TV & Film News – Comedian Mae Martin to host Canadian Screen Awards

Mae Martin will host the 2024 Canadian Screen Awards, airing Friday, May 31 on CBC and CBC Gem. The one-hour broadcast will air at 8 p.m. (9 p.m. AT, 9:30 p.m. NT). Martin is an award-winning comedian, actor, writer, and producer who presently hosts the hit comedy podcast Handsome, alongside Tig Notaro and Fortune Feimster. Nominees for the Canadian Screen Awards will be announced on March 6.

Paramount+ in Canada and inkcanada have announced the return of #inkdrinks Toronto, a series of six in-person professional networking events designed to break down barriers to industry-access for Canadian screenwriters at every career stage. Events are scheduled to begin Thursday, Feb. 29, from 7- 9 p.m. ET at the Monarch Tavern. Founded in 2007 by Canadian screenwriter Karen Walton (Ginger Snaps, Orphan Black), the volunteer-driven collective offers writers in the Canadian industry a place to engage in a dialogue about career-related questions. Learn more here.

Canadian Film Fest (CFF) presented by Super Channel, the indie-spirited festival dedicated to celebrating Canadian filmmakers, has announced its lineup for the 2024 edition, set to take place March 18-23. New this year, CFF is extending the festival to six days and expanding its shorts programming, returning to Cineplex’s Scotiabank Theatre in Toronto, showcasing 11 features and 45 shorts. The festival will kick off with Ian Harnarine’s Doubles about a Trinidadian street vendor who travels to Toronto to decide if he will help save his estranged father from dying.

The Banff World Media Festival (BANFF) has announced the return of the Indigenous Screen Summit Pitch Forum (ISS), welcoming Rogers Communications as a new multi-year presenting partner. The company joins founding partners, the Indigenous Screen Office (ISO) and the Canada Media Fund (CMF). Applications are now open for the third edition of the ISS Pitch Forum, which will take place Sunday, June 9 at the Fairmont Banff Springs, kicking off the 45th edition of BANFF. Fifteen Indigenous producers/creators will present their projects in a series of mainstage pitch sessions in front of a panel of leading industry buyers and audience of industry delegates. Interested candidates are invited to apply by March 7. 

Global will premiere Season 12 of Big Brother Canada on March 5, with a tour of this season’s Big Brother house in Hollywood North to air on The Morning Show at 9 a.m. ET, led by host and executive producer Arisa Cox. This season, the 12 new houseguests rolling up to the #BBCAN12 studios include a general contractor from Newfoundland, a software developer from New Brunswick, a bartender from Nova Scotia, a dental hygienist from Ontario, and a sales engineer from B.C., competing for over $200,000 in cash and prizes.

TSN’s coverage of the FIA Formula One World Championship season begins with the Bahrain Grand Prix on March 2 at 8:30 a.m. ET. As the exclusive television partner of F1 auto racing in Canada, TSN’s multi-platform coverage features practice, qualifying, and live broadcasts of every race on the calendar, including companion feeds for every race on TSN+. TSN auto racing reporter and former professional driver Tim Hauraney delivers F1 news and analysis on Sportscentre and TSN.ca.

The 2024 Montana’s Brier, begins Friday, March 1, culminating with the final Sunday, March 10 on TSN, TSN.ca, and the TSN app. The stakes are high with the Brier Tankard on the line, as well as the opportunity to represent Canada in the upcoming LGT World Men’s Curling Championship, which airs live on TSN, April 1-9. Find TSN’s full curling broadcast schedule here. Play-by-play commentators Vic Rauter and Bryan Mudryk are on-site in Regina, delivering the call alongside analysts Russ Howard, Joanne Courtney, and Cathy Gauthier.

TELUS has announced a new partnership with Vevo to become its direct ad sales representative nationally, enabling Vevo to bring its music video content and accompanying advertising opportunities to the Canadian market on Connected TV (CTV) platforms and streaming services, including YouTube, Apple TV, Samsung TV Plus, Vizio, Google TV, and Roku. Vevo purports a monthly reach of more than 10 million Canadians across its library of over 800,000 music videos.

Media Technology Monitor (MTM) has unveiled its latest series of reports focused on the adoption and usage of media and technology across generations, including Gen Z (18-25), Gen Y (26-42), Gen X (43-57) and Boomers (58-77). Highlights from the anglophone generations reports include that traditional TV subscriptions are still very popular among 82% of younger Baby Boomers, 89% of older Baby Boomers and 71% of Gen Xers. Most Gen Zs and Gen Ys, however, are consuming TV and video content online. With French-speakers, subscriptions to linear TV services continue to be popular with 89% of younger Boomers, 92% of older Boomers and 76% of Gen Xers.