CTV News is re-launching W5, the network’s long-running investigative program cancelled earlier this year, as the dedicated investigative unit of CTV National News.
The one-hour news magazine aired its final episode in March after 58 seasons, falling to cuts announced by Bell Media parent BCE in February, that included a workforce reduction of 4,800 positions and the divestiture of 45 of its 103 radio stations.
At that time, the network indicated that the flagship investigative series would evolve from a standalone docuseries to a multi-part, multi-platform investigative reporting unit, with its content to be featured across CTV National News and CTV News platforms.
The new W5 Investigative Unit will be led by Managing Editor and Senior Correspondent Avery Haines, Investigative Correspondent Jon Woodward, and TSN Senior Correspondent Rick Westhead, with contributions from CTV National News reporters.
The unit’s first investigation, Narco Jungle: The Death Train, is a five-part series focused on the migrant crisis and those chasing the Canadian and American dream. The series will begin airing on CTV National News the week of Monday, Sept. 30.
The network will also launch a series of one-hour documentaries featuring Haines’ reporting, starting Oct. 5. The initial instalment of W5: Avery Haines Investigates will follow Haines as she travels through Central America and Mexico, tracking down families she met along the only land bridge between North and South America, the Darién Gap. The series will air across CTV platforms and will stream the next day on Bell Media’s Crave.
“As the W5 Investigative Unit launches within CTV National News, we’re proud to deliver the same journalistic excellence and powerful, first-person stories that Canadians have come to expect from W5,” said Haines, in a Bell Media announcement. “In ‘Narco Jungle: The Death Train’, we speak with families who thought the Darien Gap would be the worst part of their journey towards the U.S. border. They couldn’t have been more wrong. All three families we followed have harrowing stories of what this journey has cost them.”
W5 segments will also be available on demand on CTVNews.ca, and through the CTV and CTV News apps.
