Battlestar Galactica series comes to Space: The Imagination Station
The battle between man and machine rages on as the remake of the 1978 cult classic Battlestar Galactica debuts on Space: The Imagination station on Jan. 15 at 8 p.m. In the new series, Oscar-nominated Edward James Olmos pilots the spaceship Galactica as Commander William Adama, the leader of a ragtag crew scouring the universe for a new home for humanity. The target demographic is Space’s regular crowd – 25 to 54-year-old men. Jennifer Lo, director of communications at Space, said marketers can get involved with the show in a number of ways including sponsorship, close- captioning, traditional advertisements and added that Space would be willing to create a unique marketing opportunity specially created for a individual client. A behind-the-scenes documentary airs on Dec. 24 at 12:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m., and again on Jan. 14. at 9 p.m. The new Battlestar Galactica series will air Saturdays at 8 p.m. with repeats airing on Sunday at 6 p.m. Citytv also has plans to air the show in the future.
TSN to cover 2005 World Juniors in HD
TSN and RDS will broadcast this year’s International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Hockey Championship from Dec. 25 to Jan. 4 entirely in high definition. The tournament, which takes place in North Dakota, will begin on the 25th with preliminary round matches and will be followed by the quarter-finals, semifinals and bronze medal game, and finishes on the 4th with the gold medal game.
The World Juniors return to North America for the second time in three years, but only the fourth time in the last 10, and TSN is ready to cash in on a country of viewers who are starving for a familiar brand of hockey. TSN’s top two rated programs of all time were from the 2003 World Juniors held in Halifax (semifinals & finals) and it is expected that with the lack of NHL hockey, the tournament will draw some of its highest numbers ever, particularly if Canada manages to make it to the final game for its fourth consecutive year.
For the entire TSN and RDS broadcast schedule, check out: http://www.tsn.ca/World_jrs/feature.asp?fid=445
Robinson, Dean named at Nielsen
Markham, Ont.-based Nielsen Media Research has appointed Paul Robinson to the position of director, marketing and communications. In his new role, Robinson will manage media relations and marketing communications for Nielsen Media Research’s Canadian services. Robinson has more than 10 years of PR and marketing communications experience in the media and technology industry.
As well, Kathy Dean becomes data specialist. She will support the analysis needs of Nielsen Media Research’s television audience measurement and advertising information clients, covering all aspects of the advertising industry. She joins Nielsen Media Research from CTV’s market research department where she worked as a research analyst.
http://www.vnu.com
Corus radio appoints a new VP of news and talk
Corus Entertainment has promoted Doug Rutherford to the position of VP News and Talk, Corus Radio. Rutherford, whose specialty is news-talk radio, got his start with the company in 1999. In his new capacity, he will focus on increasing audiences and expanding the capabilities of Corus’ news-talk radio stations. Corus Entertainment is a Canadian-based media and entertainment company whose holdings include news-talk/sports stations in eight of the 10 major markets in Canada.
PMB Factoid
Percent of Vancouverites who go walking/hiking: 51. Toronto: 38
Events
December 7
Webinar: Measuring and Managing Consumer-Generated Media (CGM) in the Automotive Market
4 p.m. to 5 p.m. (EST)
http://www.intelliseek.com/
Zapping and multitasking increase during primetime viewing
A study of primetime TV viewing by California-based Knowledge Networks shows that TV viewers just can’t put down that remote control. Primetime viewing behaviour such as switching channels, multitasking, and cherry picking what they watch continue unabated, something the consumer research company says indicates that consumers want more control over their TV viewing.
Sharpe Blackmore Euro wins Direct Energy
Toronto-based agency Sharpe Blackmore Euro RSCG announced yesterday that it had been named agency of record for Markham, Ont.-based Direct Energy. No other agencies were considered or short-listed.
The win includes media planning and buying duties for the international energy giant. Sharpe VP media director Jeffery Thibodeau would not reveal what the account represents in terms of annual media spend but describes it as ‘significant.’ Media was previously handled by OMD. Strategic planning and response forecasting for the account starts immediately with a new creative platform expected in January 2005.
Website plans expansion to meet overwhelming response
Sweetspot.ca was started six months ago by OgilvyOne account director Joanna Track as a modest web/email publication featuring daily stories about ‘all that’s new and interesting’ in Toronto. Today the site generates 10,000 visitors a week and Sweetspot.ca has seen its subscriber growth rate increase by 25% a month. While the topics covered on the site vary, each topic seems to be attracting lifestyle consumers looking for everything from the hottest cosmetics to the season’s top charity events. Sweetspot.ca‘s recent successes have prompted the site to begin expansion across Canada into markets such as Vancouver, Calgary and Montreal over the next 12 months.
Sweetspot.ca‘s audience is predominantly female (85%), urban (90% of the readers live in the GTA) and wealthy (40% of subscribers report earning over $75k annually) but what is particularly interesting for advertisers is what Sweetspot.ca‘s audience actually does while they read. The Sweet Nothing newsletter has an average daily open rate of over 60% and each website viewer checks out an average of seven pages per visit. The site features several advertising opportunities in addition to the standard banners and sponsored text links including a monthly ‘refer a friend’ contest/promo with prizes supplied by sponsors.
Month-long specialty channel preview scheduled for January
Canada’s specialty channels have joined forces with broadcasters across the country to provide a 31-day free preview for digital cable and satellite owners. The preview, 31 Days of Great TV, will run through the entire month of January and more than 40 specialty channels will be broadcast to all of Canada’s four million digitally enabled homes.
CanWest, CHUM, Alliance Atlantis, Corus, and CTV have all teamed up to air themed weekend programming throughout the month. The first weekend in January (Jan. 1-2) will show exclusive marquee programming unique to the specialty channels; the second weekend (Jan. 7-9) will showcase the best in family-friendly programming; the third weekend (Jan. 14-16) highlights heart-pumping, action-packed programming; and the final weekend (Jan. 21-23) will feature intelligent thought-provoking programming. The entire project, including the themed weekends, will be supported by a comprehensive on-air promotional campaign. Accompanying the on-air campaign is a companion consumer Web site (http://www.greattv.ca), which will list scheduling details and information about how to subscribe to the new specialty channels.
Decima polls says 1 in 3 Canadians are ‘very interested’ in satellite radio
A Decima research poll has concluded that while more than half of adult Canadians know little about satellite radio, one in three show a strong interest in subscribing. Decima conducted the telephone survey from Nov. 3 to Nov. 7. Of the 1,015 respondents, 44% had heard of satellite radio and 20% said they were aware that it might be made available in Canada. Almost 25% of young Canadians, those aged 18-34, said they were ‘very interested’ in subscribing. Men showed more interest than women and the number of ‘interested’ respondents skewed towards western (rural) Canada.
Canadian Satellite Radio, founded in 2002, aims to be the first subscription-based satellite radio service in Canada. CSR plans to provide over 100 diverse channels and a CRTC license decision is expected in early 2005.
http://www.decima.com
CAB Gold Ribbon Award Winners
The Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB) handed out its annual Gold Ribbon Awards Luncheon earlier this week as part of the CAB 2004 Convention – Private Broadcasting: Putting Canada First – in Ottawa. The awards acknowledge outstanding productions and community service in the industry. The CAB received 467 submissions for this year’s honours and there were 33 winners, amongst those, two went individuals as testimonials to their many contributions to the industry.
John Cassaday, president and CEO of Corus Entertainment, was presented with the award for Broadcast Excellence, the group’s most prestigious individual award, in recognition of his achievements and outstanding service to Canadian private broadcasting.
Gary Slaight, president and CEO of Standard Broadcasting Corporation and Standard Radio, was honoured with the 2004 Gold Ribbon for Outstanding Community Service by an Individual Broadcaster for his contributions to the industry and towards improving quality of life in his community beyond usual station-related efforts.
TLN caters to soccer fanatics with new promotion
In a way that benefits both their loyal viewers and loyal clients, TLN has added a new promotion this year with the help of Alitalia and the Italian Travel Company, which is aimed at the hardcore soccer fan. The Soccer Fanatics Tour consists of being jetted to Italy for the weekend and watching a premium Serie A soccer match in the company of a TLN Soccer Fanatic on-air personality. The package (running at approximately $1459 + tax/per person) is being offered monthly and could be considered a ‘dream’ vacation for the soccer aficionado.
Labeled an ‘experience tour’, VP of marketing John Montesano says, ‘this initiative is first in a series of opportunities that extend beyond viewing the program and actually take the viewer to a destination.’ Montesano says other projects under the same banner are in the planning stages and could include food tours to Italy (along with Dolce Vita‘s host David Rocco) or music/jazz tours to Cuba.
W Network preps week of wedding themed programming
W Network is preparing to launch Wedding Week next month featuring an entire week of wedding themed programming beginning Monday, Jan. 17. To go along with the programs, W is looking to customize interstitial programming with advertisers and allow for integrated brand promotion throughout Wedding Week‘s entirety. Wedding Week will run during primetime from Monday to Friday and caps off with a full weekend of Hollywood movies and original W shows celebrating the act of tying the knot.
Over the course of the seven days W will also feature its regular lifestyle programs, but with a wedding twist in an attempt to reach not just those about to take the plunge but also audiences that just can’t get enough of hot monogamous romance.
Former bachelor contender returns to star in The Bachelorette
In the New Year, Jen Shefft, who thought she found perfect love with Andrew Firestone on the third season of The Bachelor, becomes The Bachelorette. After their relationship fizzled, Shefft is back and looking to use the show to find her soul mate. In its third season, The Bachelorette moves from the beaches of Los Angeles to New York’s urban jungles where cameras will follow Shefft as she attempts to choose the love of her life. CityTV broadcasts ABC’s The Bachelorette on Jan. 10 at 9 p.m.
