Visit cbc.ca/battletickets to book tickets for live tapings Thursdays from September 19 — October 31
August 22, 2019 – Tickets are now available for the live tapings of CBC’s returning hit BATTLE OF THE BLADES (Season 5, 1x120, 6x60) in and around the Greater Toronto Area on Thursdays from September 19 through October 31.* Fans are invited to book tickets at cbc.ca/battletickets to watch athletes from two of Canada’s favourite sports — figure skating and hockey — as they pair up in a live, high-stakes figure skating competition for the charity of their choice. The live tapings will offer entertainment for all ages.
Produced by Insight Productions, BATTLE OF THE BLADES will launch with a special two-hour premiere on Thursday, September 19 at 8 p.m. (8:30 NT) on CBC and the free CBC Gem streaming service, and will continue to air Thursdays at 8 p.m. (9 AT, 9:30 NT).
The live taping dates, times and locations are as follows:
All times listed are ET.
Thursday, September 19 (special two-hour premiere) - Hamilton
FirstOntario Centre
101 York Blvd, Hamilton, Ontario, L8R 3L4
Doors open at 5:30 p.m., live taping begins at 7 p.m.
Reserved seating
Thursday, September 26 - Hamilton
FirstOntario Centre
101 York Blvd, Hamilton, Ontario, L8R 3L4
Doors open at 6:30 p.m., live taping begins at 8 p.m.
Reserved seating
Thursday, October 3 - Hamilton
FirstOntario Centre
101 York Blvd, Hamilton, Ontario, L8R 3L4
Doors open at 6:30 p.m., live taping begins at 8 p.m.
Reserved seating
Thursday, October 10 - Mississauga *tickets on sale as of 10 a.m. on August 23
Paramount Fine Foods Centre
5500 Rose Cherry Pl, Mississauga, Ontario, L4Z 4B6
Doors open at 6:30 p.m., live taping begins at 8 p.m.
Reserved seating
Thursday, October 17 - Oshawa
Tribute Communities Centre
99 Athol St E, Oshawa, Ontario, L1H 1J8
Doors open at 6:30 p.m., live taping begins at 8 p.m.
General admission
Thursday, October 24 - Oshawa
Tribute Communities Centre
99 Athol St E, Oshawa, Ontario, L1H 1J8
Doors open at 6:30 p.m., live taping begins at 8 p.m.
General admission
Thursday, October 31 - Toronto
Ryerson’s Mattamy Athletic Centre (former Maple Leaf Gardens)
50 Carlton St, Toronto, Ontario, M5B 1J2
Doors open at 6:30 p.m., live taping begins at 8 p.m.
General admission
Attendees may be photographed and/or recorded for the BATTLE OF THE BLADES broadcast. For more information and to book tickets, visit cbc.ca/battletickets.
Hockey Night in Canada’s Ron MacLean will reprise his role as host, with four-time Canadian and four-time World champion figure skater Kurt Browning returning as head judge. Beloved Canadian Olympic Games ice dance champions, Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir, will be rink-side with him as guest judges for select episodes. The complete lineup of figure skaters includes: Violetta Afanasieva, Amanda Evora, Ekaterina Gordeeva, Vanessa James, Andrew Poje, Eric Radford, and Kaitlyn Weaver. Previously announced hockey players for the new iteration of the hugely popular format include Sheldon Kennedy and Natalie Spooner. The complete lineup of hockey players, as well as the pairings for the competition, will be announced in the coming weeks. First launched in 2009, BATTLE OF THE BLADES was broadcast on CBC from 2009—2013 (4 seasons, 57 episodes) and remains the highest-rated original English-language Canadian format of all time.*
A CBC original series, BATTLE OF THE BLADES is produced by Insight Productions. The series is executive produced by Insight’s John Brunton, Lindsay Cox, Erin Brock, and Mark Lysakowski and is co-created and executive produced by Olympian and World & Canadian Figure Skating Hall of Famer Sandra Bezic. For CBC, Sally Catto is General Manager, Programming; Jennifer Dettman is Executive Director, Unscripted Content; and Susan Taylor is Executive in Charge of Production.
*Source: Numeris, Total Canada, CBC Total, Battle of the Blades Seasons 1-4, Oct.4, 2009-Dec. 1, 2013, 2+ AMA, generated by InfoSys+TV.
Social Media:
#BOTB
Instagram: @cbcbattle
Facebook: /battleoftheblades
Twitter: @cbcbattle
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About CBC/Radio-Canada:
CBC/Radio-Canada is Canada’s national public broadcaster. Through our mandate to inform, enlighten and entertain, we play a central role in strengthening Canadian culture. As Canada’s trusted news source, we offer a uniquely Canadian perspective on news, current affairs and world affairs. Our distinctively homegrown entertainment programming draws audiences from across the country. Deeply rooted in communities, CBC/Radio-Canada offers diverse content in English, French and eight Indigenous languages. We also deliver content in Spanish, Arabic and Chinese, as well as both official languages, through Radio Canada International (RCI). We are leading the transformation to meet the needs of Canadians in a digital world.
About Insight Productions Ltd.
Insight Productions, known for its award-winning ratings juggernauts, is Canada’s most established content producer and an industry leader in the development, financing, and production of hit programming, both scripted and unscripted, as well as digital content. Insight Senior Vice Presidents Erin Brock, Lindsay Cox and Mark Lysakowski serve as Executive Producers along with Insight’s Chairman, CEO and Executive Producer, John Brunton, on the new season of Insight’s original format BATTLE OF THE BLADES. With thousands of hours of programming under its belt, the company has created some of the most dynamic and top-rated programs in the world including THE AMAZING RACE CANADA – the most watched Canadian show on record, ratings hit – BIG BROTHER CANADA, Canada’s national music award show - THE JUNO AWARDS, TOP CHEF CANADA, INTERVENTION and original format THE LAUNCH. Insight’s scripted programming includes award-winning READY OR NOT, FALCON BEACH, HATCHING, MATCHING & DISPATCHING, A CHRISTMAS FURY, BUT I’M CHRIS JERICHO! And THE JON DORE TELEVISION SHOW. In 2017, Insight produced THE TRAGICALLY HIP: A NATIONAL CELEBRATION, a live concert special watched by one in three Canadians. Insight Productions was founded in 1979 and has since created thousands of hours of ground-breaking content. For more information on Insight Productions, please visit www.insighttv.com or on Twitter @insightprod or Facebook www.facebook.com/InsightProductions.
For more information, please contact:
Tanya Koivusalo, CBC
tanya.koivusalo@cbc.ca
416.205.8638
