ABC's cancellation of 'The One: Making a Music Star' has left the Canadian pubcaster high and dry.
Canada's pubcaster has been left holding the bag after ABC abruptly cancelled "The One: Making a Music Star" late last week due to poor ratings.
The CBC was taking a double risk in airing "The One."
First, many feel that the net's beefed-up reality programming arm is inappropriate for a pubcaster whose mandate is to air programming that the private webs won't. Second, it's American -- again, contrary to the pubcaster's general mandate.
To rub salt in the wound, CBC preempted its flagship newscast, "The National," in its largest markets on Tuesdays for the simulcast.
CBC defended taking on the show, pointing to the BBC's successful foray into reality TV and saying that with the twice-weekly U.S. simulcast it was building an audience in anticipation of its own homegrown version. (Interestingly, "The One" was hosted by Canadian TV personality George Stroumboulopoulos, a CBC staple.)
Despite the cancellation, pubcaster brass did not rule out its own version; CBC TV executive director Kirstine Layfield said no course of action has been chosen yet.
ABC aired just four episodes of "The One" to record low ratings. In Canada, ratings for "The One" were a fraction of those for competitors "Canadian Idol" and "Rock Star: Supernova."
In the meantime, CBC has put "The National" back in its regular timeslot, moved British skein "The Hustle" from Wednesday to Tuesday and plans to run movies on Wednesday night.
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