- Media Releases
Media Releases
Media Inquiries Contact: David Todd: 416 368-3194 X 207 or Email: dtodd@s-vox.com
“It’s all good” – new Joytv stations launch in Vancouver, Winnipeg
* Schedules include network simulcasts, drama and comedy
* Famed B.C. broadcast personality Rafe Mair to host new series
* Web site launches at www.joytv.ca
TORONTO – Local over-the-air stations CHNU-TV in Vancouver and CIIT-TV in Winnipeg will re-launch on Sept. 1 under the new brand name Joytv.
The stations, officially designated Joytv 10 in Vancouver (Joytv 7 in neighbouring Victoria) and Joytv 11 in Winnipeg, boast new schedules that, for the first time, will include simulcasts of top-rated U.S. network programs such as 60 Minutes and Smallville.
Toronto-based multimedia company S-VOX acquired the two stations from Rogers Media Inc. earlier this year.
Bill Roberts, President and CEO of S-VOX, said the Joytv brand name reflects the “vibrant, upbeat and energetic” spirit of the stations and their programming. “There is a positive, youthful energy in the Winnipeg and Vancouver markets, and we have sought to capture this in our branding,” he said.
The new Joytv tagline, “It’s all good,” is designed to reinforce the positive tone, while underlining the enhanced quality and variety of the stations’ new programming lineup.
Under S-VOX management, the Joytv stations have acquired several U.S. network simulcasts: the hour-long dramas One Tree Hill and Supernatural from The CW, and the award-winning current affairs series 60 Minutes and 48 Hours Mystery from CBS.
The Joytv prime time schedule in Winnipeg also features first-run episodes of the hit series Smallville, and a selection of high-quality syndicated dramas, including The Practice, Third Watch, Angel and Stargate SG-1.
On Mondays through Fridays from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m., the stations offer family drama and comedy strips. New titles this season include The Waltons (on Joytv 11 in Winnipeg) and Scrubs (on Joytv 10 in Vancouver).
THE DAILY: With Mark & Laura-Lynn, Joytv’s new half-hour talk and information series, continues to air Mondays through Fridays. An hour-long Sunday evening edition will premiere this season.
Christian ministry and multicultural programming rounds out the Joytv schedule.
The Joytv brand name and all the related creative elements were developed for S-VOX by Toronto-based marketing agencies Cundari SFP and Loopmedia.
S-VOX (www.s-vox.com) is a diversified multimedia enterprise that offers high-quality television and digital content for individuals seeking spiritual awareness and personal growth. S-VOX properties include: VisionTV, Canada's multi-faith and multicultural television broadcaster, along with the digital television services One: the Body, Mind & Spirit channel and The Christian Channel, and the local stations Joytv 10 in Vancouver and Joytv 11 in Winnipeg. Other ventures include Vision TV International, a partnership with Toronto-based Ellis Entertainment that develops, produces and distributes original programming for the global marketplace.
Joytv 11: 2008-2009 – Programming Highlights
** Drama Series: SIMULCAST **
One Tree Hill
Mondays, starting Sept. 1, 8 p.m.
In the small North Carolina town of One Tree Hill, half brothers Lucas (Chad Michael Murray) and Nathan (James Lafferty) carry on very different lives. Through five seasons, these two young men and the people close to them have made a long and winding journey: Lucas has gone from his first tentative steps off the riverfront basketball court into high school popularity, and now, four years later, into publishing novels; Nathan and Haley (Bethany Joy Lenz) have gone from their first kiss to marriage and a son; Peyton (Hilarie Burton) and Brooke (Sophia Bush) have gone from friendship to estrangement and back. In this sixth season, the stories of these characters continue to progress, as new relationships, new mysteries and new events shape their lives in unexpected ways.
** Drama Series: SIMULCAST **
Supernatural
Thursdays, starting Sept. 18, 8 p.m.
This otherworldly adventure series takes viewers on a terrifying journey into the realm of the unexplained. Years ago, Sam and Dean Winchester (stars Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles) lost their mother to a mysterious demonic power. Their father raised the brothers to be soldiers, teaching them to face down and defeat the paranormal forces that lurk in dark corners and on the back roads of America. With their father gone, Sam and Dean now face an all-out demonic war. As the armies of evil rise, they continue to travel the country, fighting the supernatural wherever they go – and battling their own personal demons.
** Drama Series **
Smallville
Fridays, starting Sept. 19, 8 p.m.
This smash hit series, now entering its eighth season, re-imagines the Superman mythology for a new generation, blending realism and epic adventure. Years ago, a meteor shower burst from the heavens, raining destruction on the unsuspecting citizens of Smallville, Kansas. From the ashes of tragedy emerged the young Clark Kent (star Tom Welling), whose transition to manhood has proved particularly difficult as he comes to grips with his emerging superpowers. This season, Clark will be at a crossroads – and closer than ever to becoming the superhero of legend. He will face his ultimate challenge, with the emergence of a legendary, unstoppable destroyer. And this won't be the only nemesis to appear. Kristin Kreuk, Alison Mack, Erica Durance and Aaron Ashmore also star.
** Current Affairs Series: SIMULCAST **
48 Hours Mystery
Saturdays, starting Sept. 27, 9 p.m.
48 Hours Mystery is television's most popular true-crime series, investigating shocking cases and compelling real-life dramas with journalistic integrity and cutting-edge style. This in-depth approach has earned the program and its team numerous accolades including three Peabody Awards and 17 Emmy Awards.
** Current Affairs Series: SIMULCAST **
60 MinutesSunda
ys, starting Sept. 28, 6 p.m.
60 Minutes, the most successful broadcast in television history, celebrates its 40th anniversary in September. Offering hard-hitting investigative reports, interviews, feature segments and profiles of people in the news, the CBS News magazine has won more Emmy Awards than any other primetime broadcast, including a special Lifetime Achievement Emmy. It has also won virtually every other broadcast journalism award, plus 15 Peabody Awards for excellence in television broadcasting. The correspondents and contributors of 60 Minutes are Anderson Cooper, Katie Couric, Steve Kroft, Lara Logan, Scott Pelley, Andy Rooney, Charlie Rose, Morley Safer, Bob Simon and Lesley Stahl.
Joytv 11: 2008-2009 – New Syndicated Dramas & Comedies
The Waltons
Mondays to Fridays, starting Sept. 1, 4 p.m.
Set in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, this Emmy Award-winning family drama tells the story of a poor but upright American family struggling to stay together through the hardships of the Great Depression and the dark days of World War Two. Their trials and tribulations are seen through the eyes of John-Boy Walton (Richard Thomas), the eldest of seven children and an aspiring writer. Through good times and bad, his parents (Ralph Waite, Michael Learned) and grandparents (Will Geer, Ellen Corby) do their utmost to set an example of strength, determination, decency and compassion.
Stargate SG-1
Tuesdays and Sundays, starting Sept. 2, 8 p.m.
The winner of five Saturn Awards, this long-running sci-fi adventure series picks up where the 1994 big-screen blockbuster left off. Richard Dean Anderson (MacGyver) stars as Air Force Colonel Jack O’Neill, who led the first military mission through the mysterious Stargate, an ancient portal that allows instantaneous travel to other worlds. With the discovery that there are many other Stargates throughout the galaxy, O’Neill and his SG-1 team – Daniel Jackson (Michael Shanks), Teal’c (Christopher Judge) and Captain Samantha Carter (Amanda Tapping) – set out on a new mission that will take them to extraordinary new worlds across the boundless universe.
The Practice
Wednesdays, starting Sept. 3, 8 p.m.
Set in Boston, this acclaimed legal drama from creator David E. Kelley follows the lives of the passionate attorneys at Donnell, Young, Dole & Frutt. To these lawyers, led by the idealistic Bobby Donnell (Dylan McDermott), every case is important and every client worth a fight to the bitter end. Pursuing justice, however, often forces Donnell and his colleagues to confront serious moral and ethical issues. One of television’s most celebrated dramas, The Practice won 15 Emmy Awards, along with three Golden Globes and a Peabody Award. Michael Badalucco, Lisa Hamilton, Steve Harris, Camryn Manheim, Kelli Williams, Lara Flynn Boyle and Marla Sokoloff also star.
Third Watch
Wednesdays, starting Sept. 3, 9 p.m.
It’s not your normal workday. From the afternoon into the late night, they are on the streets: fighting crime, saving lives, and cheating death – if they’re lucky. Created by Edward Allen Bernero (NYPD Blue) and John Wells (ER, The West Wing), this action-packed drama is all about the dedicated men and women who serve as paramedics, firefighters and police officers on the “third watch” shift from 3 p.m. to 11 p.m. The outstanding ensemble cast includes Michael Beach, Coby Bell, Bobby Cannavale, Eddie Cibrian, Nia Long, Molly Price, Kim Raver, Anthony Ruivivar and Skipp Sudduth.
Angel
Thursdays, starting Sept. 4, 9 p.m.
Joss Whedon, creator of the international hit series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, combines supernatural adventure and his trademark wit in this chapter of the Buffy mythology. David Boreanaz (Bones) stars as Angel, a centuries-old vampire with a soul. Leaving behind the small town of Sunnydale and the only woman he ever loved, Angel takes up residence in Los Angeles, the City of Angels. With pervasive evil lurking beneath its sparkling façade, L.A. proves the ideal address for a fallen vampire looking to save a few lost souls – and perhaps, in turn, to redeem his own. With Charisma Carpenter, Alexis Denisof, J. August Richards and Amy Acker.
Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman
Fridays, starting Sept. 5, 9 p.m.
Part action-adventure, part romance, part comedy, this hit series puts a modern twist on a legendary superhero. Dean Cain stars as mild-mannered Clark Kent, alter ego of the mighty Superman, while Teri Hatcher (Desperate Housewives) plays Lois Lane, his fellow reporter at The Daily Planet. Superman’s epic battles with villains like the mad genius Lex Luthor (John Shea) form a thrilling backdrop to a charming, witty and sometimes heartbreaking tale of romance between the Man of Steel and fiction’s first lady of the press.
Poltergeist: The Legacy
Mondays, 9 p.m. (Begins 2009)
Since the beginning of time, mankind has existed between the worlds of light and darkness. This imaginative sci-fi drama series tells the story of The Legacy, an ancient and influential secret society dedicated to exploring the mysterious realms of the paranormal. With a wealth of financial and technological resources at its disposal, the Legacy is humanity’s last line of defence in the battle against evils from the realm of the occult. Derek de Lint and Helen Shaver star.
May to December
Mondays to Fridays, starting Sept. 1, Midnight
It was a day like any other for fiftysomething widower Alec Callendar (Anton Rodgers), a small-town solicitor with a passion for Perry Mason and old Broadway musicals. And then Zoe Angell (Eve Matheson) walked into his life: a bright young gym teacher looking to divorce her unfaithful husband. The sparks would fly, and to their mutual surprise Alec and Zoe soon find themselves in a relationship. But can love really span the age divide? This witty ensemble series remains to this day one of the BBC’s most popular and successful comedies.
No Place Like Home
Mondays to Fridays, starting Sept. 1, 12:30 a.m.
After devoting 24 years to raising their four children, Arthur and Beryl Crabtree (William Gaunt and Patricia Garwood) feel entitled to some peace and quiet. But their grown offspring have other ideas. In this popular British series, all four young Crabtrees flee the adult world and return to the parental nest, to the consternation of mum and dad. With Martin Clunes (Doc Martin) in his first regular series role.
Joytv 11: 2008-2009 – Returning Programs
Current Affairs Series
The Daily with Mark & Laura-Lynn
Mondays to Fridays, 6 a.m., 3:30 p.m. and 10 p.m.
Former BC Lions defensive back Mark Washington and Vancouver broadcast personality Laura-Lynn Tyler Thompson host Joytv’s flagship series: a half-hour weekday talk show offering a unique perspective on issues, events and news-making personalities. The program, which features both in-studio interviews and location segments, has a different thematic focus each day of the week – from business and world events to family and wellness.
Watch for The Daily Weekend Edition, an hour-long Sunday installment - COMING SOON
Drama Series
Jozi-H
Mondays, 9 p.m.
Family Comedy Series
Growing Pains
Mondays to Fridays, 5 p.m. / Saturdays, 6 p.m.
Fatherhood takes on a whole new meaning for Jason Seaver (Alan Thicke), who assumes the chores of cooking, cleaning and minding the kids so that his wife Maggie (Joanna Kerns) can pursue a career in journalism after spending 15 years as a housewife.
Family Comedy Series
Happy Days
Mondays to Fridays, 5:30 p.m. / Saturdays, 6:30 p.m.
Relive the fabulous Fifties with this nostalgic comedy series starring Ron Howard, Henry Winkler, Tom Bosley and Marion Ross.
Comedy Series
The King of Queens
Mondays to Fridays, 6 p.m.
Set in the working-class suburb of Queens, New York, this hit series follows Doug Heffernan (Kevin James), an amiable deliveryman, and his wife, spitfire legal secretary Carrie Heffernan (Leah Remini), as they explore the everyday challenges of love, life, family and marriage. Among those challenges is the constant presence and often bizarre behaviour of Carrie's twice-widowed father, Arthur Spooner (Jerry Stiller), who lives in their basement.
Animated Comedy Series
The Simpsons
Mondays to Fridays, 7 p.m.
The longest-running prime time animated series in television history, The Simpsons isn’t just a TV show – it’s a cultural institution. Intelligently written, subversively humorous and delightfully witty, the show pokes fun at everything in sight, including itself. For 20 seasons, viewers have loyally followed the misadventures of the Simpson family – Homer, Marge, Lisa, Bart and Maggie – and the enormous cast of quirky characters who inhabit the fictional town of Springfield, USA.
Comedy Series
George Lopez
Mondays to Fridays, 7:30 p.m.
Popular standup comic George Lopez stars as a Los Angeles factory manager who handles a complicated and tumultuous job, a strong but challenging marriage, two rebellious children and a mother who can't keep track of her own lies about his childhood – all with his sense of humour intact.
Joytv 11: 2008-2009 – New Factual Programming
Information Series
Randall Mark: Perspectives
Premiere date TBA
Religious scholar and award-winning broadcaster Randall Mark (The Standard) hosts this weekly half-hour, which offers an in-depth look at the most intriguing spiritual issues and personalities of our time. The multi-faith program will include studio interviews and field segments, along with book reviews, features on arts and culture, and much more. Engaging and unconventional, the series will examine the human spiritual experience from the perspective of many different faiths, including Christian, Buddhist, Sikh, Muslim, Jewish and Hindu.
Information Series
The Search with Rafe Mair
Premiere date TBA
Why are we here? Is there a God? Do Heaven and Hell really exist? From childhood, we all grapple with such questions. In this weekly half-hour program, veteran broadcaster Rafe Mair embarks on his own search for answers. One of Canada’s most renowned – and most outspoken – political commentators, Mair engages guests of many different faiths in lively discussion about the nature of belief. Says Mair: “I’m not for counting the number of faeries that can dance on the head of a pin. I’m simply looking for a set of beliefs, which include a supreme being: a code that is simple to understand, though not simple to abide by.”
Information Series
Foundations
Premiere date TBA
