Canada's Olympic Broadcast Media Consortium Announces Broadcast Details for London 2012 Opening Ceremony, Friday

- OLYMPIC PRIME TIME ON CTV host Brian Williams and CTV NATIONAL NEWS anchor Lisa LaFlamme guide viewers through the main show beginning at 4 p.m. ET -

- Pre-show at 2 p.m. ET hosted by James Duthie and Jennifer Hedger will debut the London version of the Consortium's critically-acclaimed Opening Essay -

- Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II to officially open the Games -

- London 2012 Opening Ceremony to air live simultaneously across Consortium platforms including CTVOlympics.ca and RDSolympiques.ca -

To tweet this release: http://bit.ly/NT1DaM

TORONTO, July 24, 2012 /CNW/ -  Canada's Olympic Broadcast Media Consortium announced today details for its coverage of the LONDON 2012 OLYMPIC GAMES OPENING CEREMONY, airing live across Consortium platforms this Friday, July 27. The pre-show and the London 2012 Opening Ceremony will be available on CTV, RDS, Sportsnet, TSN, V, OMNI.2, ATN, CTVOlympics.ca, RDSolympiques.ca, and on the CTV Olympics London 2012 and RDS olympiques pour Londres 2012 Apps.

The coverage kicks off with the pre-show at 2 p.m. ET led by James Duthie and Jennifer Hedger, hosts of OLYMPIC DAYTIME ON CTV. This will include an overview of the big stories of the Games, the debut of the Consortium's critically-acclaimed features -including the popular Opening Essay written by Stephen Brunt - and live reports from Olympic Stadium with Brian Williams and Lisa LaFlamme. Beginning at 4 p.m. ET, Williams and LaFlamme take over and walk Canadians through the three-and-a-half hour Opening Ceremony, directed by two-time Academy Award^®-winner Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire).

** MEDIA NOTE - View clips of Consortium features here and a sneak peek of the Opening Essay here.

"The Opening Ceremony is always one of the most exciting events of the Olympic Games," said Adam Ashton, President, Canada's Olympic Broadcast Media Consortium. "It transcends sports, setting the stage and the tone for the host city and its visitors. We are confident that the London 2012 Opening Ceremony will be truly spectacular."

With a potential worldwide audience of more than one billion people, the London 2012 Opening Ceremony has been dubbed the "Isles of Wonder", as described in Shakespeare's The Tempest. With the largest sets ever built, the spectacle will feature numerous performances as well as the Parade of Athletes, incorporating more than 200 nations, including Team Canada led by triathlete Simon Whitfield into the Olympic Stadium. Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II will officially open London 2012 and become the first Head of State and monarch to open two Games in two separate countries - Montreal 1976 and London 2012.

An encore of the London 2012 Opening Ceremony will be available on most Consortium networks directly following the original airing and viewers can also watch it on demand at CTVOlympics.ca and RDSolympiques.ca. Additionally, video description will be available for the broadcasts of the Opening and Closing Ceremonies, provided by Descriptive Video Works. This marks the first time this service will be available to blind and visually impaired audiences for the Olympic Games.

Viewers can also listen to special coverage of the Opening Ceremony on Sportsnet 590 The FAN live from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. ET. The station kicks into high gear at 4 p.m. ET with live coverage, including interviews with Alex Seixeiro and David Alter from the Olympic Stadium.

London 2012 Opening Ceremony By The Numbers:

• 15,000 square metres of staging, equivalent to 12 Olympic-sized swimming pools
• 12,956 props, more than 100 times the amount used in a West End musical
• 10,000 adult volunteer performers
• 900 children volunteers from schools in the six host boroughs - Barking and Dagenham, Greenwich, Hackney, Newham, Tower Hamlets, and Waltham Forest
• 25 tonnes, the amount the flying system can lift; equivalent to the weight of five elephants
• 23 tonnes, the weight of the largest harmonically-tuned bell in the world, measuring two metres tall by three metres wide

Best known for his Best Director win at the Academy Awards^® for Slumdog Millionaire, critically-acclaimed Artistic Director Danny Boyle was born in Manchester, England. Boyle has dedicated his life to directing and producing and is linked to noteworthy films including 127 Hours, 28 Days Later, The Beach, Shallow Grave, Sunshine, and Trainspotting.

Beginning Saturday, July 28, viewers can watch all-day Olympic Games programming on the following channels. For Consortium scheduling information, visit the Bell Viewers' Guide at CTVOlympics.ca/guide, RDSolympiques.ca/leguide or download the CTV Olympics London 2012 and RDS olympiques pour Londres 2012 Apps.

CTV

Show	Times	Hosts	Coverage
OLYMPIC MORNING	4 a.m. - 12 p.m. ET 1 - 9 a.m. PT (9 a.m. - 5 p.m. BST*)	Dave Randorf Catriona Le May Doan	Live Sports
OLYMPIC DAYTIME	12 - 6 p.m. ET 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. PT (5 - 11 p.m. BST*)	James Duthie Jennifer Hedger	Live Sports
OLYMPIC PRIME TIME	7 - 11 p.m. ET/CT/MT/PT 8 - 12 a.m. AT (12 - 4 a.m. BST*)	Brian Williams	Live show with best of day highlights and feature interviews
OLYMPIC OVERNIGHT	12 - 4 a.m. ET (5 - 9 a.m. BST*)	Brian Williams	Encore presentation of OLYMPIC PRIME TIME in ET

RDS

Show	Times	Hosts	Coverage
LONDRES 2012 À RDS	4 a.m. - 12 p.m. ET (9 a.m. - 5 p.m. BST*) 12 - 6:30 p.m. ET (5 - 11:30 p.m. BST*)	Claude Mailhot Alain Crête	Live Sports
AUJOURD'HUI À LONDRES SUR RDS	7 - 11 p.m. ET (12 - 4 a.m. BST*)	Chantal Machabée	Live show with best of day highlights and feature interviews
AUJOURD'HUI À LONDRES SUR RDS - Rediffusion	12 - 4 a.m. ET (5 - 9 a.m. BST*)	Chantal Machabée	Encore presentation of AUJOURD'HUI À LONDRES SUR RDS

Sportsnet

Show	Times	Hosts	Coverage
OLYMPIC MORNING	6 a.m. - 12 p.m. ET 3 a.m. - 9 a.m. PT (11 a.m. - 5 p.m. BST*)	Don Taylor	Live Sports
OLYMPIC DAYTIME	12 - 5 p.m. ET 9 a.m. - 2 p.m. PT (5 - 10 p.m. BST*)	Daren Millard	Live Sports
OLYMPIC PRIME TIME	7 - 11 p.m. ET/MT/PT 8 p.m. - 12 a.m. AT (12 - 4 a.m. BST*)	Brad Fay	Best of day highlights and feature interviews

TSN

Show	Times	Hosts	Coverage
OLYMPIC MORNING	6 a.m. - 12 p.m. ET (11 a.m. - 5 p.m. BST*)	Kate Beirness	Live Sports
OLYMPIC DAYTIME	12 - 5 p.m. ET (5 - 10 p.m. BST*)	Michael Landsberg	Live Sports
OLYMPIC PRIME TIME	7 - 11 p.m. ET (12 - 4 a.m. BST*)	Darren Dutchyshen	Live show with best of day highlights and feature interviews

V

Show	Times	Hosts	Coverage
LONDRES 2012 À V	4 a.m. - 12 p.m. ET (9 a.m. - 5 p.m. BST*) 12 - 6 p.m. ET (5 - 11 p.m. BST*)	Yanick Bouchard Frédéric Plante	Live Sports
AUJOURD'HUI À LONDRES SUR V	7 - 11 p.m. ET (12 - 4 a.m. BST*)	Jean Pagé	Live show with best of day highlights and feature interviews

*BST - British Summer Time (five hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time)

SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS

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@CTVOlympics
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YouTube.com/RDSolympiques

About Canada's Olympic Broadcast Media Consortium
Canada's Olympic Broadcast Media Consortium is a unique relationship led by Canada's #1 broadcaster, CTV with 80% interest, along with Rogers Media Inc. with 20% interest. The Consortium will provide unprecedented English, French, and multi-lingual coverage and consumer choice on multiple platforms during the London 2012 Olympic Games, taking place July 27 to August 12, 2012. Official brands include CTV, TSN, RDS, RDS Info, Sportsnet, OMNI Television, OLN, V, ATN, CTVOlympics.ca, RDSolympiques.ca, and select Rogers radio stations across the country. The Consortium delivered the Top 5 most-watched events in Canadian television history during its revolutionary coverage of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games.

SOURCE: Canada's Olympic Broadcast Media Consortium

Amy Doary, 416.384.2593, [e-mail]
Renee Rouse, 416.384.7599, [e-mail]