Citytv Is On A Roll

That was a mighty impressive roll out of Citytv product that advertising buyers and a few TV critics watched Monday at Toronto's Cannon theater.
My conclusion: Backed by a mighty influx of cash from Rogers Media City and its sister stations is on a real roll as it prepares to challenge BellMedia(CTV) and Shaw Media (CanWest) for ratings supremacy.
Right up front Citytv announced a new all 24-hour news channel Citytv News that will compete CBC and CBS in Canadian news gathering.
And Citytv stations have secured a mighty impressive package of new series scheduled to debut this fall.
Citytv previewed the first episode of one of its new acquisitions, 2 Broke Girls, starring Kat Dennings and Beth Behrs written by Emmy winner Michael Patrick King (Sex And The City) and comic Whitney Cummings and it's great. There was repeated applause from the audience and the show might best be described as a sort of Laverne And Shirley for our times.
Citytv also has the latest Tim Allen sitcom Last Man Standing (co-starring Nancy Travis).
Also secured: a new single camera sitcom New Girl starring Zooey Deschannel, Revenge with Henry Czerny, Madeleine Stowe and Emily Van Camp, Terra Nova executive produced by Steven Spielberg.
Also bought: Person Of Interest starring Jim Caviezel and executive produced by J.J. Abrams (Lost). And there's the new series The Playboy Club which looks at the birth of the Playboy bunnies.
The web has also taken Private Practice from CTV and secured the sydication rights to 30 Rock. Raising Hope also comes to Citytv.
Returning American hits include Community, Parks And Recreation, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, Fringe, How I Met Your Mother.
Rogers also announced several new domestic series including Canada's Got Talent. And the Toronto-made detective series The Murdoch Mysteries is also back.
To highlight its newfound status Rogers had as guests Rico Rodriguez from Modern Family, Canadians Cutbert and Czerny and
from 2 Broke Girls the blonde and very funny Beth Behrs.
Next up to bat Tuesday is Shaw Media's revamped CanWest network.