CTV's THE AMAZING RACE CANADA Welcomes Premiere Sponsorship Partners

- Sponsorships to include in-show integrations, digital integrations on CTV.ca/TheAmazingRaceCanada and brand extensions -

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TORONTO, Feb. 21, 2013 /CNW/ - After an overwhelming response from Canada's advertising community, CTV announced today the four top-tier sponsors for THE AMAZING RACE CANADA. Air Canada (represented by Marketel), BlackBerry® (represented by Starcom), INTERAC®, and Chevrolet Canada will each play an integral role in this summer's THE AMAZING RACE CANADA, helping the teams race to the finish line.

**Media Note** Download artwork for THE AMAZING RACE CANADA at BellMediaPR.ca

"We were overwhelmed by the enthusiastic response from the industry about THE AMAZING RACE CANADA coming to CTV," said Mary Kreuk, Vice-President, Brand Partnerships, Bell Media. "We are thrilled to welcome these four amazing and iconic brands on board as our premiere partners to share in our adventure as we explore this fantastic country together."

CTV Brand Partnerships is currently working with the four premiere brands on product integration, customized activations, and original branded content that celebrates Canada and showcases the best parts of our amazing country. The four brands will receive innovative brand extensions and various in-show integrations throughout the inaugural season, as well as an online presence on CTV.ca/TheAmazingRaceCanada, with specific details to be announced closer to broadcast.

Following the casting announcement in December 2012, THE AMAZING RACE CANADA has received thousands of applications. Applicants have been coming in from all across the country, comprised of pairings from all kinds of relationships. The deadline to audition for this race of a lifetime is next Thursday, February 28, 2013. Eligible Canadians are encouraged to visit theamazingracecanadacasting.com to apply. 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 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

Facebook:
facebook.com/ctv

About Air Canada
Air Canada is Canada's largest domestic and international airline serving more than 175 destinations on five continents.  Canada's flag carrier is the 15th largest commercial airline in the world and in 2012 served close to 35 million customers.  Air Canada provides scheduled passenger service directly to 59 Canadian cities, 55 destinations in the United States and 64 cities in Europe, the Middle East, Asia, Australia, the Caribbean, Mexicoand South America.  Air Canada is a founding member of Star Alliance, the world's most comprehensive air transportation network serving 1,329 destinations in 194 countries. Air Canada is the only international network carrier in North America to receive a Four-Star ranking according to independent U.K. research firm Skytrax that ranked Air Canada in a worldwide survey of more than 18 million airline passengers as Best International Airline in North America in 2012 for the third consecutive year.

About BlackBerry®
Research In Motion (RIM), a global leader in wireless innovation, revolutionized the mobile industry with the introduction of the BlackBerry solution in 1999. Since then, BlackBerry products and services have continued to change the way millions of people around the world stay connected. With the launch of BlackBerry® 10, we have re-designed, re-engineered and re-invented BlackBerry.  Not only did we introduce a new mobile experience to our global community of BlackBerry users, but we are also introducing a new name for the company. Research In Motion now operates globally under the iconic name Blackberry. To further signal this exciting re-branding of the Company, effective February 4, 2013, our stock ticker on the NASDAQ exchange will become BBRY and on the TSX exchange, BB. The BlackBerry product line includes the BlackBerry® PlayBook™ tablet, award-winning BlackBerry® smartphones, software for businesses and accessories.

About Chevrolet in Canada
Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world's largest car brands, doing business in more than 140 countries and selling more than 4 million cars and trucks a year. Chevrolet provides customers with fuel-efficient vehicles that feature spirited performance, expressive design and high quality. More information on Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.ca, on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/chevroletcanada or by following @ChevroletCanada on Twitter.

About Interac Association
A recognized world leader in debit card services, Interac Association is responsible for the development and operations of the Interac® network, a national payment network that allows Canadians to access their money through Interac Cash at 60,000 Automated Banking Machines and Interac Debit at 766,000 point-of-sale terminals across Canada.  Interac Flash™, a secure, contactless enhancement of Interac Debit, allows Canadians to pay for items instantly with their Interac chip debit card at a reader that supports Interac Flash.  Other related services offered by Acxsys Corporation, whose shareholders are the architects of the Interac network, include: Interac Online; Interac e-Transfer™; and international services, which provide Canadian cardholders with point-of-sale access at nearly 2 million U.S. retailers and PULSE, Discover, Diners Club International and UnionPay cardholders access to ABMs in Canada.

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.

About Insight Productions
Insight Production Company Ltd, headed by John Brunton & Barbara Bowlby has become an industry leader in the creative development, financing and production of highly rated television programs and cutting edge multiplatform content for the global market in every genre. Since 1979, it has been recognized for its reputation for quality as the recipient of numerous international awards, including multiple Gemini's. The company has created thousands of hours of groundbreaking television that continues to be broadcast over major networks worldwide. Broadcast Magazine International claims that "when it comes to adapting formats for Canadian audiences there is one producer who appears to have the Midas touch." Recent hits include THE JUNO AWARDS, which plays a key role in the Canadian music industry, TOP CHEF CANADA, INTERVENTION CANADA, CANADA'S GOT TALENT and Insight's original formats CANADA SINGS & BATTLE OF THE BLADES.  Insight is currently in production on the Canadian versions of NEVER EVER DO THIS AT HOME and BIG BROTHER CANADA. For more information visit:
www.insighttv.com
www.facebook.com/insightproductions
@insightprod

SOURCE: CTV

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