In anticipation of the U.S. Presidential Election, CBC presents Just for Laughs Votes – Laughing at American Politics on Friday, October 29th at 9 p.m. Ian Hanomansing, host of CBC News: Canada Now, presides over the comical and scathing look at what makes the political landscape south of the border so funny. Comedians such as Jon Stewart, Bill Maher, Rick Mercer and Rich Little skewer the election, the candidates, the war, past presidents and even the not-so-funny topic of terrorism.
Brand-sell opportunities and billboards remain in this one-of-a-kind comedy special.

Live from The Daily Show‘s news centre in New York, host Jon Stewart will helm Election Night 2004: Prelude to a Recount in an expanded one-hour primetime special that will be simulcast live across the country on The Comedy Network and CTV on Tuesday, November 2 at 10 p.m. In addition to its live broadcast, the special will immediately repeat at 11 p.m. on The Comedy Network.

The new weekly, hour-long series, Proof Positive, which examines the paranormal and explores other unexplained mysteries through interviews and documentary footage, will air on Space every Wednesday at 10 p.m. beginning November 3.
http://www.spacecast.com/shows/firstRun/proof_positive.asp

The motto of building it bigger, better and bolder all comes together in this two-hour special How to Monsterize Everything set to premiere on Sunday, November 7 at 8 p.m. on Discovery Channel.
Featuring the three hosts from Monster Garage, Monster House and BIG! the team hits unsuspecting homeowners in their search for everyday things that inspire some creative reinvention – and the trio only have five days to monsterize everything.
http://dsc.discovery.com/schedule/episode.jsp?episode=0&cpi=24780&gid=0&channel=DSC

Wayne Newton hits the road in a nationwide search for the next Las Vegas superstar in a new 10-part E! reality drama, The Entertainer. The new E! series follows ten performers (everything from vocalists to illusionists) as they go through various tasks and performance challenges in a weekly elimination. The last one standing earns a spot as a feature performer in Wayne Newton’s Las Vegas show.
The series is set to make its debut January 2005.

The Swan, which follows 18 women who take part in a physical, mental and emotional transformation and ultimately compete in a beauty pageant, will return with a two-hour premiere Monday, October 25 on CH Hamilton, CH Vancouver Island and CH Montreal at 8 p.m.
http://www.fox.com/swan/home.htm

Most Canadians are familiar with HDTV but household penetration of this technology is relatively non-existent. Recent research from Toronto-based Solutions Research Group found that 80% of Canadians are aware of HDTV, 66% have watched an HDTV set in an electronics store, 52% are interested in buying one – but only 2% of households actually own an HDTV set.

Digital Video Recorders are only part of the commercial avoidance problem: the majority of viewers are skipping ads whether the programming is recorded or live, and women are the biggest culprits.