A roundup of the new CBC-TV season

Everyone keeps telling us that the American television writers strike is our chance to break through. So how did we do?

The Border
John Doyle’s reaction: “Good looking, but simple and exaggerated.”
Key promotion: Trailer tattooed to citizen’s eyeballs
Theme of TBC launch party: Deep Down We Hate Ourselves, Which is Why We Criticize Americans
TV Audience: 710,000
mininova torrent health: “Good”
Completed downloads: 25,474

Sophie
John Doyle’s reaction: “Shite.”
Key promotion: Illegal sign
Theme of TBC launch party: Faux Baby Shower
TV Audience: 630,000
mininova torrent health: “Excellent”
Completed downloads: 26,647

jPod
John Doyle’s reaction: “Maybe funny for someone younger than me, who doesn’t work at a newspaper.”
Key promotion: Fucked up, ironic website
Theme of TBC launch party: ? (employees too cool to attend)
TV Audience: 472,000
mininova torrent health: “Perfect”
Completed downloads: 22,752

MVP
John Doyle’s reaction: “fun, fresh, frisky, fabulous populist entertainment for everybody!”
Key promotion: Branding Yonge St. subway
Theme of TBC launch party: Sexytime Pizza Without Beer
TV Audience: 349,000
mininova torrent health: “No seeds?”
Completed downloads: 86

22 Comments

  • Anonymous says:

    I totally agree. Sophie is a wonderful show. It even got picked up by ABC!

  • Anonymous says:

    I love watching Sophie, it’s a comedy/conflict/drama that many can relate too. Every wednesday my friends and I gather around and watch that show. It’s awesome. The dumbass who called it “Shite” doesn’t know what he’s chattering about

  • Anonymous says:

    This is a new comment for Boob-gate also known as “L’affaire Krista Erickson.” I assume you’re writing a new post on the matter…

    ————

    Pop quiz. What happens when the CBC takes an inexperienced young woman who never went to university, can’t speak French, has never even covered a provincial legislature, makes straight men weak at the knees, and turns her into a Parliamentary reporter in Ottawa? How about an ethical disaster that threatens the journalistic credibility of every single CBC reporter. L’affaire Erickson shows us what happens when the Hoffs of the world ignore qualified and experienced old school CBC veterans and promote attractive and unqualified young pretty things. There are experienced legislative reporters across Canada who should have been in line for an Ottawa job before Ms. Winnipeg. The worst part of all is that she gets rewarded with a transfer to Toronto. Has anyone noticed that St. John’s, Newfoundland has an opening for a national TV reporter? Why not punish her by making her go back into a smaller market and earn her chops in St. John’s? That would have been the logical and wise choice. Instead she gets rewarded with a plum spot in reporters’ row on the 4th floor of the Broadcast Centre. I bet Ron Charles and the gang won’t be happy to hear they have to make room for such a “well-rounded” colleague. No doubt CBC brass will make sure she gets the lead every night on The National. CBC… Where ethical violations come with a free transfer to Toronto. Let’s see who they replace her with in Ottawa.

  • Dwight Williams says:

    I’m OK with Little Mosque and The Border. Good shows. Not sure about the rest just yet.

    Wondering if I should read jPod first before watching an episode…

  • Anonymous says:

    Anonymous, it would seem as if you are not a fan of Mosque or Sophie. Which is fine, because neither am I. But it seems as if you are now confusing shows with “cultural and commercial value” (as you were talking about a couple of comments back) and shows that you plain just don’t like. If Mosque and Sophie can pull in such respectable numbers, that’s pretty much what “cultural and commercial value” means, no? It seems as if you’re just looking to shoot down the CBC, which doesn’t bother me either, but at least pick an argument and stick to it, as opposed to grabbing for whatever seems most convenient to you at the time.

    Also, despite its low audience figures, jPod is great.

  • Anonymous says:

    You are trumpeting the success of “Mosque” and “Sophie”? Watch them. I dare you. “American Gladiators” does even better, so I guess it is a better show.

  • DMc says:

    So Mosque is back up to shouting distance of a million, and Sophie manages to hang on to practically its whole audience — up against Idol.

    It’s hard out here for a mouse, I guess.

  • Anonymous says:

    Dmc, the Globe called “MVP”s 350,000 a “bomb”. Anyway you spin it 250,000 for a show as heavily touted and promoted as “Jpod” is … well … a disaster. Your “haters” sound more like “deeply concerned” to me. Maybe they love the CBC but believe the current bosses are endangering it’s continued existence by making shows that have neither cultural or commercial value.

  • Anonymous says:

    Can you feel it?

  • DMc says:

    Well well. Howdy to you anonymouses.

    As always, bully on the courage.

    Ouimet, some good articles lately. I was harsh. Sorry.

    Now.

    “historic lows.”

    Data, please. What’s your timeframe? Compared to when? What was the makeup of the audience? Not enough to sling the mud, Gladys. You gotta back the shit up.

    See, I’ve seen some of the spends. Like the private broadcaster that managed to spend a whole 1 percent of its contribution to the production of a show in order to promote it. If you love the CBC, don’t shit on them spending money on promotion. They need to do more of that, not less. You play poker? That’s what’s called “the buy in.”

    Otherwise, I seriously love all the ratings experts here, as always, carping about the desperate dastardly failures. Seriously, guys, (and why do I know you’re all guys?) the dust is far from settled.

    In the weeks before the clear picture emerges, perhaps you could all quit your cushy CBC jobs and join the freelance brigade. you know — put your career with your (anonymous) mouth is.

    Oh, what? NO?

    Awesome. Great cred, then. Sweet.

    Pffffffft.

    Ouimet, seriously, the shit on the intl sales, shock doctrine, why I should work at the CBC? That’s light under the door.

    There are those of us left who can love the CBC without hatin’

    Peace to the mouses!

  • Anonymous says:

    How is it that the CBC doesn’t have the money to produce its own programming yet the advertising and publicity budgets appear to be unlimited?

    We all recognize that the CBC wants to maximize its own advertising revenues but to shift its financial priorities from production to the promotion of shows which attract historically low ratings is suspicious at best. Specifically, the CBC will not recover its advertising and publicity budgets in ad revenues from any of the programs broadcast by English TV.

    Spin that bloggers.

  • Anonymous says:

    17% not huge!!!

    Read the press: Corp. looking to see the audiences grow. These few weeks are the peak viewing weeks of the year and the four new shows are going to be lucky to equal the numbers of shows that were cancelled ~300k (about one tenth of Idol).

    This is the report card of all media.

  • Anonymous says:

    Hold on 5:44 pm, the current admin. have been crowing loadly how they were going to capitalize on the writers’ strike and make this the big new season. They choose to make shows that appealed to the largest possible market and struck out with dickshit competition. They could have made shows of some cultural significance, got the same numbers and done something good for the country. But they didn’t. This is a bust and everybody knows it.

  • Anonymous says:

    17 percent is not a huge dropoff. considering there was actual competition from the Terminator. And Jpod ran smack into Idol.

    2 weeks is nothing to judge. If those numbers edge up, will you post that you were wrong? wouldnt’ that be something to see.

  • Anonymous says:

    Second episode of The Border down by 17% and second episode of JPOD down 46%–looks like the new shows are old shows…and the numbers are going to get worse.

  • Anonymous says:

    when I saw the banner ad on cbc.ca the night Sophie premiered, I couldn’t help but think she had her fingers crossed that people would actually watch a new show on CBC.

    and to think, I was trying to be less cynical in 2008. That didn’t last long.

  • Anonymous says:

    Seems to me that the publicity (as I understand it, that’s the part Media Profile does – wasn’t that the reason all the publicists were fired?) has been , well, okay, if not great, then no worse than ever.
    I think the embarrassment is all that crappy advertising – and the untold-zillions it must have cost. Honestly, those ads for Sophie were just pathetic. Then again, I guess you can only work with what ya got.
    Still, wouldn’t it be exciting to have a really creative, inventive ad campaign for a show one of these days?
    I know, I’m such a dreamer.

    Anyway, I hear the head of communications is totally out of his league and is so busy sucking up to RS that the dept is torn apart trying to keep up with his constant demands to “do this! RS wants this! so I want this!” instead of telling RS what the right promotion approach would be.

    Then again, maybe they don’t know. It’s impossible to tell anymore. But something’s gotta change.

  • Anonymous says:

    Good to see O’ Doodle backing another winner.

    I think the new shows, in fuzzy generalspeak, are fun and doing well. Sure they benefit from the disaster in American programming, but so what? Lie in your filth, CTV and Global.

  • Anonymous says:

    Spending the same amount on promotion as production is a standard formula in Los Angeles. Though usually it is more effective. If what you are saying is true then Media Profile must be pretty sheepish about the audience numbers.

  • Allan says:

    Easy. There’s only one King of all Media – Howard Stern!

  • Anonymous says:

    The promotion of these new CBC shows cost more than the actual productions – which is convenient for Media Profile which now has the contract for all of the CBC’s publicity. Another sleazy deal orchestrated by the king of all media.

  • J0hnnyB says:

    I think all the show had subway cars plastered with their ads. I’ve ridden in all but the jPod train.

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