CRTC chairman Jean-Pierre Blais has written an open letter, posted on the commission’s website, after criticism over changes to original French-language content requirements for large French-language TV groups. Blais specifically addresses media scrutiny around Corus-owned Séries+, which reportedly shelved several original productions following the ruling. Blais says new conditions will require the channel to dedicate potentially more than $7.8 million per year to acquire or produce French-language Canadian content.
Lionsgate has released its full year fiscal 2017 results, reporting revenue of $3.2 billion, net income attributable to Lionsgate shareholders of $15 million or basic EPS of $0.09 on 165.0 million weighted average common shares outstanding, operating loss of $16 million and adjusted OIBDA of $235 million for the year ended Mar. 31. The results included $89 million in restructuring and other costs primarily associated with Lionsgate’s December acquisition and subsequent integration of Starz.
Alessia Cara and Joe Jonas are set to host The 2017 iHeartRadio Much Music Video Awards. Jonas is also set to perform with his multi-platinum selling band DNCE. Airing live in 4K on Sunday, June 18 at 9 p.m. ET, the MMVAs will be simulcast on Much, CTV, and VRAK. ETALK reporter Liz Trinnear and Much and E! Host Tyrone Edwards return to co-host. ETALK reporter and E! host Chloe Wilde and MMVAs red carpet newcomer, iHeartRadio’s Patrick Langlois will host The iHeartRadio MMVA Red Carpet at 8 p.m. ET on Much, MTV, E!, and Much.com.
CTV has announced it’s landed 13 new series from this year’s Los Angeles screenings. Among the four new comedies and nine new dramas are The Big Bang Theory spinoff Young Sheldon; two new dramas from Shonda Rhimes with legal thriller For The People and a still untitled Grey’s Anatomy spinoff following a group of firefighters; mystery-thriller Ten Days In The Valley from Canadian Film Centre alumnus Tassie Cameron, starring Kyra Sedgwick; two new Marvel universe dramas, including Marvel’s Inhumans and mutant thriller The Gifted; and the revival of the 1988-97 sitcom Roseanne, with the original cast. CTV ended the 2016/17 season as Canada’s most-watched television network among total viewers and A25-54 for the 16th year in a row.
Production is underway on the second cycle of Cardinal, starring Billy Campbell and Karine Vanasse. Six, hour-long episodes are being shot in North Bay, Ont. and Toronto before premiering as part of CTV and Super Écran’s 2017/18 season. Cycle 1 of Cardinal was the most-watched new Canadian series in the 2016/17 season, averaging 1.1 million viewers weekly. eOne has successfully licensed Cardinal internationally with the first season airing on CANAL+ in France, Calle 13 in Spain, and C More in Scandinavia, where it became the network’s biggest foreign drama series. It will premiere June 3 on BBC and June 16 on Hulu in the U.S.
English-language regional telecasts of weekday Montreal Canadiens games are moving back to TSN next season, according to a report by the Montreal Gazette. While Rogers Sportsnet hasn’t confirmed the deal, the Gazette report says Sportsnet’s efforts to retain the rights were thwarted by Bell’s ownership stake in the Canadiens, which included the right to match any offer for the TV rights.
CFL ON TSN kicks off the new season June 8 with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats visiting defending Grey Cup champions Ottawa Redblacks. Sportscentre previews the 2017 CFL season with TSN’s Matthew Scianitti and Farhan Lalji providing features on each team as they prepare for the regular season. Pre-season coverage will also appear on TSN.ca and the TSN GO app. Live radio coverage of the pre-season includes both games featuring the Redblacks on TSN 1200 (CFGO-AM) Ottawa, the Lions game on TSN 1040 (CKST-AM) Vancouver, the Ti-Cats game on TSN 1150 (CKOC-AM) Hamilton, and the Alouettes game on TSN 690 (CKGM-AM) Montreal.
Asian Television Network International Limited has acquired the Canadian Broadcast rights for the ICC Champions Trophy 2017, happening in England and Wales June 1-18. The cricket series will air live on ATN pay per view on various cable & satellite platforms across Canada.
Canada Soccer, TSN and RDS have announced renewal of their broadcast partnership that will see the two networks continue to broadcast National Team matches across their television and digital platforms. The live coverage kicks off with a trio of international matches featuring the Women’s National Team in Winnipeg (June 8) and Toronto (June 11), followed by the Men’s National Team in Montréal (June 13).
The European Council continues to try to keep pace with the digital shift, agreeing there should be a minimum 30 per cent quota on European works in the catalogue of video-on-demand service providers operating in EU member states, including Netflix and Amazon. TV broadcasting and on-demand services will now have to apply the same rules. Furthermore, the scope of the directive has been extended to include video-sharing platforms and social media services that provide a significant amount of audiovisual content.
