CBC Television, CTV and Global Television join forces to support Haitian
relief efforts

    
    Canadian broadcasters collaborate to produce CANADA FOR HAITI special,
    followed by MTV's HOPE FOR HAITI NOW, Friday, Jan. 22
    

TORONTO , Jan. 19 /CNW/ - Canada's television networks have united in their support for Haiti as it struggles under the crippling devastation of last week's earthquake. CBC Television, CTV and Global Television will be collaborating to produce CANADA FOR HAITI , a one-hour, commercial-free special leading up to HOPE FOR HAITI NOW, broadcasting live on Friday, Jan. 22 at 7 p.m. ET /PT ( 8 p.m. AT).

Hosted by Cheryl Hickey , Ben Mulroney and George Stroumboulopoulos, CANADA FOR HAITI will feature exclusive Canadian content, exploring our country's close relationship with Haiti in this time of need, and performances from top Canadian musicians. Full details will be announced in the coming days.

Donations accepted during the broadcast will go towards a coalition of Canadian NGOs, including Canadian Red Cross Society, Care Canada , Free the Children, Oxfam Canada , Oxfam Quebec , Plan Canada , Save the Children Canada , UNICEF Canada and World Vision Canada .

Following CANADA FOR HAITI , CBC Television, CTV, Global Television, MTV, MuchMusic, and National Geographic Channel will simulcast HOPE FOR HAITI NOW, a special live, commercial-free earthquake relief telethon at 8 p.m. ET /PT ( 9 p.m. AT).

Hosted by George Clooney in Los Angeles , Haitian-born Wyclef Jean in New York City and CNN's Anderson Cooper in Haiti , the telethon will feature a star-studded line-up of musical performances and celebrity appearances conceived to galvanize the world to donate to the massive Haitian relief effort. Facebook and MySpace have also signed on as official social media partners to help drive donations and telethon viewership.

HOPE FOR HAITI NOW is produced by Joel Gallen , Tenth Planet Productions, in collaboration with MTV Networks and George Clooney.

CBC/Radio-Canada is Canada's national public broadcaster and one of its largest cultural institutions. With 28 services offered on Radio, Television, the Internet, satellite radio, digital audio, as well as through its record and music distribution service and wireless WAP and SMS messaging services, CBC/Radio-Canada is available how, where, and when Canadians want it.

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 network's website at www.ctv.ca.

Global Television is a Canwest Broadcasting Network. Canwest Broadcasting operates Global Television and eighteen of the country's most popular specialty channels, including HGTV, Mystery TV, National Geographic Channel, Showcase, History Television, Food Network and TVtropolis. Canwest Broadcasting is a division of Canwest Media Inc., a subsidiary of Canwest Global Communications Corp. (www.canwest.com), Canada's largest media company. In addition to owning Global Television, operating 18 industry-leading specialty channels and having ownership in 5 specialty channels, Canwest is Canada's largest publisher of English language paid daily newspapers and owns and operates more than 80 online properties.

For further information: For CBC: Jeff Keay, CBC/Radio Canada, [phone], [email protected]; For CTV: Scott Henderson, CTV Inc., [phone], [email protected]; For Global: Deborah Lewis, Canwest Broadcasting, [phone], [email protected]