August 29, 2006

Chad Doucette is Eliminated After Biggest Vote Ever in Canadian Idol History

-- Voting jumps by over one million in one week to astonishing 4.3 million votes --
-- 2005 runner-up Rex Goudie presented with Platinum Record --
-- Results show expands to one hour next week as Tony Bennett performs live --

Toronto, ON (August 29, 2006) – Canadians have become fanatical in their mission to choose the next Canadian Idol. After a record-breaking 4.3 million votes were cast last night – the most ever in the history of the series and an incredible jump of over one million compared to last week – Chad Doucette found himself at the bottom of the scorecard tonight. The 18-year-old high school graduate from East Chezzetcook, NS was eliminated from the competition during tonight’s live results show on CTV.

Now, only three remain in the quest to become the next Canadian Idol, representing Western Canada, Central Canada and Atlantic Canada. With voting up 40 per cent and audience figures up almost 10 per cent compared to last week, the buzz continues to build as the competition heats up leading up to Canadian Idol’s spectacular season finale in less than three weeks.

For the third week in a row, Canadian Idol attracted more than 2 million viewers (2.04 million, BBM Nielsen Media Research), becoming the most-watched program of the night in Canada and besting Prison Break (Global) by 16 per cent during the 8 p.m. hour. Canadian Idol remains Canada’s most-watched summer series in all demos.

** Media Note ** - Photography from tonight’s show as well as an all-new photo of the remaining three Canadian Idol finalists can be found online at the Canadian Idol Media Centre at www.idolpix.ca. Additionally, audio clips from tonight’s show can be downloaded at www.idolpix.ca.

Tonight, the Top 4 opened the show with a live group performance of Bad English’s “When I See Your Smile.” Later in the show, special guest Rex Goudie performed his hit single “Run.” Immediately following, host Ben Mulroney presented Goudie, the 2005 Canadian Idol runner-up, with a Platinum Record on behalf of SONY BMG MUSIC (CANADA) Inc. and Canadian Idol for his hit CD Under The Lights. Goudie announced on the show for the first time that his follow-up CD is expected this December.

Then, host Ben Mulroney brought the final four competitors to centre stage: Eva Avila, 19, from Gatineau, QC; Doucette; Tyler Lewis, 20, from Rockglen, SK; and Craig Sharpe, 16, from Upper Island Cover, NL. Within minutes, Avila and Sharpe were told they were safe and that Lewis and Doucette were in the Bottom Two. Mulroney then informed Lewis, who was appearing among the bottom group of competitors for the first time in the competition, that he was safe as well, and that it would be Doucette who was going home tonight. Doucette then closed the show with a reprise of his Monday night performance of REM’s “Everybody Hurts.”

Avila, Lewis and Sharpe jet to New York City tomorrow to meet and rehearse with the legendary Tony Bennett in preparation for next week’s salute to “The Music of Tony Bennett.” Airing Monday, September 4 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on CTV (check local listings), the Top 3 will perform two songs each from Bennett’s songbook, accompanied live by the Canadian Idol orchestra. They will also appear in segments to be taped in the Big Apple later this week. Then, Bennett himself graces the Canadian Idol stage on an expanded one-hour results episode on Tuesday, September 5 from 8-9 p.m. ET/PT on CTV, performing live for the first time on any Idol program in the world.

Canadian Idol was created by Simon Fuller and is produced in association with CTV by Insight Productions. John Brunton and Barbara Bowlby are Executive Producers. Mark Lysakowski is Supervising Producer. Senior Producer is Sue Brophey. Mary Sexton is Regional Producer. Jane Rimer is Executive Consultant for FremantleMedia. Rick Lewchuk is CTV’s Senior Vice-President, Program Planning and Promotion. Ed Robinson is CTV’s Senior Vice-President, Comedy, Variety and Talk. Susanne Boyce is CTV President of Programming and Chair of the CTV Media Group.

FremantleMedia is one of the largest international creators and producers of programme brands in the world, with leading prime time drama, serial drama, entertainment and factual entertainment programming in over 40 territories. FremantleMedia has production offices in over 20 countries worldwide, providing local sales and production support for its international TV brands such as Idols and the world’s longest running game show, The Price is Right.

The company’s licensing operation, FremantleMedia Licensing Worldwide, exploits FremantleMedia’s many strong brands across multiple off-screen platforms including merchandising campaigns, interactive and wireless support, home entertainment and music publishing. Fremantle International Distribution, the company’s international distribution division licenses over 19,000 hours of programming to 150 countries worldwide. FremantleMedia is the content arm of the RTL Group, Europe's largest television and radio broadcast company. For further information please see FremantleMedia’s website www.fremantlemedia.com.

CTV, Canada's largest private broadcaster, offers a wide range of quality news, sports, information, and entertainment programming. It has the number-one national newscast, CTV National News With Lloyd Robertson, and is the number-one choice for prime-time viewing. CTV owns 21 conventional television stations across Canada and has interests in 16 specialty channels, including the number-one Canadian specialty channel, TSN. CTV is owned by CTVglobemedia, Canada's premier multi-media company. More information about CTV may be found on the company website at www.ctv.ca.

- CTV -

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