TORONTO – CTV’s big secret is out, yet another successful American show is heading north of the border for its Canadian edition. This time it’s The Amazing Race, with host Phil Keoghan announcing Sunday night that CTV has ordered The Amazing Race Canada, a “Canadian-produced, complementary version of the hit international series.”
Since it was created in 2003, the reality show has won the Emmy for Outstanding Reality Competition Program nine times. It features teams of two people who race around the world in competition with other teams for a $1 million first place prize. No word yet on the prize amounts for the Canuck version. The U.S. version of is a top 3 series this fall on CTV and is this season's #1 reality program in Canada with an average audience of 2.7 million viewers.
CTV has licensed the Canadian format rights from Disney-ABC Domestic Television and has selected Insight Productions to produce the series in Canada, with the support of Bertram van Munster and Elise Doganieri's Profiles Television.
Casting, the host, and other show details for #RaceCDA will be announced in the coming months at www.CTV.ca/TheAmazingRaceCanada. CTV encourages fans to follow @AmazingRaceCDA and stay tuned to the CTV Facebook page.
Set to anchor CTV's Summer 2013 schedule, the show will provide a “uniquely Canadian take on the original series, with Competitors discovering the world within the borders of Canada." Though the series' specific destinations won't be revealed until it airs, Canada offers divergent topography and disparate locales that are bound to add to the excitement and complexity of the show and its challenges says CTV.
“From Vancouver Island's tropical rainforest, Alberta's parched Badlands, the peaks of the Rockies, and the barren tundra of the Great White North, to the Boreal forests of Ontario and Quebec, the sea-faring ports of the Maritimes, the fjords of Newfoundland, and the teeming metropolises and undiscovered towns in between.” (Editor’s note: there was no mention of Timmins as a location in the release).
CTV confirmed that new sponsorship and brand partnership opportunities are immediately available, "whether it is product integration, customized activations or original branded content, CTV Brand Partnerships says its committed to working with clients and their brands to offer consumers an exciting and engaging four-screen experience for The Amazing Race Canada.
"Canadians deserve their own summer version, distinct from what is seen in fall and winter. With the incredible diversity, scope, beauty, and sheer land mass that Canada has to offer, The Amazing Race Canada will explore the world within Canada. It's a perfect extension to an incredible brand, and a huge opportunity for racers, viewers, and advertisers," said Phil King, President, CTV Programming and Sports.
The Amazing Race Canada will be the 12th international version to launch outside of the United States, joining Asia, Australia, Brazil, China, France, Israel, Latin America, Norway, Philippines, Ukraine and Vietnam as territories with an original The Amazing Race production.
