BDC has announced a new $30 million financing envelope aimed at medium-sized businesses in the creative and cultural industries across media and audiovisual, video games, motion picture and sound production, sound recording, and radio and television broadcasting. The new financing, which will typically start at $2 million, is specifically targeted at rapidly growing businesses with business consolidation, business transition, or the development of original content in mind. BDC is partnering with Telefilm Canada to identify and develop untapped business potential and joint initiatives, including a financial support referral program. Over the next year, BDC says it will aim to intensify its reach across the creative and cultural industries by forging additional partnerships in different sub sectors in support of inclusive growth.
Thank you for the tour, @SenecaCollege. Wish something like this existed when I was starting out. #SenecaProud pic.twitter.com/6dSiCoFLZH
— Ryan Reynolds (@VancityReynolds) February 1, 2023
Seneca College welcomed actor, producer and entrepreneur Ryan Reynolds on campus on Feb. 1 where he met with students and toured the labs, studios and classrooms at the Seneca Film Institute (SFI) within the Faculty of Communication, Art & Design. Reynolds’ visit caused quite a stir among those on campus as he generously posed for photos and videos, while complimenting the FCAD facilities and programs. Recently launched, the Seneca Film Institute brings together FCAD faculty, industry partners and alumni to provide a cross-disciplinary experience, including applied research and co-productions with external partners.
Samantha Bee will host the Canadian Screen Awards on Sunday, April 16 at 8 p.m. (9 p.m. AT, 9:30 p.m. NT) on CBC and CBC Gem. The Canadian comedian will host the broadcast show, marking the final day of Canadian Screen Week 2023, following a week of seven genre-based awards shows taking place in-person in Toronto for the first time in four years, Tuesday, April 11 through Friday, April 14.
Pluto TV and Blue Ant Media have announced a content partnership with four Blue Ant Media-owned channels now live on Pluto TV in Canada. The new channels include HauntTV, Crimetime, HistoryTime and Homeful, giving viewers in Canada free access to Blue Ant’s extensive library of paranormal, true crime, home improvement, and historical events programming. Blue Ant Media currently has its global free streaming channels available in other Pluto TV markets with Nature Time available in France, Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Spain; HauntTV available in the UK; and Love Nature launched as a branded block on Pluto TV in the U.S.
Pluto TV and Fuse Media, a Latino-owned multi-platform entertainment company dedicated to amplifying young multicultural voices around the world, have secured the first North American distribution deal for OUTtv Proud. In addition, the companies have partnered to bring the Shades of Black channel to Pluto TV Canada, streaming later this month on the service. The OUTtv Proud channel serves 2SLGBTQ+ audiences with an extensive collection of OUTtv original series, documentaries, films and specials, launching with more than 400 hours of content. The Shades of Black Channel celebrates Black culture with an exclusive collection of studio and independent films, scripted and reality series, documentaries, and specials that authentically represent global Black culture. Shades of Black is a partnership between Cinedigm, Quincy Newell’s TwentyOne14 Media and Fuse Media.
Corus Studios is extending its partnership with Canadian-born icon Pamela Anderson. The network has renewed Pamela’s Garden of Eden, continuing the star’s renovation of her grandmother’s six-acre legacy property on Vancouver Island. Aired on HGTV Canada last fall where it performed within the Top 10 original Canadian specialty programs (according to data provided by Corus), the series is currently in production on Season 2 (8×60) and will also see Anderson travel back and forth to L.A. to help son, Brandon Lee, renovate his first property. Corus has also greenlit new entertaining series, Pamela’s Cooking With Love (working title) (8×60), which will begin production this summer. Read more here.
Rubble & Crew, a spinoff of preschool franchise PAW Patrol, has debuted on Corus kids networks Treehouse and STACKTV. Produced by Spin Master Entertainment, the spinoff series follows the adventures of fan-favorite English bulldog Rubble and his construction crew family. The series is set in the community of Builder Cove, a neighbouring town to PAW Patrol’s Adventure Bay.
Crave has released the trailer and key art for its upcoming original drama series, Little Bird. From Crave, APTN, Rezolution Pictures, and OP Little Bird, in partnership with global producer and distributor Fremantle, the six-part, one-hour limited series follows an Indigenous woman on a journey to find her birth family, and uncover the hidden truth of her past. The series is set to debut on Crave and APTN lumi. Led by an Indigenous creative team, Little Bird is developed by showrunner Jennifer Podemski and Rezolution Pictures, and created by Podemski and head writer Hannah Moscovitch.
The 2023 Scotties Tournament of Hearts gets underway Feb. 17 on TSN, TSN.ca, and the TSN app. Play-by-play commentators Vic Rauter and Bryan Mudryk are on-site in Kamloops, BC, delivering the call alongside analysts Cathy Gauthier, a three-time Scotties champion; and Russ Howard, a two-time Brier and World Championship winner and 2006 Olympic gold medallist. Joining them is analyst Joanne Courtney, also a former Scotties winner, Women’s World Champion, and 2018 Olympian. TSN’s Curling Day in Canada returns Feb. 25, following the first page playoff at the Scotties. Hosted by TSN’s Lindsay Hamilton and Bob Weeks, the hour-long program shines a spotlight on diversity and inclusion within the curling community, highlighting a curling program in Winnipeg for Ukrainian refugees and how curling organizers are seeking to provide greater opportunities to play within racialized and Indigenous communities. TSN’s complete curling broadcast schedule is available here.
The Blue Jays on Sportsnet season gets underway March 30 as the squad meets the St. Louis Cardinals for a three-game showdown. On April 11, the Jays return to Canada for their Home Opener at the newly-renovated Rogers Centre against the Detroit Tigers. Both broadcasts will kick off with a special edition of Blue Jays Central with Jamie Campbell and Joe Siddall on Sportsnet and SN NOW. Sportsnet is also bringing Canadians exclusive Spring Training coverage live from Dunedin with all 16 Blue Jays home games available across TV and streaming platforms, plus select road game broadcasts. Fans can tune in to all 30 Spring Training broadcasts on the Sportsnet Radio Network, sportsnet.ca and the SN app. On TV & SN NOW, Dan Shulman delivers the play-by-play call alongside analyst Buck Martinez throughout the season. Siddall will also serve as game analyst for select series. At the Desk, Campbell, Siddall and Caleb Joseph return with their pre-, mid- and post-game insights on Blue Jays Central. On the Field, reporters Hazel Mae and Arden Zwelling provide the latest updates, while Tim & Friends break down the headlines weekday afternoons. Evanka Osmak, Ken Reid and the Sportsnet Central crew cover the post-game wrap up. Ben Wagner returns as the radio voice of the Blue Jays.
TSN and TSN+ are the new Canadian home for the 2023 NTT Indycar Series, with eight races available on TSN’s national television feeds, including the Indy 500 and Honda Indy Toronto. The season opens with the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on March 5. TSN’s coverage of the 2023 FIA Formula One World Championship begins with the Bahrain Grand Prix on March 5 on TSN, TSN.ca, and the TSN app, highlighted by the Canadian Grand Prix, live from the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve in Montréal on Sunday, June 18. French-language coverage of F1 is available on RDS. Exclusive live companion feeds for each F1 race, including Pit Lane, Driver Tracker, Timing Feed, Mixed On-Board Cameras, and unique in-car driver feeds are available on TSN+. TSN also delivers the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series and 2023 NASCAR XFINITY Series, with live coverage of practice and qualifying available exclusively on TSN+.
Beach House Pictures, a Blue Ant Media production company, has announced the launch of its new natural history and wildlife content unit with the appointment of Claire Clements, a former zoologist turned award-winning wildlife filmmaker. Clements will serve as Head of Wild. Beach House Pictures is known for outputting unique wildlife stories from across Asia and the people who dedicate their lives to it.
Super Channel has announced that two new original docuseries from Winnipeg’s Black Watch Entertainment are headed to Super Channel Fuse. Finally Caught, a new 26-episode true crime docuseries that explores cold cases and the personal journeys of those impacted, is set to premiere Feb. 17 as part of the Friday night true crime block. Secrets, Lies & DNA Ties, a 13-episode docuseries that follows two owners of the company DNA Confidential as they unravel family secrets and mysteries for their clients, will make its premiere March 6 in the channel’s Monday night docuseries block. All episodes of both series will drop On Demand the same day as their linear premiere for viewers to binge in their entirety.
299 Queen Street West will make its debut at SXSW (South by Southwest) on March 13. With unprecedented access to the MuchMusic archives, the documentary tells the story of the television upstart from the perspective of the VJs, including Steve Anthony, Rick Campanelli, Monika Deol, Denise Donlon, Erica Ehm, Namugenyi Kiwanuka, Sook-Yin Lee, George Stroumboulopoulos, Bill Welychka, and Michael Williams. Sean Menard, known for The Carter Effect (2017), Fight Mom (2016) and The Perfect Storm: Story on the 1994 Montreal Expos (2015), directs, with Justin Stockman, VP, Content Development & Programming, Bell Media, serving as Executive Producer.
AMI, in partnership with Anaïd Productions, will debut Ness Murby: Transcending on March 8 on AMI-tv and on demand at AMI.ca and the AMI-tv app. The six-part documentary series follows groundbreaking Paralympian Ness Murby as he trains, vying to become the world’s first openly trans man to compete at a Paralympic Games.
The Moose Knuckles Heatmakers x Prism Prize Music Video Production Grant has been launched to encourage the production of high-quality music video content from the Canadian hip-hop community. The program is exclusively focused on applications in the rap and hip-hop genre, though artists who blend genres may also be considered. Review the program guidelines here.
LISTEN: The Canada Media Fund (CMF) has released its 11th annual Key Trends Report, exploring how the screen-based industries might evolve in the coming years, including where advertising, viewer habits, and media technology are headed. On the latest episode of Broadcast Dialogue – The Podcast, we welcome the CMF’s Richard Koo, VP, Analytics & Strategic Insights, and Florence Girot, Manager Foresight and Innovation, to discuss this year’s findings; why the death of traditional TV is overstated; and the potential impact of AI on media creators.
