Singing economic blues, CTV cans Canadian Idol for 2009
Last Updated: Wednesday, December 17, 2008 | 7:37 AM ET
CBC News
Canadian Idol winner for 2008 Theo Tams wipes a tear as he is congratulated by host Ben Mulroney in September. CTV has suspended the reality series for a year. (J.P. Moczulski/Canadian Press)Predictions of falling advertising revenue have prompted CTV to put the Canadian Idol series on hold for 2009.
In a statement issued by CTV late Tuesday, it announced the reality series that lets Canadians vote on new singing talent will take a one-year sabbatical in 2009 "as a result of the current economic climate."
The program hosted by Ben Mulroney finished its sixth season in the fall, with ratings averaging 1.47 million viewers in September.
But CTV said producing the reality series is costly, and it is expecting a sharp drop in advertising revenue in 2009.
The network is retaining the rights to the series, which officials said was not cancelled and could return to the airwaves in 2010.
Suspending the show for a year will help the network preserve cash during the 2009 broadcast season, the organization stated. The network labelled the one-year plan as a "rest" for the show.
American Idol is still planning on airing its version of the series, but in a scaled-back format.
CTV noted that versions of the show in Russia, Germany and the Netherlands have also taken breaks previously and then returned for more seasons.
With files from the Canadian Press
