From The Canadian Press:
Link: Supreme Court denies BCE’s Super Bowl ad stay against CRTC
Bell Canada has been unable to block a regulator’s decision to ban the substitution of Canadian TV feeds and ads during Super Bowl broadcasts, at least this year.
The owner of CTV and TSN asked for a stay of the CRTC’s ban during Bell’s appeal at the Supreme Court of Canada. Continue reading.
From Etan Vlessing of The Hollywood Reporter:
Link: Jim Shaw, cable TV kingpin in Canada, dies at 60
Jim Shaw, head of western Canadian cable giant Shaw Communications until he handed over the CEO reins to his younger brother Brad in 2011, has died. He was 60. Continue reading.
From Tony Wong of the Toronto Star:
Link: Who says Canadian TV is dead? 2017 was best year ever for drama
“I think this year has been a real tipping point. It proved that Canada sells. That people can relate to North Bay or Sudbury or anywhere in the world, and that we can go shoulder to shoulder with anyone with our stories.” Continue reading.
From John Doyle of The Globe and Mail:
Link: John Doyle’s favourite Canadian performances of 2017
In this particular bulletin, mind you, there’s an appreciation of fine performances this year on Canadian TV. Grumbling will ensue, of course. But by all means, let me know of your favourites, whether you’re in the TV racket or not. That is, if you have time and you’re not stuck at Canadian Tire surrounded by Christmas lights arrayed like thick brambles to ensnare you. At Canadian Tire, we are all just Canadian, doesn’t matter if we’re big shots in the TV racket. So, here’s a (short) list of fave performances from this year. Continue reading.
From a media release:
Temple Street, a division of Boat Rocker Studios, has secured the television rights to international bestselling author Guy Gavriel Kay’s The Fionavar Tapestry. Published as three volumes in the mid-1980s (The Summer Tree, The Wandering Fire and The Darkest Road), the trilogy has sold more than a million copies around the world, and has been dubbed by The Guardian one of the classics of modern fantasy. New York Times bestselling writer Brandon Sanderson has called Kay “the greatest living author of fantasy literature.â€
The Tapestry tells the tale of five young men and women who are brought to Fionavar – the first of all worlds. Told they are simply to be guests for the 50th anniversary celebration of a king’s ascension to the throne, each of the five discovers they have a greater, dangerous role to play as they’re thrust into a war between the forces of good and evil, whose outcome will affect all worlds, including our own.
Kay draws upon a variety of creatures and mythologies, predominantly Celtic and Norse, to create the world of Fionavar, and the saga also features the legendary story of King Arthur, Lancelot, and Guinevere, heroes of medieval literature.
Fortier and Schneeberg will executive produce for Temple Street (Orphan Black, Killjoys), along with Kris Holden-Ried (Vikings, Tudors, Lost Girl).
Temple Street’s Senior Vice President Kerry Appleyard and Senior Development Producer Lesley Grant will oversee series adaptation for the studio, and Boat Rocker Rights will control worldwide rights.
