A Canadian industry executive emailed me during the big game last Sunday suggesting the CRTC made the right call — watching the Super Bowl with the US ads is definitely a big part of the overall programming experience. Canadians have been missing half the story for decades. Outlets such as The New York Times offer play-by-play
UPDATED WITH CORRECTED OVERNIGHT TOTALS: The overnight, estimated tally for Bell Media’s share of the Super Bowl audience suggests that up to 40% the Canadian football audience opted to watch the game — and the American ads — on Fox Network border stations. For the game itself –from kickoff at approx. 6:37 p.m. ET to the end
It’s really happening: a legal, American feed of a Super Bowl game on Canadian TV screens. The CRTC mandated an exception to the simultaneous substitution rule and not even lawyers or lobbyists could stop it — this time. The hiccup will cost CTV millions and, really, that’s not fair. Nonetheless, go ad crazy, Canada. Things
OTTAWA — The 22nd annual Prime Time in Ottawa industry conference — a good place to take Canada’s TV temperature — kicked off Thursday. Bell Media’s least favourite CRTC chair, Jean-Pierre Blais, managed to duck in and out without a single question about those Super Bowl ads. Blais, whose term as chair ends in June
VANCOUVER — One of the most magical parts of making a TV series is set design. This is especially true on The Magicians, back for a second season. Seen also on Syfy, the second episode of season two premieres this Thursday at 10 p.m. on Showcase. I visited the set last September in Vancouver along with
It has been a 24-hour MTM marathon ever since the news broke Wednesday that Mary Tyler Moore has passed away. I was honored to be asked to share memories of watching and, on a few occasions, meeting Moore. The first time I met Moore was in January of 1986 at a TCA press tour gathering in
What makes even a crusty TV critic cry? News that Mary Tyler Moore has passed away. I first fell in love with her on The Dick Van Dyke Show, but who didn’t? Certainly Dick Van Dyke did. Look at the photo above — how much in love were these two kids? They were even asked,
A few months ago, I ducked into one of those boxy new modern mansions down by the lake in Mississauga in search of Mary Kills People. The Global series, which premieres Wednesday night at 9 p.m. ET/PT, was shooting on location. Inside the house, cardboard covered all the floor surfaces and visitors had to sneak