After one week: Kirstine Stewart in, Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune out?
Kirstine Stewart has officially been at the helm of CBC english programming for a little over a week, and already she’s unravelling some of the legacy left by her controversial predecessor Richard Stursberg. In an interview published in today’s Globe and Mail, Stewart revealed she’s considering replacing one of Stursberg’s most dubious innovations: the weeknight airing of Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune.
Critics cried foul in 2008 when Stursberg made the decision to forgo Canadian shows during prime time in favour of American game shows he knew would draw eyeballs. Now Stewart says she’s ready to can both programs. During Stursberg’s “ratings first” reign at CBC, many viewed Stewart as his right-hand woman, but so far she’s professed a commitment to Canadian programming—though not, of course, at the cost of viewership. In fact, she says CanCon and ratings need not be mutually exclusive, pointing to such Canadian shows as Dragons’ Den, Battle of the Blades and Little Mosque on the Prairie, which have all drawn two million plus viewers.
CanCon and ratings? We’ll take women who can do anything for $200, Alex.
• New CBC head to undo predecessor’s controversial legacy [Globe and Mail] • Kirstine Stewart to take over CBC hot seat vacated by Richard Stursberg [Toronto Life]
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