I grew up with the classic Match Game daytime series, the one Gene Rayburn hosted with that telescoping mic. It featured Bret Summers, Charles Nelson Reilly and Richard Dawson, all served on a bed of orange shag carpeting. A decade ago a revival featured Alec Baldwin as host, complete with that goofy antenna mic. The
Early in 2019 when The Big Bang Theory was winding down production after 12 seasons and 279 episodes, I took this photo of series co-creator, writer and executive producer Chuck Lorre. I caught him at a pretty good time. Warner Bros. was naming one of its fabled Burbank soundstages after the series. Lorre scored a
The Bell Media Upfront25 held Thursday at Meridian Hall in Toronto may be the best Canadian upfront I’ve ever attended. Bell does it old school. They rent the biggest hall, fly in the most stars and crank up the open bar for the ad community. They have the advantage of going last and thus can
The turnout for the 2025 Federal Election was robust — especially on television. Both CBC and CTV had a big night Monday. In overnights, based on average minute audience data, CBC’s Main network drew an estimated 518,000 for it’s “Countdown” pre-show from 6:30 p.m. ET to 7 p.m.; 987,000 for two hours of “Polls Close”
Canadian network coverage of the 2025 Federal Election kept score okay, but they had a hard time following the puck Monday night and into Tuesday morning. With votes still being counted Tuesday, Prime Minister Mark Carney emerged with a minority government victory over Pierre Poilievre’s Conservatives. The NDP got stomped, the Bloc battered, and the
When it comes to viewership among the broadcast networks and news channels, CBC remains an essential service. As Donald Trump would say, “The numbers were Huuge!” For last Thursday’s English language debate, the public broadcasters drew an overnight, estimated average minute audience of 1,239,000 viewers. Keep in mind the debates were scheduled earlier than usual.
CTV’s three hour and forty-eight minute simulcast of Sunday’s 97th Annual Oscar Awards was watched by an overnight, estimated audience in Canada of 3,236,000 viewers. That’s down from 3.5 million in 2024. While the year before featured a contest between big box office draws such as “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer,” I’ve already forgotten the names of
Conan O’Brien was a great choice to host Sunday’s 97th annual Oscar telecast. After retiring at the end of 30+ years in late night, his podcast, Conan O’Brien needs a Friend, is the gold standard for celebrity conversations. He’s launched a travel series on cable and other ventures and the man has an iron stomach