E! ready to take over for CH Channel mixes lifestyle shows, celebrity news
by Alex Strachan, CanWest News Service Published: Wednesday, September 05, 2007
Brace yourself for E!
That's E!, as in Entertainment! You'll be ecstatic! Enlightened! Entertained! At least, that's how the CanWest MediaWorks hope you'll feel after eyeballing the new-look E!
E! launches Sept. 7, officially replacing CH, which retires for good.
The six local stations, based in Quebec, Ontario, Alberta and B.C., will keep their local newscasts and much of their evening, primetime programming. The rest of their schedules, however, will feature a mix of celebrity news and lifestyle programming.
E!'s motto is "Everything Entertainment," and that's what the focus will be -- at least, during the midday, daytime hours.
The evening, primetime hours will feature a mix of new programs such as Cashmere Mafia, an ensemble featuring Lucy Liu and Frances O'Connor as high-powered women who want it all, and the filmed-in-Vancouver sci-fi thriller Bionic Woman, starring Jekyll's Michelle Ryan as an accident victim who bypasses the medical system with some spiffy new prosthetics.
Returning CH standbys include Deal or No Deal, Boston Legal, Are Your Smarter Than a 5th Grader and the reality shows Extreme Makeover: Home Edition and The Biggest Loser.
The new E! is the result of a content-sharing agreement earlier this year with U.S.-based E! Networks, which is billed as the world's largest producer and distributor of entertainment-news and lifestyle-related programming.
E! originals airing on Canadian TV for the first time include:
* Rich Kids: Cattle Drive, in which celebrity spawn say goodbye to the Porsche and hello to horses and cows
* Dr. 90210, in which hard-working physicians and surgeons deal with the pressure, intensity and emotional stress of cosmetic surgery
* Sunset Tan, a behind-the-scenes reality show which chronicles the pressure, intensity and emotional stress of working in a tanning salon.
A-Channel is rumoured to be doing a re-branding of its own. Chatter around town indicates something along the lines of "CTV2" but I've yet to hear anything more on that.
As for the A-Channel rebranding thing, I say stick with what works. Naming it CTV2 is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. And A-Channel seems to be paying off, at least in Victoria.
Seems to me that rebranding is just a business fad that serves no purpose. It could simply be a make work project for some young executive trying to leave his mark, or a mindset that nobody thinks to question. Why rebrand?
I mean, really. People just want to see their news. New set, colours, new logo, music...none of it means anything to a viewer who simply wants what they always tune in for. Spending all of that money for some kind of false notion, what a waste. Content and personalities...that's what people look for. You snooze on THOSE aspects, you lose.
Rebranding can be a helpful marketing tool but in this case, you're abandoning an established local brand with a high profile and valuable equity and replacing it with a cheesy generic brand associated with television's more sleazy side. I predict it will be CHEK again in five years or less once the bling wears off the E! logo.
It seems some evil force from Sesame Street is trying to take over the Canadian airwaves...quick...call Wayne & Schuster or someone at the Tommy Hunter Show! My God! This is big enough for Front Page Challenge!
Watching the 6:00 right now, it's not bad. Few on-air vocal hurdles, and Jennifer Crosby keeps trying to say CH and catches herself in time, otherwise, not bad. Still not sold on Scott Fee as a leading anchor but we'll give him some time.
Another thing, anyone else notice how pre-2001 the L3's feel? I love the new graphics a lot but they just struck me as playing to CHEK loyalists... which, according to the TC, is what they were trying to do. So kudos to them.
It seems some evil force from Sesame Street is trying to take over the Canadian airwaves...quick...call Wayne & Schuster or someone at the Tommy Hunter Show! My God! This is big enough for Front Page Challenge!
CHEK it out, E!; It's all change at CH, and a name from the past returns Times Colonist (Victoria) Fri 07 Sep 2007 Page: D1 / FRONT Section: Arts Byline: Leah Collins Source: Times Colonist ; with files from CanWest News Services
It's makeover time at Vancouver Island's CH TV station. Anchors are switching desks, fresh sets are being built.
It's all in anticipation of today, when the station, along with other CanWest Global affiliates across Canada, becomes part of the E! Everything Entertainment network.
One of the most significant changes will be renaming the local newscasts as CHEK News, but news director Rob Germain jokes about whether audiences will notice the difference.
The CHEK name, after all, is one Islanders knew well for 45 years.
The station changed its name to CH in 2001 when it became a Global affiliate.
"It's what people know us as best ... For a long time, people have called us CHEK News, even when we were CH," says Germain. "The switch is going to be easy, like putting on an old glove, only it's a new glove."
The new (old) name and logo will be unveiled on the 5 p.m. newscast today.
Like the five other CH stations across Canada, CHEK will keep much of its evening, primetime programming. The rest of the schedule will feature a mix of celebrity news, entertainment and lifestyle programming.
"Our aim will always be to connect the community all over Vancouver Island," says Germain.
There will be a few minor facelifts: the broadcast will be dressed up with more contemporary graphics and music.
Julie Nolin will continue to anchor the 5 p.m. news. Jennifer Crosby will move to News at 6, sharing the desk with Scott Fee, who will also man the 11 p.m. show.
"They'll bring some vibrancy, some new but familiar faces, to the news," Germain says.
Previous News at 6 anchor Ed Watson left the station this summer.
The tone of program will also be tweaked to fit the modern look.
"It will be more upbeat, positive, friendly and approachable," says Germain.
"We're still there to hold things accountable and be accountable," he says.
"The newscast might seem slightly more informal, more like news over the fence."
Directly after the inaugural news broadcast, a fresh lineup of E! programming will premiere.
The network schedule includes signature gossip programs such as E! True Hollywood Story and E! News as well as returning series such as Singing Bee, Deal or No Deal and How I Met Your Mother.
E! shows will also make up the daytime, late-night and weekend programming.
The new E! is the result of a content-sharing agreement earlier this year with U.S.-based E! Networks, which is billed as the world's largest producer and distributor of entertainment-news and lifestyle-related programming.
CHEK is owned by CanWest MediaWorks, which owns TV stations and newspapers across Canada, including the Times Colonist.
___
Return to old call sign honours long history; CHEK has served Island for more than five decades Times Colonist (Victoria) Fri 07 Sep 2007 Page: D1 / FRONT Section: Arts Source: Times Colonist
Renaming CH "CHEK" reflects the station's long history on Vancouver Island, station news director Rob Germain says.
After all, CHEK was the first private television station in British Columbia when it went to air on Dec. 1, 1956. Until then, Victoria viewers had access only to the CBC station in Vancouver and a few Seattle stations.
In fact, CHEK was the only station on the Island until CHUM launched the New VI (which later became the A-Channel) in October 2001.
Not everyone was excited about the new arrival back in 1956. The CHEK 6 position on the dial interfered with reception from Seattle's popular Channel 5, and many local viewers protested, co-founder Charlie White recalled at a 50th-anniversary party for the station last fall.
White said he chose the CHEK call letters, believing it was a good name for marketing. "CHEK 6 -- it's got a good ring," said White.
That's a sentiment Germain would agree with.
"CHEK is a name that people have always turned to on Vancouver Island for news about their community," he said. "That's why returning to that name has such significance symbolically."
Over the years, such programs as the Ida Clarkson Show, the 1960s dance show Club 6 and the Totally Teen Talent Show, which started 14 years ago and still continues, reflect CHEK's commitment to reflecting the local community, Germain said.
But it is the station's news coverage that Germain looks back most proudly on. The station has footage of a young Steve Nash and many other Vancouver Islanders who have gone on to greater things.
The most significant news story in the station's 51-year history, however, remains the disappearance of Michael Dunahee in 1991. The five-year-old disappeared from the playground of Blanshard Elementary School on March 24 and has never been seen again.
"It was the story that made the most impression on staffers and is probably the most significant news story in recent memory in Victoria," Germain said.
I like the new look. Fresher colours and music. The set is new and interesting. Jennifer Crosby and Scott Fee seem to have some chemistry. Let's see if the content matches up to the reworked design.
Forget the E stuff, CHEK is still called CHEK and I suspect most islanders have always called it CHEK. I worked there for 13 years when it was called CHEK and I think that name is the best. CHEK is probably the only station in Canada where most of the staff have been there a minimum of 20 years. It is unheard of. Whatever you call yourself keep up the good work with the good people you have there. Bruce Payne former staff announcer and host of the music show Daybreak.
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