TORONTO – Shaw Media announced a series of original digital initiatives designed to build on, and extend, its Global, History Canada, Food Network Canada, and HGTV Canada brands.
According to the news release, the cross-platform content expands its conventional and specialty brands to enhance fan engagement and provide richer viewer experiences.
The new digital initiatives include:
The Second City Project (fall 2014)- Global TV is bringing the next generation of legendary Second City comedy talent to Shaw Media screens in The Second City Project, led by Bob Martin. Designed to bring premium sketch comedy to Canadian television as well as meet the insatiable appetite for short-form comedy on digital platforms, this series of vignettes will weave together the evolution of a comedy sketch from its inception in the writers’ room to the final produced piece. The sketches will premiere in short form on GlobalTV.com and Global Go, and will be packaged as a series of on-air specials for Global.
Dino Hunt Canada (fall 2014) – The original cross-platform series Dino Hunt Canada on History and History.ca will showcase Canada as one of the best places in the world to discover dinosaurs. In a four-part television event, Canadian paleontologists unravel prehistoric mysteries and make history through incredible new dinosaur discoveries, from the Alberta badlands to the Bay of Fundy. The series will be accompanied by rich, interactive digital content in partnership with the Royal Ontario Museum. The starting point of the definitive guide to dinosaurs in Canada, History.ca will include live streaming from the action of the museum’s paleontology lab to the ultimate ‘Ask the Expert’ section with key personalities from the series.
The Great Canadian Cookbook (winter 2015) – Food Network Canada is embarking upon a digital, community-based initiative to start a coast-to-coast conversation celebrating food. The brand is launching a ground-breaking, multi-screen project encouraging all Canadians to contribute recipes, ingredients, and conversation to The Great Canadian Cookbook. The digital content features an ever-evolving food almanac, contributions by favourite Food Network celebrities, instructional videos, exclusive recipes, and user-generated content. A one-hour special television presentation will follow on Food Network in Winter 2015. The Great Canadian Cookbook provides all Canadians with the opportunity to craft the country’s ultimate food identity.
The HGTV Home Giveaway (spring 2015) – Every HGTV Canada viewer has one thing in common – the dream of owning their perfect home. The HGTV Home Giveaway is making that dream come true by giving away a fully-furnished, custom-built home plus cash and prizes. This innovative project will originate online as viewers enter to win the home, and they will stay engaged along the way by helping to design the house, from the way it’s built to the finishing touches of décor. All of this will culminate in a television special on HGTV Canada in which the lucky winner will be revealed.
“Shaw Media excels at original content and with these four cross-platform experiences we are building on our already strong efforts in the digital world to bring our viewers and advertisers the quality, creativity, and diversity that they have come to expect from our linear brands,” said Barbara Williams, SVP of content, in the release.
