EastEnders moves to new Canadian home on VisionTV

TORONTO, June 15 /CNW/ - The much-loved, long-running UK soap series EastEnders will premiere in prime time on its new Canadian home, VisionTV, this fall.

Current broadcaster BBC CANADA will air its last EastEnders episode on Thursday, June 17 and the series will go into a short hiatus over the summer. On September 20, EastEnders will make its VisionTV debut, picking up exactly where BBC CANADA leaves off in the episode lineup, so as not to interrupt the continuity of storylines.

VisionTV will broadcast EastEnders Mondays through Fridays at 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT. Full episodes will also be streamed online at VisionTV Video on Demand: (less than)http://video.visiontv.ca/(greater than)

VisionTV Chief Operating Officer Mark Prasuhn said, "VisionTV has established itself as a destination for classic British programming, having built a loyal following for our weeknight Britcom block and our top-rated hour-long UK dramas. We are thrilled to be adding EastEnders, one of the best and most beloved BBC series of all time, to our prime time lineup, and we look forward to welcoming the show's passionate fan base to the VisionTV family."

The deal was brokered by Sandra Murphy, Senior Sales Manager, Program Sales, BBC Worldwide Canada and Beverley Shenken, Director of Program Acquisitions, VisionTV.

Leading up to the September debut, VisionTV will launch an EastEnders microsite that will include fan discussion boards and a countdown to the premiere date.

About VisionTV

VisionTV (www.visiontv.ca) is Canada's multi-faith and multicultural broadcaster, dedicated to entertaining and insightful programming that celebrates diversity and promotes understanding and tolerance among people of different faiths and cultures. VisionTV presents the Best of British Comedy weeknights at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT.

About BBC Worldwide Canada

BBC Worldwide is the main commercial arm and a wholly owned subsidiary of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). BBC Worldwide Canada, located in Toronto was first established in 1952 and incorporated as a Canadian company in 2002. The company exists to maximize the value of the BBC's assets for the benefit of the UK license payer and invest in public service programming in return for rights. The company's activities in Canada include joint venture channels BBC Canada, BBC Kids and Animal Planet Canada, program distribution, ad sales for bbc.com and the newly established digital distribution business. The company is also a minority shareholder in Canadian production company, Temple Street Productions.

For further information: For BBC Worldwide - Catherine Mirra, [phone], [email protected]; Christine Black, [phone], [email protected]; For VisionTV - David Todd, [phone] ext 207, [email protected]