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CBC faces uncertain NHL playoffs
The CBC says it’s not concerned that the Toronto Maple Leafs – Hockey Night in Canada’s national team and ratings powerhouse – will likely miss the NHL playoffs this season.
This post-season looks to be the first since 1997/98 in which the Leafs will be left behind, which, based on historical patterns, could take away up to 50% of the Ceeb’s national audiences.
Hot Docs expands industry events
The folks behind the 13th annual Hot Docs are dealing with the kind of problems of which fest organizers dream.
Forget heads up TV at Telefilm
Telefilm Canada has promoted Dave Forget to the top of its television business unit – putting the former boss of the Ontario and Nunavut office in charge of the agency’s entire TV sector and its partnership with the Canadian Television Fund.
Caster profits up 4% in ’05
Private broadcasters in Canada saw revenues rise almost 4% in 2005 to $2.2 billion, delivering profits of $242 million, according to data released by the CRTC.
DiCocco replaces Meilleur
Caroline DiCocco is the new minister of culture in Ontario, following a cabinet shuffle by Liberal Premier Dalton McGuinty. It is the first cabinet post for DiCocco, the MPP from the southern Ontario riding of Sarnia-Lambton, since she first took office in 1999.
Street kids storm the box
Quebec pop star and filmmaker Dan Bigras (Le Ring interieur) opened at the top box-office spot among Canadian films with his gritty take on Montreal street life, La Rage de l’ange – pushing aside Beowulf & Grendel in the week of March 31 to April 6 with a take of $171,730 across Quebec, for a per-screen average of $6,605.
History of Violence DVD perfoming ‘above and beyond’
The DVD release of David Cronenberg’s A History of Violence by Alliance Atlantis continues to perform well at the sales counter. Released on March 14, the film ranked seventh on Nielsen VideoScan’s weekly DVD chart for the week ending March 26, down from the list’s second spot the week before. Violence also placed third on Rogers Video’s top rental list for the week ending April 2.
Hot Sheet
The Hot Sheet tracks Canadian box-office results for the period March 31-April 6and DVD sales in Canada for the period March 20-26.
Global still bullish on Falcon Beach
The first season of Global’s nighttime soap Falcon Beach averaged nearly 250,000 viewers per episode, according to data from Nielsen Media Research. But according to Barbara Williams, the network’s SVP, programming and production, the mediocre first-play numbers do not paint an accurate picture of how the series performed.
Top 20 TV Programs
Top 20 TV Programs tracks ratings for the top 20 television shows in Canada for the period April 3-9.
Kamataki wins ratings appeal
A Montreal distributor has successfully appealed a restrictive rating by the Ontario Film Review Board.
Sold!
* Decode Entertainment has sold its kids series Chop Socky Chooks (52 x 30) and Planet Sketch (13 x 11) to Danish public broadcaster TV2. Both titles are copros with Aardman Animations in the U.K. TV2 also picked up Decode’s 3D animated The Save-Ums.
Odeon opens $45-million Silent Hill
Odeon Films isn’t focusing heavily on TV commercials to market its April 21 release of Silent Hill, the $45-million horror adaptation of the video game. Instead, it is reaching out to fans of the game through the Internet.
The Toronto-based outfit has periodically released online photos of the movie’s monstrous creatures to demonstrate its authenticity and respect for the popular game.
Banff names nominees
Canada is going into the Banff World Television Festival with 18 nominations for the fest’s annual awards, with strong showings in the categories of animation, lifestyle and interactive programming.
Survenant wins at CSC Awards
Bernard Couture won best feature cinematographer of 2005 at the Canadian Society of Cinematographers Awards on April 8 in Toronto for his work on Le Survenant – beating out Pierre Gill (Maurice Richard) and René Ohashi (Saint Ralph).
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