of champions

In the Maritimes, they like their breakfast topped with a hearty dollop of down-home television. And two to one they say the Atlantic Satellite Network serves up the morning’s best fare. asn’s Breakfast Television has double the audience tuned to Canada a.m., the national CTV Television Network morning show seen on Atlantic Television Network affiliates in Moncton, n.b., Sydney, n.s. and Halifax.

In the 1993 bbm fall sweep, audience share data for the ‘Extended Maritime’ region (Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick) gave bt a four share compared to a two share for rival Canada a.m.

Both atn and asn, an independent satellite-delivered signal originating in Halifax, are owned by Toronto-based CHUM Ltd. It gives the competition between bt and Canada a.m. a distinct in-house flavor.

Anne-Marie Varner, atv/asn communications director, says the highly local character of bt’s news and entertainment reports makes it a winner with Maritime audiences.

‘We gave away a tv set daily for a full month this season,’ says Varner. ‘The show (bt) does a lot of its own promotions. It’s easy to position because of the unique format, and because of theme weeks.’

Varner, last year’s CanPro promotions chair, says to win one of the Panasonic tv sets, viewers were asked to send in tapes depicting their own breakfast at home. ‘It was lots of good fun,’ she says.

Launched in the fall of ’92, bt is a customized Maritime version of City-tv’s bt. asn news director Bill Patrick worked at chum-owned City in Toronto, and helped create bt for asn, says Varner.

The two-hour show is broadcast live, starting at 7 a.m. Features include local and national news, weather and down-home musical talent.

asn’s signal is delivered throughout the Maritimes and Newfoundland, with the satellite footprint extending from the eastern Arctic to New York State and Florida.

bt’s ‘comic’ reporter/field host Scott Boyd and asn’s uplink mobile truck, used for live location reports, are also part of the show’s promotional repertoire. Boyd and the mobile crew are currently touring Maritime colleges and universities.

Broadcast from asn studios in Halifax, bt on-air hosts are Kurt Stoodley and Jill Krop. The show’s producer is Jocelyne Murphy.