KURT BROWNING, JAMIE SALÉ, AND P.J. STOCK ANNOUNCED AS JUDGES ON BATTLE OF THE BLADES

The show Canadians fell in love with and embraced for three seasons is back!

This season of BATTLE OF THE BLADES promises to be the most interactive and innovative yet. CBC will kick off the digital campaign by announcing a few names per day of this year’s cast from September 15-20, exclusively on cbc.ca/battle and @CBCbattle.

Premiering Sunday, September 22 at 8 p.m. (8:30 NT) with a two-hour episode titled Battle of the Blades: Made in Canada, this special will provide a look back at never-before-shared moments and most memorable events with select members of the cast and crew from the show’s first three seasons. Hosted by Ron MacLean, the episode will take us on a journey back to the first season at Maple Leaf Gardens and will introduce this year’s 16 new cast members. BATTLE OF THE BLADES moves to an all-new format with an action-packed hour of live performance and elimination combined each Sunday night—with the exception of the first live two-hour performance show on Sunday, September 29 at 8 p.m. (8:30 NT).

Fans can expect a new judging panel featuring fan-favourite and four-time World and Canadian Champion Kurt Browning, Olympic and World Champion pair figure skater and BATTLE OF THE BLADES season one champion Jamie Salé, and season two BATTLE OF THE BLADES cast member and Hockey Night in Canada panelist P.J. Stock. Co-creator Sandra Bezic, the head judge for the first three seasons of the show, has now moved into an executive producer role and will act as a mentor to the eight pairs.

For more information about the competitors, please visit the official online portal of BATTLE OF THE BLADES, cbc.ca/battle. BATTLE OF THE BLADES is Executive Produced by John Brunton, Barbara Bowlby and Sandra Bezic. Supervising Producer is Lindsay Cox and Producers are Erin Brock & Mark Lysakowski. It is produced by Insight Productions in association with CBC Television.

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CBC/Radio-Canada is Canada’s national public broadcaster and one of its largest cultural institutions. The Corporation is a leader in reaching Canadians on new platforms and delivers a comprehensive range of radio, television, internet, and satellite-based services. Deeply rooted in the regions, CBC/Radio-Canada is the only domestic broadcaster to offer diverse regional and cultural perspectives in English, French and eight Aboriginal languages.

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. Recent hits include THE JUNO AWARDS, THE AMAZING RACE CANADA, BIG BROTHER CANADA, TOP CHEF CANADA, NEVER EVER DO THIS AT HOME and original formats including CANADA SINGS. For more information visit:

CBC’s team of in-house publicists deliver a comprehensive publicity service for all CBC programming and events. For a complete list of publicity contacts and for more information including series synopses, press releases, hi-res images, video clips and bios, please visit the new CBC Media Centre at cbc.ca/mediacentre. Follow CBC’s publicity team on Twitter @CBC_Publicity

Erin Richards, publicist, CBC

Erin.Richards@CBC.CA 416 205 7994 (office) / 416 627 5728 (mobile)