November 30, 2009

CTV Welcomes U2’s Bono and The Edge to Canada with Dec. 11 Season 2 Sneak Peek of SPECTACLE: ELVIS COSTELLO WITH…

– Historical evening of rock and talk headlines CTV’s holiday programming lineup –
– Surprise episode taped at Toronto’s historic Masonic Temple –

Toronto, ON (November 30, 2009) – CTV announced today a special holiday sneak peek of Season 2 of SPECTACLE: ELVIS COSTELLO WITH… featuring special guests Bono and The Edge. Premiering Friday, December 11 at 10 p.m. ET on CTV (visit ctv.ca to confirm local broadcast times), the special episode marks the first time CTV’s critically-acclaimed original music/talk series has been taped in Canada. The top-secret performance caught Torontonians by surprise last September, creating a fan frenzy when locals realized Bono and The Edge were appearing at CTV’s historic Masonic Temple studio, joining an impressive lineage of rock royalty that have performed in the building. The rest of the seven-part season will be seen in its entirety as part of CTV’s mid-season schedule.

The SPECTACLE sneak preview is the second of three Friday night music specials on CTV featuring world-renowned artists, beginning on December 4 at 10 p.m. ET with THE BEATLES ON RECORD and ending with MICHAEL BUBLÉ MEETS MADISON SQUARE GARDEN on December 18 at 10 p.m. ET on CTV.

** Media Note ** - Download photos for SPECTACLE: ELVIS COSTELLO WITH… at www.ctvmedia.ca

In SPECTACLE: ELVIS COSTELLO WITH…Bono and The Edge, host Elvis Costello presents an in-depth look at the musical roots of the Dublin rockers, their philanthropy initiatives and the inspiring words of their musical idols Bob Dylan, Van Morrison and Frank Sinatra. Bono and The Edge pull the curtain back on the writing and recording process behind some of their most famous recordings; discuss their unlikely friendship with Frank Sinatra; and perform rarities as well as a show ending mash-up with Elvis and The Imposters. Songs performed during the episode include “Stuck In a Moment You Can't Get Out Of”, “Stay (Faraway, So Close!)”, “Two Shots of Happy, One Shot of Sad”, and “Pump It Up / Get On Your Boots”.

“To witness these revered performers rock and talk in such a hallowed setting was magical,” said Susanne Boyce, President, Creative, Content and Channels, CTV Inc. “The Masonic Temple’s rich musical history just got a whole lot richer.”

Shooting in Canada for the first time, the episode was shot at one of the most renowned musical venues in Canada, the Concert Hall in Toronto’s legendary Masonic Temple. This stage has seen the likes of music icons from David Bowie and The Ramones to Led Zeppelin and The Rolling Stones, creating a distinct musical culture and aura that sets the mood for the second season of SPECTACLE. A second episode of SPECTACLE was shot at the Masonic Temple earlier this month.

As previously announced, the prestigious line-up for the rest of this season includes Grammy®, Golden Globe® and Oscar® winning New Jersey rocker Bruce Springsteen; multi-Grammy®, multi-platinum artist Sheryl Crow; Grammy® winners Lyle Lovett, John Prine, Levon Helm and Allen Toussaint; Neko Case, Jesse Winchester, Ray LaMontagne, Nick Lowe, Richard Thompson and JUNO Award-winning Canadian singer/songwriter Ron Sexsmith.

Embraced by both critics and viewers in its ground-breaking first season, SPECTACLE proved that there is a substantial audience for an intelligent and entertaining program about music, becoming one of last season’s Top 10 new television series in Canada*. Designed to provide a forum for in-depth discussion and performance with the most interesting and influential artists and personalities of our time, the CTV original series fuses the best of talk and music television. SPECTACLE also features a variety of performance elements including unique collaborations, acoustic and impromptu “illustrative” demonstrations of the creative process, and some original interpretations of others’ songs by Costello.

SPECTACLE’s inaugural season featured an extraordinary and eclectic roster of legendary musicians and fascinating personalities, starting with Sir Elton John, before delving into an astonishing range of musical genres, including pop, rock, jazz, country and even opera. Guests ranged from The Police to President Bill Clinton, and the series won rave reviews all over the world, airing on CTV and Bravo! in Canada and on Sundance Channel in the U.S., as well as on Channel 4 in the UK, ABC in Australia, HBO throughout Latin America, and in a number of other international territories. Season 1 of SPECTACLE is now available on iTunes, and a DVD/BluRay box set was released throughout North America on November 10, 2009.

Co-produced by Toronto’s reinvention entertainment, SpyBox Pictures and Prospero Pictures, along with London-based Rocket Pictures in association with CTV and Sundance Channel, SPECTACLE: ELVIS COSTELLO WITH… is an unpredictable and unprecedented television experience. The series of one-hour programs features everything from intimate one-on-ones with legendary performers and notable newcomers to thematic panel discussions. Season 2 of the series was taped in front of a live audience at Harlem’s world famous Apollo Theater in New York City and Toronto’s historic Masonic Temple.

Consistent with Sir Elton John's long-standing commitment to philanthropy and music, the series producers have struck an exciting association with the (Product) RED (www.joinred.com) campaign created to raise awareness and money for the Global Fund (www.theglobalfund.org) to fight AIDS in Africa. Select program excerpts and performances will be distributed in a variety of new media and conventional platforms, with a portion of the profits directed to the Global Fund.

SPECTACLE: ELVIS COSTELLO WITH… is produced by Rocket Pictures, SpyBox Pictures, Prospero Pictures and reinvention entertainment, in association with CTV and Sundance Channel. Executive Producers are Sir Elton John, Elvis Costello, David Furnish, Steve Hamilton-Shaw, Jordan Jacobs, Martin Katz and Stephen Warden. Co-Executive Producer is Alex Coletti. For CTV, Susanne Boyce is President, Creative, Content and Channels, CTV Inc.

CTV, Canada’s Olympic Network, is also Canada's largest private broadcaster. Featuring a wide range of quality news, sports, information, and entertainment programming, CTV is Canada’s most-watched television network. CTV Inc. also owns radio stations across the country and owns or has interests in leading national specialty channels, featuring news, sports, factual, arts, entertainment, music, youth and fashion programming. CTV Inc. is owned by CTVglobemedia Inc., Canada’s premier multi-media company, which also owns Canada’s national newspaper, The Globe and Mail. CTV is the official broadcaster of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games and London 2012 Games of the Olympiad. More information about CTV may be found on the company website at www.ctv.ca.

Source: BBM Nielsen Media Research
*Sept. 1, 2008 – May 24, 2009, minimum five telecasts

- CTV-


For more information:
Renée Horton, CTV Inc., 416.384.5374 or renee.horton@ctv.ca
Allie Page, CTV Inc., 416.384.4596 or allie.page@ctv.ca

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