Midnight’s Children (2012, Deepa Mehta) and Mommy (2014, Xavier Dolan), with upcoming titles including Jean of the Joneses (2016, Stella Meghie) and Canadian Screen Award-winning Maudie (2016, Aisling Walsh) as well as Oscar®-nominated films Brooklyn (2015, John Crowley) and Incendies (2010, Denis Villeneuve). New homegrown films will be added each week, spanning a wide range of genres and featuring diverse, accomplished filmmakers.
  • French programming from ICI Tou.TV streaming service including #DANSLATOILE, 1001 NUITSand TRANSFORMATRUC.
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DHX Media to sell Halifax Animation Studio to focus and streamline its production operations

From a media release:

DHX Media (or the “Company”) (TSX: DHX, NASDAQ: DHXM), a global children’s content and brands company, has signed a definitive agreement to sell its Halifax animation studio. The sale is part of the Company’s ongoing strategic shift to focus and streamline its production operations.

“The sale will generate operating efficiencies by consolidating animation production, and aligns with our objectives of rationalizing costs, simplifying our organization and focusing resources,” said Michael Donovan, CEO and Executive Chairman, DHX Media.

DHX Media is headquartered in Halifax. The sale does not include This Hour Has 22 Minutes, which continues to be owned by DHX Media and produced in Halifax.

The sale is expected to close on or about December 31, 2018, and is subject to customary closing conditions, applicable third party consents and the execution of certain ancillary agreements.

About DHX Media
DHX Media Ltd. (TSX: DHX, NASDAQ: DHXM) is a global children’s content and brands company, recognized for such high-profile properties as Peanuts, Teletubbies, Strawberry Shortcake, Caillou, Inspector Gadget, and the acclaimed Degrassi franchise. One of the world’s foremost producers of children’s shows, DHX Media owns the world’s largest independent library of children’s content, at 13,000 half-hours. It licenses its content to broadcasters and streaming services worldwide and generates royalties through its global consumer products program. Through its subsidiary, WildBrain, DHX Media operates one of the largest networks of children’s channels on YouTube. Headquartered in Canada, DHX Media has offices worldwide.

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CBC’s Heather Conway announces her departure

From a media release:

Heather Conway, Executive Vice President of CBC, has announced her departure from the public broadcaster to pursue other opportunities. She will remain in her role until December 7, 2018.

“Heather has been instrumental in spearheading CBC’s digital transformation on all of our platforms and across all genres, helping us meet our goal of doubling our digital reach, two years ahead of schedule,” said Catherine Tait, President and CEO, CBC/Radio-Canada. “She has been passionate about reflecting Canadian diversity in our content, ensuring that it is more distinctly and identifiably Canadian.

“It has been a privilege to serve Canadians and Canadian creators and to lead the incredible public broadcasters who work at CBC.  The experience and the CBC will be with me always, as the CBC always has been and should always be for all of us,” said Heather Conway.

“I am thinking about next steps in terms of how I will go about filling this very important position. In the meantime I look forward to continuing to work with Heather and her team over the next month to ensure a smooth transition,” concluded Tait.

About CBC/Radio-Canada
CBC/Radio-Canada is Canada’s national public broadcaster. Through our mandate to inform, enlighten and entertain, we play a central role in strengthening Canadian culture. As Canada’s trusted news source, we offer a uniquely Canadian perspective on news, current affairs and world affairs. Our distinctively homegrown entertainment programming draws audiences from across the country. Deeply rooted in communities, CBC/Radio-Canada offers diverse content in English, French and eight Indigenous languages. We are leading the transformation to meet the needs of Canadians in a digital world.

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CBC announces winter 2019 premiere dates for Heartland, Schitt’s Creek, Workin’ Moms, Kim’s Convenience and more

From a media release:

CBC today announced broadcast and streaming premiere dates for its winter 2019 lineup of highly anticipated new titles and popular returning series, featuring original programming by Canadian storytellers. With a new winter schedule launching Sunday, January 6, each series will be available for linear broadcast on CBC and live and on demand streaming on the CBC TV app for iOS and Android and cbc.ca/watch.

● Family drama HEARTLAND returns for Season 12 on Sunday, January 6 at 7PM

● Inspired by the best-selling series of books by M.R. Hall, female-driven procedural CORONER starring Serinda Swan premieres Monday, January 7 at 9PM

● CBC’s hit Tuesday night comedy lineup continues this winter with new seasons of KIM’S CONVENIENCE, SCHITT’S CREEK and WORKIN’ MOMS beginning January 8 at 8PM

● A new case draws Kristin Kreuk into the shadowy world of hackers and activists in Season 2 of BURDEN OF TRUTH, premiering Wednesday, January 9 at 8PM

● Limited drama series UNSPEAKABLE focused on Canada’s tainted blood scandal, starring Sarah Wayne Callies and Shawn Doyle, debuts Wednesday, January 9 at 9PM

● East Coast humour rules Thursday nights beginning January 10 at 9PM, with new comedy CAVENDISH from the creators of Picnicface and Season 2 of Joel Thomas Hynes’ LITTLE DOG

● Factual entertainment series THE STATS OF LIFE returns with a new look at how Canadians are living Friday, January 11 at 8:30PM

● Iconic drama STREET LEGAL returns with Cynthia Dale and a new generation of Toronto lawyers Monday, March 4 at 9PM

● New Halifax legal aid drama DIGGSTOWN starring Vinessa Antoine and Natasha Henstridge premieres Wednesday, March 6 at 8PM

● Arlene Dickinson matches budding entrepreneurs with the businesses of their dreams in UNDER NEW MANAGEMENT launching Friday, March 15 at 8:30PM

● A winter, digital-first streaming premiere date for new family adventure drama NORTHERN RESCUE, starring William Baldwin and Kathleen Robertson, will be confirmed in the near future.

CBC’s winter 2019 primetime schedule, launching Sunday, January 6: All following times local with the exception of Newfoundland, please add half an hour to all times.

SUNDAYS
11 AM (12 PM AT) – THE WEEKLY WITH WENDY MESLEY Season 2 continues January 6

7 PM – HEARTLAND Season 12 (11×60) premieres January 6

8 PM – THE NATURE OF THINGS – Season 58 continues with “Food for Thought,” offering the latest in nutritional science, on January 6

9 PM – THE FIFTH ESTATE Season 44 continues January 6

10 PM – THE NATIONAL CBC News’ flagship program continues Sunday to Friday each week

MONDAYS
7:30 PM – CORONATION STREET (weekdays, back-to-back episodes on Mondays starting at 7 PM)

8 PM – MURDOCH MYSTERIES Season 12 (18×60) continues January 7

9 PM – CORONER New procedural drama (8×60) premieres January 7

9 PM – STREET LEGAL The iconic legal drama returns (6×60) March 4

TUESDAYS
8 PM – KIM’S CONVENIENCE Season 3 (13×30) premieres January 8

8:30 PM – THIS HOUR HAS 22 MINUTES Season 26 (19×30, 1×60) continues January 8

9 PM – SCHITT’S CREEK Season 5 (14×30) premieres January 8

9:30 PM – WORKIN’ MOMS Season 3 (13×30) premieres January 8

WEDNESDAYS
8 PM – BURDEN OF TRUTH Season 2 (8×60) premieres January 9

8 PM – DIGGSTOWN (6×60) New Halifax legal aid drama premieres March 6

9 PM – UNSPEAKABLE (8×60) Limited drama about Canada’s tainted blood scandal premieres January 9

THURSDAYS
8 PM – DRAGONS’ DEN Season 13 (20×60) continues January 10

9 PM – CAVENDISH (8×30) New comedy from the creators of Picnicface premieres January 10

9:30 PM – LITTLE DOG Season 2 (8×30) premieres January 10

FRIDAYS
8 PM – MARKETPLACE Season 46 continues January 11

8:30 PM – THE STATS OF LIFE Season 2 (8×30) premieres January 11

8:30 PM – UNDER NEW MANAGEMENT Factual series hosted by Arlene Dickinson (4×30) premieres March 15

9 PM – CBC DOCS POV Season 3 continues with “Pugly,” about the upswing in pug ownership and what makes them so lovable January 11

11:30 PM CBC ARTS: EXHIBITIONISTS Season 4 (26×30) continues

SATURDAYS
6:30 PM – HOCKEY NIGHT IN CANADA

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