Pia Musngi
CanWest unveils U.S picks
CanWest went cross-border shopping and picked up a slew of new programs for the 2005/06 broadcast season for its channels, Global and CH. The new roster includes 11 dramas such as Fox’s Prison Break; the new Jerry Bruckheimer series E-Ring starring Benjamin Bratt and the thriller Fathom from NBC/Universal. Other new dramas are Head Cases, Reunion, Threshold, The Unit, The Gate and Bones.
Nine new comedies round out CanWest’s pickup list, including Old Christine with Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Warner Bros.’ War at Home and Out of Practice, starring Henry Winkler and Stockard Channing from CBS/Paramount. More comedy buys are How I Met Your Mother and My Name is Earl.
The better way rolls out smart ads
The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) approved the rollout of LCD screens in subways stations across Toronto on May 12, opening the door to new digital smart ads that offer very localized messaging opps. The screens will provide news, sports and weather updates to the TTC’s 1.1 million daily commuters. Advertisers already on board include Shoppers Drug Mart, Pfizer, Ford, Bally’s, Pizza Hut and KFC.
‘This is a brand new medium that we’re building from scratch,’ says Glenn Davies, president of sales and marketing at Toronto-based private digital network operator ONESTOP Media Group. ‘We had 13 national advertisers out of 15 in the pilot program and we generated more than $1 million in ad revenue.’ He goes on to add that digital advertising is affordable for all advertisers because of the low production cost. ‘By having a digital template, it’s very easy,’ he says.
