Spookiest Cities on the continent to be explored on CTV Travel
Ghosts, ghouls and other undead entities will be chased from Boston to Santa Cruz on CTV Travel Channel’s new 13-part series Weird Travels, airing Tuesdays at 10 p.m. ET/11 p.m. PT, beginning August 15.
PMB Factoid
Personally Watch Soccer on Television, Indexed by City
Bell Globemedia gobbles up CHUM
The Godzilla of all Canadian media conglomerates is born with the official confirmation at 4 p.m. today that CHUM Ltd. is indeed being taken over by Bell Globemedia, which already owns CTV with its 17 specialty channel interests and The Globe and Mail and its stable of Globe and Report on Business branded print, digital, and broadcast properties. Cutting to the chase, initial reaction from media agencies is that the news is not great for marketers.
Media concentration of this calibre does not strike Steve Aronovitch, broadcast investment manager at Toronto’s Starcom Mediavest agency, as potentially positive for marketers. ‘Generally speaking, we like to see more players rather than less in the broadcast world because that gives us the most leverage on pricing and other aspects [of media buying].’
BGM’s cash outlay to acquire CHUM stock will reach a final tally around $1.4 billion, and the deal establishes a $1.7 billion enterprise value for the company. CHUM, a publically traded company with about 90% of its stock held by the Waters family, has agreed to support BellGlobemedia’s acquisition of its stock if certain conditions are met. BGM’s main stakeholder is BCE Inc. with 68.5% of the conglomerate while the remainder is owned by The Woodbridge Co. Ltd., the Thomson family holding company. Other major investors include the Ontario Teachers Pension Plan and TorStar Corporation, which now holds 20% of BGM stock. Both will acquire more by the end of this year.
The timeline for closing of the deal is dependent on regulatory approval.
In the release announcing the betrothal, Ivan Fecan, BGM president/CEO of CTV, stated: ‘The Waters family has built a remarkable organization and our intention is to continue their legacy. With regulatory approval, we intend to serve Canadian audiences with both CTV and Citytv stations. We will maintain separate and independent news divisions in order to ensure a continued diversity and competition in news coverage. The specialty television channels of the two companies are complementary and we are excited by the prospects of adding CHUM’s strong radio stations to our services.’
BellGlobemedia plans to keep all of CHUM’s radio, City, and specialty stations but, because of duplication in some markets, A-Channel and Access Alberta stations will end up on the block in order to gain CRTC approval for the deal.
CTV is already Canada’s leading private broadcaster, currently controlling the ratings war with the majority of top 20 programming. It operates 21 conventional stations across the country in addition to its 17 specialty channels, while CHUM owns 12 local TV stations and 21 specialties, both analogue and digital, as well as 33 radio stations. Most of these assets also have interactive iterations as well, with some of the CHUM digital assets among the most pioneering in Canada when it comes to adopting new tech such as wireless and enhanced television.
Speculation abounds on what will transpire in the areas of franchise duplication, such as music (CTV’s recent investment in the MTV relaunch and CHUM’s market-dominating Much).
CTV television properties include 21 conventional CTV stations (and three indie affliliates), 40% of TQS, and the ASN satellite-to-cable service.
Conventional stations:
Halifax, Moncton, Sydney, N.S., and Saint John, N.B. in the east; Montreal, Que.; Ottawa, Toronto, Kitchener/London, Sudbury, Timmins, North Bay, and Sault Ste. Marie in Ontario; and in the west, Winnipeg, Saskatoon, Regina, Prince Albert and Yorkton in Saskatchewan, Calgary, Lethbridge, and Edmonton in Alberta, and Vancouver.
Specialty channels include:
Analogue – TSN (70.08%), MTV, CTV Newsnet, The Comedy Network, Report on Business Television, Réseau des sports (70.08%), Discovery Channel (56.06%) and OLN (33.33%). CTV also has interests in ARTV and Viewer’s Choice Canada.
Digital – Animal Planet (37.84%), Discovery Civilization (46.95%), Discovery HD Theatre (56.06%), ESPN Classic (70.08%), NHL Network (15.01%), CTV Travel and RIS Info Sports (70.8%).
CHUM television properties
Conventional stations:
Citytv Toronto, Citytv Vancouver, Citytv Calgary, Citytv Edmonton, Citytv Winnipeg, A-Channel Barrie/Toronto, A-Channel Ottawa, A-Channel London, A-Channel Windsor, A-Channel Wingham, A-Channel Victoria/Vancouver BC and CKX Television (Brandon MN).
Specialty channels:
Analog – MuchMusic, MuchMoreMusic, MusiquePlus (50%), MusiMax (50%), Bravo!, ACCESS, CLT, CablePulse24, SPACE: The Imagination Station and Star!.
Specialty channels – BookTelevision, CourtTV Canada, Drive-In Classics, FashionTelevisionChannel, MuchLOUD, and MuchMoreRetro.
Sources inside CHUM say staffers are anticipating cuts will occur in the areas of ad and program sales, marketing, regulatory, HR, and in the senior exec ranks.
Wills & Co. makes Virgin Mobile Canada a Rock Star
Virgin Mobile Canada has put the planning of its new brand in the hands of Wills & Co. and the media agency has already scored big with Global’s Rock Star: Supernova. Virgin Mobile Canada will have virtual brand insertion in each episode of Rock Star this season and will sponsor ET Canada‘s Rock Star updates which air throughout Global’s weekly primetime schedule.
Each week, Global reviews the upcoming episode the day before it airs and presents the potential options for placement to Wills & Co. While the show participants don’t actually interact with the product, the brand does have high visibility within the show. Last week’s episode, for example, featured the Virgin Mobile Canada logo at the bottom of the pool at the ‘rock star’ mansion. The ET Canada updates, which feature Virgin Mobile Canada branded opening and closing billboards, will also show the clip from the previous week featuring the virtual insertion.
Jeff Wills, President of Wills & Co., felt that Rock Star was the perfect match for the new Virgin position and chose to go with the program over Canadian Idol because of Virgin’s historical association with rock and roll. The official new brand position for Virgin Mobile Canada doesn’t roll out until next month but you can catch sneak peeks and the new company verbiage within the Rock Star placements.
Starbucks brews up venti integrated campaign
Starbucks is pushing two new drinks, Iced Starbucks Coffee and Iced Tazo Tea, through a multi-tiered cross-Canada campaign dubbed Summer’s here…It’s time to chill!, orchestrated with the help of Consumer Impact Marketing (CIM). The campaign includes an out-of-home sampling promotion at grocery stores in Vancouver, Calgary and Toronto as well as a print element in the Globe & Mail that includes a recipe insert. The insert features summer drink and BBQ recipes developed by The Food Network’s License to Grill host Rob Rainford. Starbucks will air spots on The Food Network to complement the insert and will run an on-line contest in conjunction with the other promo elements. The campaign, which is already under way, will wrap in August.
World Cup Final draws millions: BBM TV Top 30 for July 3-9, 2006
While we Canadians may have trouble with penalty shootouts in our beloved hockey games, we apparently don’t have the same issues with soccer games. According to the numbers, four million people watched as Fabio Grosso scored the game winning penalty kick to give Italy its fourth World Cup title – the largest Canadian audience ever for a World Cup match. CTV, which aired the game, reported a national average of 2.84 million viewers which was also a record high for the event and a 98% increase in viewership of the World Cup since 2002 when CBC carried the event.
TSN and Sportsnet also benefited from high audience numbers helped in part because all 64 finals matches were broadcast live and in HD. TSN raked in over a million and a half viewers for England’s quarter-final loss to Portugal while Sportsnet scored a slightly smaller audience high during the Germany-Italy semi-final match of 1.180 million viewers.
For a list of the top 30 TV shows for the week of July 3-9, 2006, according to BBM, please click the links below:
Canadian Geographic expands pub sked
Canadian Geographic will be increasing its frequency to eight issues per year. The new pub sked includes two themed issues of Canadian Geographic Travel which will come out later this year in November (the street date is actually Oct. 19) and again in May 2007. Canadian Geographic will also roll out a companion website for the travel issues featuring their highly touted ‘Canadian Atlas Online’ through www.canadiangeographic.ca. Canadian Geographic has a paid circ of roughly 220,000 with 40% of its readers living in Ontario.
P&G reclaims first place – Eloda ad analysis for June 30-July 6, 2006
After a week at the top, Unilever slipped to number five while Procter & Gamble took back the top spot. This info was gathered through Montreal-based ELODA’s online TV ad tracking, auditing and viewing services. All data supplied is based on the ELODA recording grid.
CBS: radio ad spend is up – and so is the demo
The 25 to 54 demo is now attracting 63% of all national radio ad dollars according to the Q3 report from Canadian Broadcast Sales (CBS). Fifty percent of the spending during that period was directed towards the general demo with the remaining dollars targeting women 25 to 54 (8.7%) and men 25 to 54 (4.7%).
Year to date, radio ad spending is up 2.6% over last year and CBS reports that bookings for Q4 and Q1 2007 are also tracking ahead of previous years.
The top five categories, accounting for over 50% of national spending on CBS-represented stations, were retail $5.3 million (13.7%); automotive $4.9 million (12.7% share); financial $3 million (7.7%); government/federal/provincial $2.9 million (7.5%); and telecommunications $2.5 million (6.5%).
The computer/software category increased ad spending by 229% on CBS stations during Q3, followed by insurance (104%); auto aftermarket (73%); Internet/technology (37%); and movies/media.
GM holds onto top spot: Media Monitors for July 3-9, 2006
GM and its ‘Canada Wide Clearance’ kept the number one position while Canadian Tire moved up almost 200 spots to crack the top ten. Check out others topping the radio charts by category and brand in the Toronto market for the week of July 3-9, 2006.
Family Channel premieres Hannah Montana
Country music star Billy Ray Cyrus returns to TV as the widowed father and professional manager of a Malibu, California, teen who’s leading a double life on Hannah Montana. The 26-episode series debuts on Family Aug. 4 at 5:35 p.m. ET/PT after a successful season-one run on the Disney Channel in the U.S.
The actor’s real-life daughter, Miley Cyrus, plays a seemingly average 14-year-old who’s actually an international pop star when she’s not in school in this live-action comedy series from It’s a Laugh Productions. Executive-produced by Steven Peterman and Michael Poryes, it was created by Poryes with Rich Correll and Barry O’Brien.
Events
Nov. 5-7
CAB 80th Anniversary Convention
Vancouver
www.cab-acr.ca
Dubbed ‘New Realities, New Rules,’ the Canadian Association of Broadcasters’ big 8-0 will be celebrated with a two-day conference tackling the challenges presented to broadcasters by the explosion of new digital technologies, plus the intense regulatory review that is prompting. The convention will also celebrate excellence in Canadian broadcasting with various awards presentations, culminating in the prestigious Gold Ribbon Awards Gala.
MIC Welcome
Media In Canada is pleased to introduce Terry Poulton as our new writer. Terry has worked in the industry for years, including a stint at the Toronto Star as television columnist and has been a regular contributor to our sister publication strategy since 2000. While she gets into the swing of things on our end, feel free to give her a call or drop her an email to let her know what new and exciting projects you’re working on or just to touch base to welcome her to the biz. Terry can be reached at 416-408-2300 ext. 252 or by email at tpoulton@brunico.com
***NEWS FLASH ***Cossette Media becomes partner in Columbus Media International, the first independent international media services company
Cossette Media has joined with UK-based BLM and Horizon Media of the US and 10 other partner agencies to form Columbus Media International, an independent global organization covering 18 territories with combined billings of $4.2 million US. ($4.7 million CDN). This is an equity arrangement and not simply a working partnership although all agency groups will continue to use their individual names in conjunction with the Columbus Media International designation.
Pierre Delagrave, president of Canada’s Cossette Media and Fjord Interactive Marketing & Technology, is vice-chairman of the new company as is Bill Koenigsberg of Horizon Media. Nick Lockett of BLM is chairman.
Delagrave says in the past Cossette Media has worked with agencies in other countries for clients such as Bombardier Aircraft and City of Montreal Tourism but that it was becoming increasingly clear that it needed a more organized, consistent and competitive international arrangement – while remaining independent.
‘Over time we discovered, using research from a consultant, that the choice available in the world in terms of media agencies is very limited, too limited for many clients. They are all controlled by only a couple of holding companies and clients wanted the option to choose someone else.
‘This was a good solution for us because we can’t buy a big international network. There is also a lot of merit to (the Columbus) network because all of the people are the owners of the companies, and everything is decided locally.’
In addition, he says a digital summit for Columbus agencies took place at the Cannes Festival and a separate parallel organization, Columbus Digital International, is being developed.
Columbia Media has been set up in such a way to make it simple for clients to deal with the agency owner closest to its home market while getting all the benefits of an international group with consistent services, a fully-integrated media-neutral approach, full transparency, strategic planning, and cutting-edge research.
Columbus Media clients will be served through central hubs in London and New York headed by newly appointed directors for Europe and the Americas, Kate Williams and Oliver Maletz respectively.
Horizon is touted as the world’s largest indie media and marketing services network, with offices in New York, L.A., Atlanta and Orlando, and its clients include Geico, ING Direct, NBC Universal and AETN. BLM is the U.K.’s biggest indie media and marketing op, and its client roster includes Domino’s Pizza, Hero, MBNA, Suzuki, T-Mobile, and Thomas Cook.
The 13 Columbus partners include agencies in: Germany (MediaPlus – clients include BMW, 02, Estee Lauder); The Baltics (CMS Creative Media Services – Adidas, Hyundai, L’Oreal); Russia (Sovero Media – Pepsi Bottling Group, SAB Miller, Pernod Ricard); Spain (Cencomed – UIP, Dreamworks); France (Mediatop – Adecco, System U, Bayer); Italy (MediaItalia – Reckitt Benckiser, Lavazza, San Pellegrino); Ireland (GT Media -Peugeot, Pennys/Primark, Citroen); Belgium (Schreiner & Van Bokkel – Newton 21, Sleepy); The Netherlands (Eurizon – Foot Locker, Converse, Amstel); and Japan (Office ING – Resorttrust, Fuji Beauty).
Telus and XM join forces to offer mobile phone satellite radio
Earlier this morning Telus and XM Canada announced the launch of Telus Mobile Radio, Canada’s first cellphone-satellite offering. The satellite radio offering is the newest piece to Telus’ SPARK entertainment service, which also offers mobile TV and music downloads. Telus Mobile Radio officially launches today, and will feature real-time streaming commercial-free satellite radio. The service will be available initially on select LG and Samsung phones and a subscription will run users $15 a month. Telus is also offering a free two-month introductory trial offer until July 31.
