 |
| Boyce (right) with Dan for Mayor’s Ewanuick |
As predicted here last December, CTV programming boss Susanne Boyce will follow CEO Ivan Fecan out the door as Bell completes its housecleaning prior to the takeover of the network in March. Boyce’s departure and several other top executive moves were announced to the troops Tuesday in Toronto. Paul Sparkes, the regulatory affairs specialist behind all that broken business model lobbying, is also leaving the network, as is CFO John Gossling. Read more about the CTV moves here.
The guys who get to go down and buy all those American shows next May will be Phil King and Rick Brace. BCE will never let them spend like Fecan/Boyce in their prime. Nobody spent like Fecan/Boyce in their prime.
Boyce has been CTV’s main show fetcher since 1997. Under her watch, there were entire seasons, forget weeks, where CTV had 18 of the Top-20 shows in Canada.
The next upfronts could be a content catch up opportunity for Global, where Barb Williams is still calling the programming shots, but who knows if her new bosses the Shaw’s have the stomach for this cross border game of high stakes TV poker? The playas at the table to watch next spring may be the team from Rogers/City, who now have had a couple of seasons under their belts and are starting to get this thing. They may be the ones who scoop up shows next May that CTV used to snap up at any price just to keep them out of Global’s reach.
 |
| The Chicago Code: 1,449,000 |
That the Canadian TV scene is becoming more competitive by the week was evident again Monday night, with new imports being worked into the mix. CTV pick up Mr. Sunshine, starring Matthew Perry, had a so-so start, drawing an overnight, estimated 1,374,000 2+ viewers across Canada. That was a drop of 600,000 from the show CTV had in at 8 last Monday, Hot in Cleveland. If you’re going to ask a rookie to anchor your night, make sure its a simulcast. Mr. Sunshine–CTV’s lowest-rated prime time offering Monday night–is not, and if Boyce is still calling the shots, look fo her to flip Perry to 8:30 pronto.
Global’s new Monday pickup, the Fox cop drama The Chicago Code, drew 1,449,000 although it did less well in the 25-to-54-year-old demo than Mr. Sunshine. City’s top show Monday night was The Bachelor at 688,000. CBC? Little Mosque (417,000), 18 to Life (240,000) and Village on a Diet (508,000) have all found their levels.
