CTV Picks Up Mad Men

TORONTO, January 4: Canada’s CTV has scooped up the
conventional and specialty channel broadcast rights for the Golden
Globe-nominated cable series Mad Men,
which will join the Canadian network’s mid-season schedule.

CTV acquired the first two seasons of the 13-episode,
hour-long series, becoming the first conventional network to broadcast the
series following its debut in July 2007 on American cable network AMC.
Additionally, CTV has picked up the broadband and VOD rights for season two,
which has yet to be produced.

Created by Emmy Award-winning The Sopranos writer and producer Matthew Weiner, Mad
Men is set in 1960 on New York City’s
Madison Avenue and tells the story of competitive men and women in the
advertising industry. The series has been nominated for two Golden
Globes—Best Series, Drama and Best Actor in a TV Drama for Jon Hamm. Hamm
was also recently nominated for a SAG Award for Outstanding Performance by a
Male Actor in a Leading Role, with the entire cast receiving a nod for
Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series.

“It’s fitting that this acquisition comes just days after
CTV broadcast the series finale of The Sopranos, which we first brought to conventional television in 2000,” said Susanne Boyce, the president of creative,
content and channels at CTV. “With creator Matt Weiner, there’s a real pedigree
evident in Mad Men
that originates directly from The Sopranos.
Weiner’s years on The Sopranos
has manifested in the experience he brings to this next, great, big buzz show.”

—By Kristin Brzoznowski