Ivan Fecan actually said it: “A comes before E!, except after CTV.”The CTV CEO (above), standing on the stage of the Four Seasons Centre For The Performing Arts in Toronto, was giving advertisers the scoop on the new season at today’s 2008 Upfront. He was referring to the rebranded, CTV-owned A-Channel, now called “The A.”
Is this the last season of Canadian Idol? I make the suggestion today in The Toronto Star (read the full story here).CTV’s summer talent search showcase returns for a sixth season Tuesday at 9 p.m. E.T. Last year saw Canadian Idol ratings sag, especially in July and August, and this year’s edition follows on the
What a week. “Captain” Jack Duffy, Earle Hagen, Dick Martin, Sidney Pollack, now Harvey Korman. The guy who couldn’t keep a straight face on The Carol Burnett Show passed away Thursday in Los Angeles. He was 81.Check out his obit here in the Los Angeles Times and, if they haven’t corrected it yet, check out
The final 2007-08 TV season ratings are in. Here is a link to the Top-20 U.S. network shows of the year as well as a link to the Top-20 demo hits.The finish line for the annual ratings race, tracked since 1950 by Nielsen, is generally regarded as the end of the May Sweeps. American Idol
A colleague called me out on a comment I made a post or two back about CBC executive director of network programming Kirstine Layfield (left). She objected to the way I described her at CBC’s 2008 press launch Monday. I think the offending line was “kittenish programming mistress.”Looking back the line may have been a
Earle Hagen, composer of The Dick Van Dyke Show and The Andy Griffith Show themes, died Monday in Los Angeles. He was 88, which is a sweet number to reach if you are a composer, especially if you play the piano (88 keys). Read his L.A. Times obit here. A former big band trombonist, Hagen
Author, film historian and long time Entertainment Tonight correspondent Leonard Maltin just posted a mini-review of my book Truth and Rumors: The Reality Behind TV’s Most Famous Myths. You can read it here on his engrossing blog for film fans, Leonard Maltin’s Movie Crazy.Maltin’s love of movies and pop culture in general is infectious and
Ever have to throw a party when you are broke? You drag out last year’s decorations, serve warmed-over appetizers. If you spend anywhere you spend it on a snazzy pair of new red shoes. That was CBC’s 2008-09 season preview yesterday, held in the echo-y atrium of the Toronto bunker. What is left of the