Actor Bruce Greenwood took a verbal swipe at CTV during a recent appearance on that net’s Canada AM, accusing the network of under-promoting his latest TV project and of intentionally burying it in a bad timeslot as part of a larger effort to undermine Canadian-made shows.

And yet, the ratings appear to have proven him wrong.

Greenwood, seen recently in I, Robot and The Republic of Love, was on the morning show to promote the MOW The Life, in which he plays a Vancouver street cop who begins to shoot documentary-style footage of the prostitutes and addicts living in the city’s notorious Downtown Eastside. It aired Sunday, Sept. 5 at 9 p.m., during the Labour Day weekend, opposite four sitcoms on Global and CBC’s coverage of the World Cup hockey game between Russia and Slovakia.

‘CTV chose to bury it on a holiday weekend where it’s not going to be seen,’ said Greenwood, adding that the net wants ‘to prove that American programming is the only programming that is going to bring in the numbers. So they make it a self-fulfilling prophecy by burying Canadian programming.’

The Toronto chapter of ACTRA was quick to applaud the remarks. ‘It’s a brave thing for an actor to do… and tell a Canadian broadcaster to its face that it’s not doing enough,’ says president Richard Hardacre. The actors union has for some time been campaigning the CRTC to impose higher Cancon requirements on broadcasters. The Life was shot in B.C. last year by Vancouver’s Haddock Entertainment.

CTV shot back later that day with a terse statement, pointing to its high-rated Canuck shows and describing a ‘massive multi-level promotional campaign’ for The Life that included ‘extensive on-air, print and publicity components.’

The network and the numbers got the last word. The Life drew 775,000 (2+) viewers to its two-hour block, beating Global’s sitcoms and previous Canadian-made MOWs that also aired on Sundays, according to CTV. The Life was up 41% among 18-34-year-olds, up 3% among 18-49s, and on par for the season to date with 25-54s.

‘This illustrates we have the capability and willingness to promote Canadian movies,’ says spokesperson Mike Cosentino. ‘The numbers speak for themselves.’

-www.ctv.ca