TORONTO – Family Channel announced this week that its new comedy Life With Derek will premiere on-line next week, but will only be available for two days. 
The complete first episode of Life With Derek (pictured) will debut as part of a free online streaming preview weekend at www.family.ca from 2 p.m. ET on Friday, March 10 to 9 p.m. ET on Sunday, March 12, "making it the first Canadian-produced live-action television series to premiere online," says the release.
In partnership with Shaftesbury Films, the online promotion will be followed by a five-day on-air preview, March 13 to 17 at 6:30 p.m. ET/PT, before the series settles into its regular on-air timeslot, Fridays at 6:30 p.m. ET/PT starting March 24. The streamed Life With Derek episode will be geographically-blocked to provide viewing access to Canadian users only.
“Streaming an entire episode of Life With Derek offers a groundbreaking way to promote this new Canadian original television series and we anticipate our audience to respond strongly in terms of both online traffic and series viewership,” said Barbara Bailie, director, interactive, Family Channel, in a release.
“We are in a new era of entertainment – we are finding that increasingly, people want their entertainment to be flexible, to reach them wherever they are and in a way that is convenient for them. We are very pleased to be able to participate in this changing world, to offer great programming any way our viewers want it. This really is making entertainment fit your life,” said Shane Kinnear, vice-president, sales and marketing at Shaftesbury Films.
Life With Derek is a live-action comedy about the step-sibling rivalry that takes place when Casey’s mom marries Derek’s dad and the two headstrong 15-year-old children battle for supremacy in their newly blended family.
