The following is part three of Playback’s three-part overview of major Canadian announcements by broadcasters during Fall Launch week, June 4-8, in Toronto.

‘It’s the best time we’ve ever had,’ said CHUM Television president Jay Switzer at the Canadian Television Press Tour. Switzer, speaking on June 5 from the ChumCity Building in Toronto, went on to talk about CHUM’s continuing ‘Canadian approach, love of movies, accessibility, and reflection of different languages and cultures on air.’

And with a soaring stock value, media conglomerates everywhere licking their chops at the prospect of taking over the street-friendly giant, and seven new channels revving up to launch this fall, it’s a busy and exciting time at CHUM these days.

Five stations are planned to run out of the ChumCity Building in Toronto: MuchVibe, MuchLoud, the Drive-In Channel, the SexTV – The Channel and the FashionTelevision – The Channel . BookTelevision (through Learning and Skills Television of Alberta) and the Law and Order Channel (now in association with Court TV and in consideration for a name change) will be operated out of Edmonton.

According to Paul Gratton, manager of Bravo! and Space: The Imagination Station, CHUM will fulfill its CRTC mandate to increase Canadian content on Category 2 specialty channels (e.g. MuchVibe and the Law and Order Channel) to 35% by the end of their terms (seven years), while Category 1 channels (e.g. BookTelevision and FashionTelevision) will meet a 50% Cancon standard by the end of their terms.

For Category 1, the ‘ramp-up period’ varies from channel to channel. For example, FashionTelevision will play 40% Cancon in its first two years, but will meet Category 1’s 50% requirement by the third year of operation.

In the local markets, recently purchased CKVU (Vancouver’s proposed Citytv equivalent) is ‘awaiting CRTC approval,’ which Switzer expects to get. In the meantime, Switzer says, ‘[People] have been hired to begin programming the station.’

Other local stations, including The New VR (Barrie), The New PL (London), The New WI (Windsor), The New NX (Wingham) The New RO (Ottawa), and The New VI (Victoria) are all preparing to further entrench themselves in local markets.

In Toronto, City will add a ‘companion show’ to its popular Blind Date series. Fifth Wheel is a blind date for five described by Switzer as a ‘dating smart bomb.’ Fifth Wheel will air afternoons at 5:00 p.m. EST.

On the acquisition front, City has picked up Temptation Island 2, Love Cruise (a reality show set on a cruise ship) and That’s My Bush, a live-action satire from the creators of South Park. Enterprise, the new Star Trek prequel series with Scott Bakula from Paramount, will launch this fall exclusively on City (with encore presentations on Space: The Imagination Station).

Space is particularly proud of its Canadian sci-fi series Starhunter, the adventures of an interplanetary bounty hunter, starring Michael Pare and set to debut in spring 2002. Wolf Lake, due to launch this fall Tuesdays at 9 p.m. on Space, stars Graham Greene in tales of ‘unfathomable evil in the ancient forests of the Great Northwest.’

For Bravo!, Switzer announced highlights of the Canadian movie lineup acquired for play this year, including Grey Owl, Better Than Chocolate and The Red Violin. Switzer is also excited about The Stork Derby, a made-for-TV movie about a baby-derby (true story), starring Megan Follows.

At MuchMoreMusic, the MMM Biography program will air nightly at 9 p.m., starting this fall, while the newly acquired Chris Isaak Show is set for Fridays at 11 p.m.

FashionTelevision will give longtime FT-FashionTelevision host Jeanne Beker a chance to say what she thinks ‘a bit more.’ Featuring profiles of Canadian designers, much of FashionTelevision will be repackaged elements or unused items from the original series. Beker says with the ability to run entire interviews rather than just sound bites, the channel will be more in-depth and she ‘can afford to get a little ‘dissy’ there.’

Daniel Richler says BookTelevision will strive to ‘bring some funk to the matter’ of the written word. Like the TV show of the same name, Richler says ‘books are not the whole story – it’s writing.’ The channel will seek to ‘televisualize the world of content,’ eventually adding movies with award-winning screenplays to the BookTelevision lineup.

‘Local matters’ at Rogers

The last stop on the Canadian Television Press Tour is the CN Tower, location of the fall launch preview for Rogers Television.

Collette Watson, vice-president, Rogers Television, discusses their continuing commitment to ‘thorough local programming and sports coverage, while providing a talent incubator for future stars like Tom Green and the guys from Buzz.’

This year, Rogers vows to take that commitment further. Says Watson: ‘Shows like Reel to Real, daytime, new series Talk Local and new newsmagazine First Local, plus our extensive amateur sports coverage will anchor a revamped schedule that offers more local programming than ever.’

Other new shows this September will include One on One (already established in Ottawa), an interview show that will ‘be produced and aired on all local Rogers TV stations this fall,’ and Swap Shop, a merchandise exchange program described as ‘e-Bay made easy.’ Another new show, Margaret’s Sense of Occasion, will seek to establish Ottawa resident Margaret Dickenson as ‘the next Martha Stewart.’

Watson, who has also been ‘loaned’ to the Cable Public Affairs Channel, says big changes are in store at CPAC this fall, as well.

‘I must admit [going to CPAC] wasn’t something that I wanted to do. It had this reputation,’ Watson explains. Apparently, Watson’s daughter’s soccer coach had entered a sleep disorder clinic where CPAC played on the televisions as a sleeping aid. ‘That has to change,’ Watson says. ‘People should be invigorated and called to action when they watch CPAC.’

In September, CPAC will have a new look and a ‘broadened programming scope so we can entice younger audiences over to the channel.’ New shows, including Talk Politics (weeknights at 7 p.m.) and Point of View (weeknights at 9 p.m.), will be accompanied by live broadcasts ‘featuring political news, scrums from beginning to end, speeches of the day and press conferences of the day.’

CPAC success stories Laurier Presents (Mondays at 10 p.m.) and Public Life (Wednesdays at 10 p.m.) will also return in the fall, complete with CPAC’s new look and timely style. *

-www.chumlimited.com

-www.rogerstelevision.com

-www.cpac.ca