
TSN Broadband gets a full roster
Off The Record, SportsCentre, Insider – it’s all there. It’s not quite surprising, but it is now official. TSN has launched the first fully-programmed broadband sports channel, and the net’s packed its player with features that give the user control.

Canadians, especially males, warming to online newspapers: BBM Media Snapshot
How many Canucks are now consuming virtual news? As of last week, the number was up to 4.2 million, or 15% of the total population of the great, but not currently so white, north.

Space bets on Sci-Fi reality
Space has imported Sci Fi Investigates from the US for its January schedule. The show’s got some healthy multiplatform activity backing it up south of the border – such as podcasts, online polls, webisodes and an active forum for fans – but will it grab Canadian eyeballs?

Dentsu goes 100% viral with Christmas rant for WaySpa.com
Bouncing off the insight that hordes of men feel horribly pressured at this time of year to come up with desirable gifts for significant others, a Dentsu Canada team crafted a series of hilarious, Rick Mercer-calibre rants and posted them on YouTube plus a slew of other sites.

Pampers puts viral spin on popular seasonal spot
P&G’s trusted diaper brand is putting its popular sleeping-baby holiday ad online. Watching it brings a sense of peace during the hectic Christmas shopping craze. It’s a momentary relief, a reminder that there’s hope – and just the kind of feeling you can’t help forwarding to a friend.

Lavallée named publisher for Les Affaires
Transcontinental Media has named Stéphane Lavallée the next-in-line publisher for one of its most prestigious business publications. But the current publisher was too good to let go, so new partners of the paper can expect to see him sticking around.

Ads for escapes, cameras and cellphones dominated radio spots: Media Monitors Spot 10
SellOffVacations zoomed from #152 to #4, while Henry’s Camera climbed from #91 to #7, and Rogers boosted its presence for both wireless and personal TV.

Baking cakes with blow torches
The Food Network is packaging ultimate cake creations with a host who claims to be part rocker, part graffiti artist and all baker in Ace of Cakes, one of the net’s notable New Year premieres.

Chasing well-heeled golfers? Fancy a hole in one? Read on…
What’s the best place to reach a golfer? For those of you who answered ‘golf course,’ try not to get a club in the head when you’re chasing your target demo from hole to hole. For everybody else, try pitching luxury vehicles when your target’s behind the wheel of a golf cart.

CHUM imports Participation TV
CHUM expects its new Play2Win to draw sponsors and revenue to Citytv Toronto’s late night schedule by giving viewers the chance to connect and compete with the on-screen studio show. For marketers looking for ways to prevent PVR ad-skipping, this real-time prize lure scheme is the game for you.

Microsoft launches new software with online entrepreneur contest
Who hasn’t fantasized about getting a one-on-one with Bill Gates, telling him all about a beyond-brilliant business idea – and then having him whip out his chequebook and offer a fortune for a piece of the action? That’s the thinking behind the launch plan of Accounting Express, which blends reality show competition with social media accessibility to encourage product download and sampling.

Get ready for the next soccer craze
The UEFA European Football Championship is considered the second most important competition among national soccer teams after the FIFA World Cup. And for those with the bucks to get in on TSN and RDS’s exclusive coverage deal, one word of advice: Plan for multiple platforms.

Discovery Health Channel renames January
As the night of New Year’s resolutions gets closer to the X’ed-off days of the 2006 calendar, Makeover Month aims to draw in new eyeballs with tales of triumph and transformation on Discovery Health Channel.

Nokia rolls its first online video
to launch new 6133 device
After The Media Company brought in hard data showing that online video is the best way to reach the brand’s bulls-eye target group, Nokia decided to launch its new, full-bells-and-whistles device with exactly that, plus a contest.

Air Transat flies kids – and press –
northward to search for Santa
It may be more blessed to give than to receive, but there’s nothing wrong with accomplishing both, as Air Transat is doing by inviting not only children but also reporters to board an Airbus tomorrow afternoon and head to the North Pole.