Thinktv’s latest report indicates that weekly TV viewing by Canadians is up across the board. According to Numeris data for the week of Mar. 16, average daily television viewing has increased by 12% for A25-54 and 14% for A18-34 year-over-year with growth across almost every daypart, while time spent watching has grown from 23 to 25.7 hours/week (P2+). Viewership of local and national news programs on conventional television has increased significantly, with 300% growth year-over-year in the number of viewers watching Canadian specialty news channels. Conventional news programs are seeing a 37% lift during the noon hour, an 84% spike during weekday supper hour, and a 122% lift on weekend evenings.
Bell Media has signed on as Canadian partner of international television special, One World: Together at Home, organized by Global Citizen (GC) and the World Health Organization (WHO). The two-hour, star-studded, commercial-free, virtual concert curated by Lady Gaga airs live in all markets, Saturday, Apr. 18 at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT. In Canada, it will be simulcast on CTV, CTV2, TSN, CP24, MUCH, MTV, and VRAK, and streamed live on the iHeartRadio Canada app and participating iHeartRadio Canada radio stations. Hosted by Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel, and Stephen Colbert, the benefit will include appearances and performances by Alanis Morissette, Andrea Bocelli, Billie Eilish, Chris Martin, Eddie Vedder, Elton John, John Legend, Kacey Musgraves, Keith Urban, Kerry Washington, Lady Gaga, Lang Lang, Lizzo, Paul McCartney, Stevie Wonder, and more. The special also airs in the U.S. on ABC, NBC, ViacomCBS Networks, iHeart Media, and internationally on BBC One, beIN Media Group, MultiChoice Group, and RTE. It will also stream on Alibaba, Amazon Prime Video, Apple, Facebook, Instagram, LiveXLive, Tencent, Tencent Music Entertainment Group, TIDAL, TuneIn, Twitch, Twitter, Yahoo, and YouTube.
CBC will premiere a selection of first-run feature documentaries that would have debuted at the Hot Docs Festival on CBC-TV, the CBC Gem streaming service and documentary Channel, starting Apr. 16. In addition to 2020 Hot Docs Festival titles, documentary Channel will offer an expanded Hot Docs programming slate from Apr. 16 to May 10, showcasing feature-length documentaries from past festivals. The Hot Docs At Home On CBC collection will also be available to stream on CBC Gem, including features from past festivals and a selection of CBC Short Docs from the 2020 Festival. Read more here.
CBC has brought the virtual interview trend to primetime with the launch of a new Sunday evening program from host Tom Power’s home. What’re You At? with Tom Power is airing Sundays at 8 p.m. (8:30 NT) on CBC and CBC Gem. The title of the one-hour program is a nod to Power’s home province of Newfoundland where the phrase generally means ‘How are you?’ or ‘How are you holding up?’” The show is a mix of interviews, storytelling, musical performances and perspectives from Canadians across the country. A mix of live and pre-taped segments, the debut episode featured Schitt’s Creek showrunner and star Daniel Levy, a performance from singer/songwriter Jessie Reyez, and three first responders on how they’re navigating challenges. Read more here.
Who Wants To Be A Millionaire returns to CTV’s lineup Wednesday, Apr. 8, hosted by Jimmy Kimmel. The series first debuted in Canada in Jan. 2000 on CTV and went on to inspire the network’s own Canadian edition of the show. The 20th anniversary series will feature celebrity competitors playing for a charity of their choice.
TSN has resumed production of all-new editions of both Sportscentre and SC with Jay and Dan, produced remotely with anchors and editorial staff working from home. New episodes of Sportscentre are airing weeknights at 7 p.m. ET on TSN3 and TSN4, while SC with Jay and Dan is airing weekday evenings at 11 p.m. ET on TSN5. Both programs will also air regularly throughout TSN’s “morning loop.”
Sportsnet has added INDYCAR iRacing Challenge to the Sportsnet and Sportsnet NOW schedule. The virtual events feature NTT INDYCAR SERIES drivers competing in weekly Saturday races at 4 p.m. ET/1 p.m. PT. Races are currently scheduled every week through May 2.
Rogers’ Ignite TV and Digital TV customers have free access to NBA TV Canada, MLB Network, Leafs Nation Network and NFL Network channels through May 3. The channels are automatically available for all TV customers. Most networks are replaying select games.
Channel Zero’s Silver Screen Classics and Rewind have joined the list of channels on free preview. The offer extends through the month of April.
The Canadian Cinema Editors have revealed the nominees for the 2020 CCE Awards. While the awards typically occur in May, the ceremony has been rescheduled to Oct. 2 in Toronto. Among the series up for multiple nominations are The Handmaid’s Tale, Save Me, and reality series Blown Away. The Lifetime Achievement Award recipient for 2020 is Lara Mazur, an award-winning Canadian film and television editor, who began her career as an apprentice editor with the National Film Board in Winnipeg, and has gone on to work on DaVinci’s Inquest, Arctic Air, Bordertown Café, Van Helsing, and Flashpoint, among other projects.
The Canada Media Fund (CMF) will hold a webcast Apr. 14 to provide an overview of changes to the 2020-2021 programs, budget, guidelines and deadlines. The French webcast will be hosted by Nathalie Clermont, CMF Vice-President, Programs and Business Development and Jeremy Spry, National Director, CMF Program Administrator. The English webcast will be hosted by Clermont and Rod Butler, Director, Programs and Policy. Click here to register for the English webcast and here for the French.
The Canadian Media Producers Association (CMPA) has released Profile 2019: An Economic Report on the Screen-Based Media Production Industry in Canada that shows the sector continued to grow in 2018/19. CMPA says production volume in Canada reached an all-time high of $9.3 billion and created 180,900 full-time equivalent jobs, while contributing $12.8 billion to the national GDP. Canadian content production volume hit $3.22 billion, broadcaster in-house production $1.23 billion, and foreign location and service production brought in $4.86 billion, holding its position as the largest segment in the sector.
