Canwest Reports Unprecedented Growth In 2009-2010 TV Season

    
                     Global Has Best Season in Years With
               3 of the Top 5 - Including the No. 1 Show on TV

                   Canada's 'Home Of The New Hits' Delivers
           3 of the Top 5 New Shows - Including No.1 New Show Glee

              Canwest Specialties Report Best Seasons on Record
    

TORONTO, June 1 /CNW/ - Just one day before its Fall 2010 Upfront Presentation, Canwest recaps the 2009-2010 season with resounding success in all areas of its broadcast business.

"This season produced extraordinary results for Global and our outstanding portfolio of Specialty channels," said Barbara Williams, Executive Vice-President, Content, Canwest Broadcasting. "From incredible growth in news and primetime on Global, to historic audiences across our Specialty channels, this was a season of unprecedented ratings growth for Canwest."

    
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    Global: 2009-2010 Primetime Highlights
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This season, Global's primetime average audience increased an unprecedented 29% among viewers in the key Adults 18-49 demo.

Global is now home to 3 of the Top 5 programs including the No. 1 Show on TV: Survivor.

    
    CANADA'S TOP 5 PROGRAMS - ADULTS 18-49
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    1  SURVIVOR: HEROES VS. VILLAINS (GLOBAL)
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    2  SURVIVOR: SAMOA (GLOBAL)
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    3  GREY'S ANATOMY (CTV)
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    4  AMAZING RACE 15 (CTV)
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    5  HOUSE (GLOBAL)
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With an unmatched track record when it comes to new hit programming, Global is clearly 'Home Of The New Hits' this year with 3 of the Top 5 new shows of the year - including the season's No. 1 New Show: Glee.

    
    CANADA'S TOP 5 NEW PROGRAMS - ADULTS 18-49
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    1  GLEE (GLOBAL)
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    2  V (CTV)
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    3  UNDERCOVER BOSS (CTV)
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    4  NCIS: LOS ANGELES (GLOBAL)
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    5  CLEVELAND SHOW (GLOBAL)
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    Global National Highlights
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Global's flagship news program, Global National, grew an astounding 22% among the core news demographic of Adults 25-54 - more than any other national news program. Global National is seen nightly by over a million Canadians, 96% more than The National on CBC (Ind. 2+).

    
    Entertainment News Highlights
    -----------------------------
    

Entertainment Tonight and Entertainment Tonight Canada is now the No. 1 entertainment news hour in Canada for every key demographic including Adults 18-49, 25-54, 18-34 and Women 25-54.

    
    GlobalTV.com Highlights
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GlobalTV.com continued its meteoric rise as unique viewers grew by 122%, video views rose from 25 million to 117 million and the site averaged 100 minutes per viewer each month, almost doubling since last year.

    
    Canwest Specialty Channels: 2009-2010 Highlights
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Canwest's Specialty channels also exhibited extraordinary growth during this past broadcast year. Nine of the broadcaster's channels had their best year on record led by the double digit growth of the following:

    
    CHANNEL                        YEAR/YEAR GROWTH
    ------------------------------------------------
    National Geographic Channel                +35%
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    MovieTime                                  +31%
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    HGTV                                       +29%
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    Action                                     +25%
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    Slice(TM)                                  +24%
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Record setting growth can only come with top-notch programming and Canwest Specialty delivered across all genres this year, as many hit shows set some records of their own.

    
    -   The blockbuster nuptial flick, 27 Dresses, delivered a total viewing
        audience of 1.1 million viewers (2+), making it the highest rated
        movie of all-time on Showcase.

    -   Confirming that one needs more than just luck to win big, the Top
        Chef: Las Vegas series premiere on Food Network Canada delivered an
        audience of 360,000 (2+) and 295,000 (A25-54) setting an all-time
        audience high for a single-viewing.

    -   The return of the top-rated series, Ice Road Truckers, hauled in over
        half a million viewers on Wednesday, March 31, 2010. This achievement
        marked the highest audience ever for a series on History Television.
    

Global Source: BBM Canada PPM, Global Total, Total Canada AMA(000), 09/10 (Sept 14/09 - Feb 11, Mar - May 16/10), BBM-NMR Data 08-09 (Sept 8/08-May 24/09), 07/08 (Sept 10/07 - May 25/008) Excludes Olympic dates

GlobalTV.com Source: GlobalTV.com, comScore Video Metrix September 2009 to April 2010 vs. September 2008 to April 2009. Video Views summed, all other metrics represent monthly averages

Specialty Source: BBM Canada PPM, Total Canada AMA(000), 09/10 (9/14/2009 to 2/7/2010, 3/1/2010 to 5/23/2010) Excludes Olympic weeks

About Canwest Broadcasting

Canwest Broadcasting operates Global Television and 18 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.

About Canwest Originals

Canwest is the proud home of the most diverse slate of Canadian Original programs across the Dramatic, Lifestyle and Entertainment genres. As a steadfast supporter of the Canadian production community, Canwest is dedicated to bringing the best of the country to audiences nationwide - including shows such as: Rookie Blue, Family Restaurant, Holmes Inspection, Ice Pilots: NWT, 16:9, Re-Vamped and Canada's most trusted entertainment news show, Entertainment Tonight Canada.

About Canwest Media Inc.

Canwest Media Inc. is a subsidiary of Canwest Global Communications Corp. (www.canwest.com), Canada's largest media company. In addition to owning the Global Television Network, 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 media inquiries, please contact: Deborah Lewis Belcourt, Vice President Communications, Canwest Broadcasting, [phone], [email protected]