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July 2008 - Strategy Magazine
Fall TV preview

Canadian upfronts

by Marise Strauss
page 44

CBC

Upfront review: Alex Trebek was the only buzz maker at the first upfront, a low-key affair held in the atrium of the Ceeb's headquarters in Toronto. The host of Jeopardy! was promoting the game show's move to CBC this fall, along with Wheel of Fortune. But that was it for new and noteworthy.

Familiar faces from This Hour Has 22 Minutes, Little Mosque on the Prairie and The Border were also in attendance to plug their shows' return to the pubcaster. The languid presentation delivered some laughs for a clip in which 22 Minutes's Gavin Crawford, dressed as Maria von Trapp, twirled about on a patch of grass next to a Toronto highway, in a nod to the net's How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria?

Context: "We've probably had our best year in a decade," says Richard Stursberg, CBC EVP of English services, pointing to the success of shows like Heartland and Dragons' Den. The pubcaster had some help from the U.S. writers' strike, benefiting the mid-season debuts of The Border and Sophie - both promoted to fall - though it didn't save MVP or jPod. In all, CBC's prime time sked required little tweaking.

2008/09 prime-time strategy: The network is putting its confidence in a tried and true lineup with the focus on comedy, followed by drama and news. It scaled back on reality, only offering Dragons' Den on Mondays in the fall, leading into action drama The Border. Dragon will be hard-pressed to retain its audience against CTV's Dancing with the Stars. Last year's other reality, No Opportunity Wasted, was cancelled. The sophomore season of The Tudors headlines a solid prime-time Tuesday, preceded by Rick Mercer and 22 Minutes. Little Mosque and Sophie settle into their Wednesday slot, while Heartland will continue to headline family hour on Sundays. Other returning shows include the fifth estate and The Nature of Things with David Suzuki.

Media buyer's take: "CBC is sticking with what works," says Florence Ng of Toronto-based ZenithOptimedia, who thinks Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy! will be good for the network. "These are in line with CBC's demographic, which skews slightly older."

Jeopardy! also provides an alternative to entertainment shows in the 7:30p.m. time slot. Ng says time will tell if the game show will grow viewership for Rick Mercer and Mosque. "These are shows with built-in audiences," she says. "Hopefully the strong lead-in will give them a boost."

CANWEST

Upfront review: It took Fran Capo, the world's fastest-talking female, just two minutes to list 155 titles featured on Canwest's channels in a unique opening for the network's upfront, held at Toronto's Elgin Theatre.

ET Canada hosts Cheryl Hickey and Rick Campanelli then introduced celebs ranging from home reno king Mike Holmes (Holmes on Homes) and Steve Bacic (The Guard) to Canadian Shenae Grimes and Rob Estes (90210). The real star of the show was KITT, the car from the new version of Knight Rider, which came roaring in at the end, accompanied by heartthrob-in-the-making Justin Bruening.

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