TV/FILM/VIDEO:
The Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS) has announced a new six-year exclusive broadcast partnership with CBC that will see the 47th annual JUNO Awards move from CTV after a successful 16-year partnership. As the official broadcaster, CBC is committing to launch new music programming initiatives and special events throughout the year in partnership with CARAS, including covering a more diverse range of genres and musicians.
Broken Social Scene, Wintersleep, Reuben and the Dark, DARCYS, and Lou Phelps are among the artists who’ll share in $445,251 from Bell Media’s MuchFACT (A Foundation to Assist Canadian Talent) Apr. 12 funding round supporting the production of music video/projects and digital tools. The next deadline for MuchFACT applications is May 4.
Arlene Dickinson is returning to CBC’s Dragon’s Den after a two-year break. Her return brings the number of dragons for Season 12 to six, the show’s biggest panel of investors ever. Until Dickinson’s return, Jim Treliving remained the only original dragon. They join Joe Mimran, Manjit Minhas, Michael Wekerle and Michele Romanow. Dragons’ Den has seen a dip in viewership, with Season 11 averaging 597,000 per episode. That’s down from average viewership of 1.755 million per episode in Season Four.
Bell Media-commissioned series Hip-Hop Evolution has won a Peabody Award in the Documentary category. Produced in partnership with Banger Films, the four-episode, one-hour series explores the birth and far-reaching influences of hip-hop. From Canadian filmmaker Darby Wheeler, the series premiered on HBO Canada last September and won two Canadian Screen Awards. It’s available to watch on TMN GO and HBO Canada OnDemand.
Documentary Mostly Sunny makes its television debut on HBO Canada Apr. 24. Commissioned by Bell Media’s The Movie Network, it charts the unconventional journey of Sunny Leone from small-town Ontario to fame and fortune as an adult film star, and then to success as a Bollywood star.
Bell Media’s Pay TV networks The Movie Network, TMN Encore, Super Écran, and Cinépop celebrated the fourth annual National Canadian Film Day on Apr. 19 with All-Canadian movie marathons. The NCFD 150 lineup is also streaming to subscribers on TMN GO in a Canadian Film Celebration collection.
