Tag Archives: CBC

Headline, Industry News

Telefilm renews theatrical doc. pilot program

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Montreal, Telefilm Canada, together with partners CBC Television, The Rogers Group of Funds and the National Film Board of Canada, is pleased to announce the one-year renewal of the Theatrical Documentary Pilot Program, with funds in excess of $2 million, for the production and completion of feature-length documentaries intended for Canadian theatrical release.

The continuation of this program is a direct response to discussions with the Canada Feature Film Fund industry Working Groups and documentary filmmaking communities, and addresses the needs of each market.

Originally set up in 2005-2006 as a one-year pilot program, the Theatrical Documentary Pilot Program financed the development and production of seven English- and French-language documentaries, as well as the completion of six English- and French-language documentary projects from across Canada.

“We are pleased to be paving the way towards a more permanent solution where financial resources are earmarked specifically for this genre,” states Wayne Clarkson, Executive Director, Telefilm Canada. “Until that time, the renewal of the Theatrical Documentary Pilot Program is a ringing endorsement for the documentary community. We welcome the participation of the National Film Board of Canada, for the Pilot Program’s second year, in this unique private-public partnership.”

“As Canada’s public producer and a long-time champion of theatrical documentaries, the National Film Board of Canada is excited to join the Theatrical Documentary Pilot Program,” said Claude Joli-CÅ“ur, Acting Government Film Commissioner and NFB Chairperson. “The Pilot Program is an exciting way for us to work together to strengthen the Canadian documentary industry and bring more signature docs to the screen. The NFB has a proven track record in high-profile co-productions, and we look forward to connecting with independent producers who share our passion for groundbreaking, socially engaged cinema.”

The Rogers Group of Funds is also enthusiastic about the renewed partnership: “Rogers is pleased to again support this initiative as it builds upon our long-standing commitment to documentary film production in Canada," said Robin Mirsky, Executive Director. ”We were so impressed with the quality of last year’s proposals that the decision to re-commit was an easy one."

CBC Television is once again on board and committed to supporting the documentary community. “We’re pleased to be a part of this exciting initiative,” said Richard Stursberg, Executive Vice-President, CBC Television. “As the country’s number one platform for documentaries, CBC Television is proud to support a program that brings a measure of financial stability to filmmakers working in the genre. And, by bringing documentaries to a wider audience through theatrical release we can expose even more Canadians to the outstanding and important work being done by this country’s documentarians.”

Eligibility criteria, guidelines and application forms for the Theatrical Documentary Pilot Program will be available in June 2007.

Front Page, Industry News

‘The Den’ heats up for season two on CBC, auditions taking place across Canada

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Do you have a million-dollar idea brewing in your basement? Do you think you have what it takes to be Canada’s next top business mogul? Now’s the time to find out—on DRAGONS’ DEN. After a successful 2006 fall-season debut, CBC Television confirmed the highly anticipated return of the series this fall.

DRAGONS’ DEN auditions are slated to take place in major cities across the country, starting Tuesday, April 10. Detailed information about auditions, updated locations and tips on how to pitch your business are available at www.cbc.ca/dragonsden. Aspiring entrepreneurs may also apply online by going to the DRAGONS’ DEN website and filling out an application form.

ONTARIO

KINGSTON:

April 10 

St. Lawrence College

100 Portsmouth Ave

Entrance E-12, Room (12210)

10 a.m. – 4 p.m.

KITCHENER/WATERLOO:

April 11

The Accelerator Centre

Waterloo Research & Technology Park Accelerator 295 Hagey Blvd.

12 p.m. – 5 p.m.

LONDON:

April 12

London Small Business Centre

316 Rectory St, 3rd Floor

10 a.m. – 4 p.m.

TORONTO:

April 14 and May 5

CBC Atrium

250 Front Street West

11 p.m. – 5 p.m.

WESTERN CANADA

Edmonton:

April 18

CBC Edmonton, Centre Stage

10062 102 Avenue

123 Edmonton City Centre East

10 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Calgary:

April 20 and 21

CBC Calgary

1724 Westmount Blvd. N.W.

10 a.m. – 4 p.m.

ATLANTIC CANADA

Moncton:

April 24

Crowne Plaza Hotel

Acadian Lounge

1005 Main St.

10 a.m. – 4 p.m.

SUMMERSIDE:

April 25

Slemon Park Hotel and Conference Centre

The Heritage Room

12 Redwood Avenue

10 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Charlottetown:

April 26

Rodd Royalty Inn & Suites

The Island Room

Intersection of Highways 1 & 2

10 a.m. – 4 p.m.

St. John’s:

April 27 and 28

CBC St. John’s

95 University Avenue

10 a.m. – 4 p.m.

“We’re looking forward to another great season of Dragons’ Den,” said Kirstine Layfield, CBC executive director of network programming. “We invite anyone who has an idea, big or small, to come out and pitch. The strength and creativity of those ideas is what makes the show so engaging.”

DRAGONS’ DEN gives budding entrepreneurs the opportunity to pitch their ideas to a panel of wealthy businesspeople, otherwise known as the Dragons, on national television. The prize is real money and real investment from the Dragons’ own pockets.

CBC Television’s Dianne Buckner returns to host the series. DRAGONS’ DEN is based on the successful format that has taken the U.K., Japan, Australia and now Canada by storm.

The executive producer of DRAGONS’ DEN is Stuart Coxe and the senior producer is Tracie Tighe.

Headline, Industry News

CBC previews fall lineup

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TORONTO (CP) _ CBC-TV is keeping breakout hit "Little Mosque on the Prairie" in its fall programming schedule, but cutting the business and entrepreneurial show "Venture" after 22 years on the air.

"It’s had a terrific run," CBC spokesman Jeff Keay said Wednesday as the public broadcaster released a preview of its plans for the 2007-2008 season.

"That sort of content we’ll still be pursuing but it will exist in a show like ‘Marketplace.’ "

Also on the chopping block for the fall is Mary Walsh’s Gemini-winning sitcom "Hatching, Matching and Dispatching," the sexy half-hour comedy "Rumours," the medical drama "Jozi H" and arts and performance show "Opening Night."

The true crime series "72 Hours," the disability show "Moving On" and "Country Canada," about rural living, will also be dropped. The content covered in such programming will be represented in other TV, radio and online shows, said Keay.

"The bottom line I guess for us is that we’re building on the success that we’ve had last season," he said.

CBC is also bringing back recent hits "Test the Nation," "Canada’s Next Great Prime Minister," "The Greatest Canadian Invention" and "Dragons’ Den."

Perennial favourites "Hockey Night in Canada," "This Hour Has 22 Minutes," "The Rick Mercer Report" and "Royal Canadian Air Farce" are also returning.

New fall programming includes "The Tudors," an Irish-Canadian co-production about Henry VIII and starring Jonathan Rhys Meyers, and reality-based arts competition "Triple Sensation."

Viewers can also look forward to "The Border," a Toronto-based series about security in a post-Sept. 11 world, and "Heartland," a multi-generational family series set in the Rocky Mountain foothills of Alberta.

Other new programming includes "No Opportunity Wasted," about chasing your dreams, and "Sophie," about a single mother who inherits a talent agency from her father.

CBC hasn’t mapped out exactly when each program will start airing, said Keay, adding the public broadcaster plans to release its full fall-winter lineup in late May.

Front Page, Industry News

Royal Canadian Air Farce hits episode 300, with live special March 30th

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Royal Canadian Air Farce celebrates its landmark 300th episode on CBC Television with an hour-long special, AIR FARCE 300 LIVE!, Friday, March 30 at 8 p.m. (9 p.m. AT, 9:30 p.m. NT). It’s the first time in the show’s history that an episode will be telecast live, in real time. 

Air Farce’s regular troupe, Roger Abbott, Don Ferguson, Luba Goy, Jessica Holmes, Craig Lauzon, Alan Park and featured player Penelope Corrin, will be joined by an all-star lineup representing other top Canadian comedy shows: Little Mosque on the Prairie’s Sitara Hewitt, Sheila McCarthy and Carlo Rota, Hockey Night in Canada’s Don Cherry and Ron MacLean, Corner Gas co-star Fred Ewanuick, and This Hour Has 22 Minutes alumna Mary Walsh. There may even be some surprise guests. 

AIR FARCE 300 LIVE! will include Farce-scope sketches about lottery wins by storeowners, rock videos, marijuana grow-ups, the new Barbara Amiel perfume, the Harpers, the Dions, and George Bush and his twin daughters. In addition, Nelly Furtado gets an image makeover, Prince Harry will turn up in Iran, Little Mosque on the Prairie meets Corner Gas in a Saskatchewan sitcom mash-up, a special version of Coach’s Corner, and because the show is live, topical material will be pulled right from the headlines. 

The television version of Air Farce launched Oct. 8, 1993 on CBC Television, and the show’s producers, Roger Abbott and Don Ferguson, wanted to find a special way to mark the 300th episode. “Doing this special, live, is our way of living dangerously—but after so many shows, we figure we’re ready for the challenge,” explained Abbott. Added Ferguson, “And if something doesn’t go right, that’s all part of the fun of going live across the country.”

Front Page, Industry News

CBC and the NHL sign new deal which includes video streaming

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(Toronto) The CBC and NHL announced a new television deal today that will keep Hockey Night in Canada on the air until 2014. The six-year broadcast deal, which includes national English-language broadcast and multimedia rights to NHL games in Canada, will begin when the current agreement between the CBC and the league expires after the 2007-08 season.

"Can you imagine seven more years of me? How can it get any better?" says Don Cherry.

The CBC and NHL made the official announcement during a news conference at the network’s Toronto broadcast centre with the Stanley Cup trophy present. As part of the new deal, the CBC will maintain exclusive Canadian coverage of NHL games on Saturday nights, including traditional doubleheaders and more regional telecasts.

The CBC also retains exclusive Canadian coverage of the Stanley Cup Final, the NHL All-Star Game and the annual NHL Awards, and continued coverage of Canadian teams in the playoffs, ensuring national coverage of all Canadian clubs involved in the post-season.

Also, a multimedia package including live and on-demand video streaming of all CBC’s hockey broadcasts will be available online at CBC.ca in the near future. That means fans in Canada will be able to watch any Hockey Night in Canada broadcast on CBC.ca, regardless of what game is being aired in their area of the country.

"This is the first day of a very exciting future for us and the NHL," said Richard Stursberg, the executive vice-president of CBC Television.

The announcement was a big win for the CBC because the public broadcaster suffered some setbacks in negotiations for key television properties the past few years.

In December 2006, the Canadian Football League announced a new five-year television contract with TSN a deal that leaves the CBC watching from the sidelines once its current agreement with the league expires after the 2008 season.

In 2005, a Bell Globemedia-Rogers Communications consortium won the rights to the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver and the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. CBC had held Olympic broadcast rights since 1996.

CBC Sports responded to those losses by signing an eight-year agreement with FIFA that includes the rights to the next two World Cups, a four-year deal for alpine skiing and an eight-year contract for the World Curling Tour’s Grand Slam events.

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