Biggest Ever: CTV Confirms Record Grand Prize to be Awarded as THE AMAZING RACE CANADA Books July 15 Premiere Date

- Teams to race for more than half a million dollars in prizes including $250,000 cash, free Executive First Class airfare for a year courtesy of Air Canada, two 2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingrays, as well as special pit stop prizes -

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TORONTO, May 6, 2013 /CNW/ - The stakes have just been raised. The teams on THE AMAZING RACE CANADA will kick-off the race of a lifetime in pursuit of the biggest prize ever awarded for a Canadian competition television series. Set to anchor CTV's Summer 2013 schedule, it was confirmed today that THE AMAZING RACE CANADA will air Mondays at 9 p.m. ET/PT beginning July 15 on CTV (visit CTV.ca to confirm local broadcast times). It was also announced today that THE AMAZING RACE CANADA will also air on RDS, TSN, and TSN2, as well as on demand across CTV's digital platforms: CTV.ca, the CTV App, and through video on demand partners. Thousands of teams have entered, but only one team will run away with the historic grand prize for THE AMAZING RACE CANADA. Including a $250,000 cash payout, the prized also features the opportunity to fly free for a year for two anywhere Air Canada flies worldwide (175 destinations) in Executive First Class (based on 10 trips for two), and two 2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingrays. In total, the prize is valued at 167,224 hockey pucks, 178,572 cans of beer, and 33,356 half-liter jars of pure Canadian maple syrup. Teams will also be competing for special pit stop prizes with details to be announced in the coming weeks.

**Media Note** Download artwork for THE AMAZING RACE CANADA at BellMediaPR.ca"Teams will need to bring their A-game in a race for one of the most lucrative prizes in television and largest in Canadian television history," said Phil King, President, CTV Programming and Sports. "With the stakes now raised, we can't wait to see how hard teams will push themselves to cross the finish line first."

Added John Brunton, Chairman and CEO, Insight Productions: "This is all so exciting. The stakes are real, the grand prize is eye-popping, and I fully expect teams to lay it all on the line from the start of the race to the finish line." In addition to winning one quarter of a million dollars in cold hard cash, the winning team also receives:

The Trip of a Lifetime

• The opportunity for two to fly free for a year anywhere Air Canada flies worldwide (175 destinations) in Executive First Class.
• Winners get a luxurious international travel experience with Air Canada Executive First Class's refurbished cabin interiors with personal seat back entertainment at every seat with hundreds of hours of movies, TV programs, and music available on demand, as well as standard 110V electrical outlets at arm's reach for all customers.
• Air Canada has also recently become the only international network carrier in North America to receive a Four-Star ranking according to independent U.K. research firm Skytrax.

"The winners of THE AMAZING RACE CANADA will have to display performance, leadership, and courage," said Craig Landry, Vice President of Marketing, Air Canada. "We want to recognize that excellence - a value we share - with the opportunity to really experience the whole world after the race."

Two Corvettes

• Two 2014 Chevrolet Stingrays, the seventh-generation Corvette, the most powerful standard model ever, with an estimated 450 horsepower (335 kW) and 450 lb.-ft. of torque (610 Nm).
• It is also the most capable standard model ever, able to accelerate from 0-60 mph (96 km/h) in less than four seconds and achieve more than 1g in cornering grip.
• It is expected to be the most fuel-efficient Corvette, exceeding the 7.7 L/100km on the highway of the current model.

"The Corvette evokes a truly passionate response from customers," said Kevin Williams, President and Managing Director, General Motors of Canada. "The team that wins THE AMAZING RACE CANADA is going to have to bring a passion for life and adventure to the race and we think that this car will be a great fit for those winners."

Following the casting announcement in December 2012, THE AMAZING RACE CANADA has received thousands of applications. Applicants have come in from all across the country, comprised of pairings from all kinds of relationships. The host, and other show details for #RaceCDA will be announced in the coming weeks. Fans are also encouraged to follow @AmazingRaceCDA and stay tuned to the CTV Facebook page for updates.

Set to anchor CTV's Summer 2013 schedule, THE AMAZING RACE CANADA will provide a uniquely Canadian take on the original series, with competitors discovering the world within the borders of Canada.

With the knowledge that most Canadians have not travelled beyond their own province, THE AMAZING RACE CANADA gives Canadians the opportunity to race around Canada and discover the country they love in a once-in-a-lifetime adventure. Teams will race to the finish line, criss-crossing up to 9,000 kilometres. A stunning depiction of the Canadian fabric, the teams will travel through both the country's urban centres as well as the most remote outposts in the land, all while exploring its broad cultural and ethnic diversity, wildlife, and iconic landmarks.

The four top-tier sponsors for THE AMAZING RACE CANADA are Air Canada, BlackBerry®, INTERAC®, and Chevrolet Canada.

THE AMAZING RACE CANADA is based on THE AMAZING RACE, the nine-time, Emmy® award-winning, hit program created by Bertram van Munster and Elise Doganieri that premiered in 2001 in the United States. van Munster, Doganieri, and Mark Vertullo are executive producers for Worldrace Productions, a division of Profiles Television. Jerry Bruckheimer and Jonathan Littman are executive producers for Jerry Bruckheimer Television. The program is produced in association with ABC Studios. The U.S. version of THE AMAZING RACE was a Top 3 series last fall on CTV and is this season's #1 reality program in Canada with an average audience of 2.7 million viewers.

THE AMAZING RACE CANADA will be the 12^th international version to launch outside of the United States, joining Asia, Australia, Brazil, China, France, Israel, Latin America, Norway, Philippines, Ukraine and Vietnam as territories with an original THE AMAZING RACE production.

THE AMAZING RACE CANADA will be produced by Insight Productions in association with CTV and with the support of Profiles Television. Executive Producers for Insight Productions are John Brunton and Barbara Bowlby, and Supervising Producer is Mark Lysakowski. Bertram van Munster and Elise Doganieri are executive producers for Profiles Television. Robin Johnston is the CTV Production Executive. Corrie Coe is Senior Vice-President, Independent Production, Bell Media. Mike Cosentino is Senior Vice-President, Programming, CTV Networks. Phil King is President, CTV Programming and Sports.

SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS:

Twitter:
@CTV_PR
@CTV_Television
@AmazingRaceCDA
#RaceCDA
@AirCanada
@chevrolet

Facebook:
facebook.com/ctv

About Bell Media Independent Production
Bell Media has commissioned and co-produced some of Canada's most-watched and most-acclaimed original programming, while working with the best Canadian independent producers in the country. Hit CTV series include ratings success stories SAVING HOPE, MOTIVE, and THE LISTENER, and the recently concluded game changer FLASHPOINT. New for 2013 on CTV are the drama series PLAYED, relationship comedy SATISFACTION, multi-cam office comedy SPUN OUT, and THE AMAZING RACE CANADA, a Canadian-produced, complementary version of the hit international series. Among the scripted series on Bell Media specialty channels are the two-time Emmy®-nominated hit DEGRASSI, ORPHAN BLACK, and upcoming series BITTEN. Bell Media specialty channels are also home to reality series PANIC BUTTON, entertainment documentary BRAVE NEW GIRL, game shows MATCH GAME and POP QUIZ, and factual series like HIGHWAY THRU HELL, and LAST CAR STANDING. In total, Bell Media ordered 27 new original Canadian series in 2012, and put 35 scripted projects into development.

About CTV
CTV is Canada's #1 private broadcaster. Featuring a wide range of quality news, sports, information, and entertainment programming, CTV has been Canada's most-watched television network for the past 10 years in a row. CTV is a division of Bell Media, Canada's premier multimedia company with leading assets in television, radio and digital. Bell Media is owned by BCE Inc. (TSX, NYSE: BCE), Canada's largest communications company. More information about CTV can be found on the network's website at ctv.ca.

SOURCE: CTV

Jacqui VanSickle, CTV, 416.384.5091 or [email protected]
Jim Quan, CTV, 416.384.5311 or [email protected]