Many E! favourites, from south of the border, will now be easier to find on the new network, compared to the Global version which really only carried a minimal amount of content on what used to be CH. Even after its rebranding, CH’s focus was mainly that of local programming and American simulcasts with the other major networks. Now, E! simulcasts will actually be with E!, for the most part.
E! is a Specialty Brand
In other words, The Soup won’t air on a 2-day delay and PVR-deprived Montrealers won’t have to stay up until the god-awful hour of 1:35 AM to watch Chelsea Lately. Even E! News, which somehow was expanded to a full-hour during the brief period it was unavailable to Canadians, will be a simulcast at 7 PM ET.
“E! is a specialty brand for a specialty service. It’s a hot network that has seen dramatic year-over-year ratings growth,” said Susanne Boyce, President, Creative, Content and Channels, CTV Inc. “The time is right to refresh our own entertainment channel so it can achieve its potential for viewers and advertisers.”
The move should bring some vitality back to the cable network. Lately, Star!’s prime time lineup reeked of desperation with rebroadcasts of daytime’s Dr. Oz and Ellen. Besides, when Star! first launched in 1996, it already pretty much acted as a de facto Canadian version of E! up until CH took E! programming away from them. So this latest rebranding is a propos, all things considered.
etalk and TMZ Remain
Yet, if you thought that the disappearance of the Star! brand would mean that there would be once less channel running TMZ, think again. E! Canada will continue to run the syndicated tabloid strip. Plus, in order to meet Canadian content requirements, etalk was kept in the schedule at 6 and 11:30 PM ET.
But at least now they’ve eliminated the 7:30 PM rebroadcast of etalk. Was three times every evening pushing it? Also, viewers can take comfort in knowing that TMZ will only be on once daily on E! in the late-night timeslot of midnight. So while some CTV repeats will remain, viewers won’t feel anywhere nearly as bombarded by them.
E! Canada’s New Schedule on Day 1:
- 12:00 PM True Hollywood Story: The Kardashians
- 1:00 PM True Hollywood Story: Kendra
- 2:00 PM E! Specials: Chelsea's Big Interview Special
- 3:00 PM E! Celebrates 20 Years of the Celebrity Revolution
- 4:00 PM E! Specials: Cameron Diaz
- 5:00 PM True Hollywood Story: Heidi Klum
- 6:00 PM etalk
- 6:30 PM E! Specials: Holly's World
- 7:00 PM E! News
- 8:00 PM True Hollywood Story: The Kardashians
- 9:00 PM True Hollywood Story: Kendra
- 10:00 PM E! Specials: Chelsea's Big Interview Special
- 11:00 PM Chelsea Lately
- 11:30 PM etalk
- 12:00 AM TMZ
- 12:30 AM Chelsea Lately
- 1:00 AM True Hollywood Story: The Kardashians
Kardashians Everywhere!
Be warned, there will be a Keeping Up With The Kardashians marathon occupying most of the schedule on the very first weekend, starting Friday, December 3. Unfortunately, that’s bad news for those anxiously awaiting the promised simulcast of The Soup Friday nights at 10 PM ET. They’ll have to wait one more week as it returns December 10 only.
A TV grid of what the prime time lineup will look like is currently available at ChannelCanada.com. Look for E! starting Monday, across Canada, on the channel position Star! currently occupies.
Other sources:
- Star-TV.com
Steve Hatton - Steve Hatton is a Montreal-based freelance writer and journalist who covers the television industry, including TV show reviews and media ...
Join the Conversation