Cameras rolling on new CTV movie
Production is underway for CTV’s 14th dramatic title in its ‘Signature Series’ of movies. Filming for Spirit Bear is taking place throughout this month in Peterborough, Ont., followed by Vancouver. The movie is based on the story of a 15-year-old boy who mounts a successful land protection campaign to save the habitat of a rare white Kermode bear. The production from CTV along with Tapestry Pictures and Massey Productions stars Ed Begley Jr., Mark Rendall, and Graham Greene.
Steve Smith unspools zany Space series
After watching The Red Green Show, there are probably many people who think wacky comedian Steve Smith is from another planet, so maybe it’s appropriate that he’s found a new home on Space. His latest offering, Steve Smith Playhouse revolves around the fine art of comedic film dubbing. He takes B movies, cuts them down to half an hour and voices the lead character, leaving the other characters untouched. This changes the plot and tone of the movie, such as in the first ep when The Brain From Planet Arous, becomes ‘The Surprise From Planet Uranus.’ Hilarity ensues.
The new series airs Sundays at 6:30 p.m., beginning Sept. 12. There are plans for a second window on diginet Drive-In Classics somewhere down the road.
http://www.spacecast.com
http://www.ssp.ca/playhouse.htm
Global and Post team up with Enemy
Global News and sister newspaper The National Post team up to track, discuss, deconstruct, and analyze international terrorism with Know Your Enemy, a news special airing on Global Television, Tuesday, Sept. 14.
At a time when the world is remembering 9/11, Global national news anchor Kevin Newman talks to Americans in New York to see how their lives and views have changed since then. He is joined by journalists around the world to try to understand the enemy, assess how real and imminent a threat terrorism is, and look at whether the U.S. has done enough to protect itself.
Know Your Enemy airs at 8 p.m. in the Maritimes and Alberta; 9 p.m. in Manitoba and Saskatchewan and 10 p.m. in Ontario, Quebec, and British Columbia.
West Bank doc shows human side
Alexandre Trudeau is chronicling his experiences in the West Bank in a TV documentary, The Fence. The former first son wrote, produced and narrated the story of two families on opposing sides of the security barrier. Trudeau brings viewers the human face of this conflict and shows how people are coping with the ongoing hostilities.
The Fence airs Saturday, Sept. 18 on CTV.
Media Snapshot – Job Searches
Job Searches
* In a few short years, Internet job sites have gone from start-up status to rivaling newspapers when it comes to Canadian job searches.
Market Meter – Magazines
4 out of 5
Magazine sales remained strong for fall but recent new launches may see spending redistributed in 2005 if advertisers don’t increase their magazine budgets. Shopping books LouLou and Wish had good launches and if Canada parallels the U.S. experience, shopping pubs are going to be a category to be reckoned with. (Wish is slightly different than LouLou because it combines shopping and lifestyle content.) This genre is primarily female-focused and could take ad dollars away from decorating/shelter and women’s service books.
2nd Annual Branded Entertainment Summit and 9th Annual Brand Business Forum
Oct. 5-8, NYC, 888-670-8200, http://www.iirusa.com/brandedentertainment
Hosted by the Institute for International Research (IIR), the summit is a business-focused meeting place for execs in brands and entertainment to build profitable relationships and discuss the latest strategies for creating effective marketing around their respective products.
For more media events, see http://www.mediaincanada.com/events/
Kidsnets Fall TV: Part One: YTV and Treehouse
Another new broadcasting season dawns this month, and as kidnets pull out all the stops to grab share with new shows, IDs and destination viewing opps, we take a look at the major programming strategies in play. This issue, in the first of a two-part series, we focus on the Corus family, and watch for deets on Teletoon, CBC and Family next issue of MIC.
Y? We’re too old
Why are branding professionals so often missing the boat on reaching Generation Y?
CRTC radio hearings get underway in November
The CRTC gets a marathon of radio hearings underway Nov. 1, beginning with the three applications for subscription digital radio services. Two of the services are via satellite (Canadian Satellite Radio in partnership with SM Satellite Radio and a partnership of the CBC, SIRIUS Satellite Radio and Standard Radio) and one proposing wireless technology (CHUM).
Following these hearings, the CRTC has 38 other applications to decide. These include 16 for the Ottawa and Gatineau area from companies such as Astral Media, Global Communications, Corus, and Newcap.
http://www.crtc.gc.ca
More funding for Canadian magazines
The Ontario Media Development Corporation (OMDC) will be handing out $425,000 in project-based funding to magazine publishers next year. The funds will be divvied up in $5,000 to $25,000 chunks with up to 75% of the project budget eligible.
Eligible projects include first-time special issues or sections for an existing magazine; a new magazine from an existing publisher; development or enhancement of a Web site with marketing components; re-launches; circulation projects; and advertising sales projects. Publishers must be Ontario-based, at least 75% Canadian-owned and controlled; and solvent. The deadline for applications is Oct. 4/04.
Details and applications are available at http://www.omdc.on.ca.
Portable video may be next killer ad opp
Now that MP3 players are passé, the next big thing is being able to take your movies, TV shows and home videos along in your backpack. Microsoft, of course, is in on the ground floor with a system called Portable Media Center. Three companies, Creative, Samsung and iRiver, are taxiing for takeoff in the next couple of months with offerings in the $500 range, capable of 80 hours of video play.
For the time being, the new gadgets are only compatible with Windows XP for picking up content, although content is still scarce at the moment. Microsoft, however, is striking deals with entities like Major League Baseball to expand video offerings. At any rate, with a fun new app like this, can advertising be far behind?
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsmobile/portablemediacenter/default.mspx
CFL. Magazine. Hike!
The Canadian Football League plans to hit the field next spring with a new publication, The Official CFL Magazine. It will have both English- and French-language versions and be produced by CanMedia, of Edmonton.
The glossy’s content will feature league news, reviews, analysis by sports personalities and a kid zone. Expect 10 issues per year of the mag, which will sell on newsstands and by subscription.
http://www.cfl.ca/CFLMediaClippings/home.html
New data-mining software digs deeper
Demographic and market researchers are the target of a new mining application development toolkit from Numerical Algorithms Group (NAG), which is based in Downers Grove, Ill. NAG says the new software is designed to be incorporated into the user’s application rather than the user having to learn a new interface. The newly released 2.0 version of NAG Data Mining and Cleaning Components allows users to select the elements they need for problem solving and then readily integrate them into existing applications.
Some of the benefits DMC 2.0 has over other commercially available data mining applications include enhanced data cleaning to resolve the problems of missing, invalid or incomplete data and, a wide range of added functionality for machine learning and pattern recognition. DMC 2.0 has been developed based on the learning from the three-year-old European Union funded project, EUREDIT, geared to find new statistical methods important to government-sponsored socioeconomic studies. NAG is a global collaborative network of 300+ computer scientists and mathematicians who work together to solve complex mathematical problems.
http://www.nag.com
Another reality show hits the air – this time about fishing!
Hosted by Survivor Africa‘s winner, Ethan Zohn, The Last Cull, a new venture into reality TV, is all about the fish. That’s right – it’s a 13-part, half-hour show that takes 25 teams from all over North America fishing in North Bay, Ont.
The teams tackle possible elimination based on catch and weight as they vie for $50k, the World Championship Fishing Trophy and a production deal for their own angling TV series.
It begins airing Sept. 18 at 10 p.m. on CHUM Media Group stations.
http://www.wcfl.ca/station_list.htm
