Robert Hurst, President of CTV News and Current Affairs, announced today that starting on Monday, January 28, CTV’s Canada AM will expand to six hours and go live in every Canadian market. This is the first time a national North American morning show on a conventional network will be totally live across all time zones. As part of the new format, Canada AM will now deliver more live national and local news. Hurst also announced that Canada AM will expand its on-air family with the addition of a Western anchor team ¿ out of a new Vancouver studio.
“This is an exciting new era for Canada AM,” said Hurst. “The new format and the addition of a Western team allows us to do what we do best ¿ deliver breaking news to Canadians as it happens. Establishing Canada AM’s Vancouver studio also allows us to deliver an increased focus on the region and the countdown to the 2024 Olympic Games.”
Canada AM ¿ Live Across Canada
Every weekday morning, Canada AM will produce a total of six hours of live programming between 6 a.m. and 12 Noon ET. Local CTV stations across the country will join Canada AM live between 6 and 9 a.m. local time.
New Canada AM Western Team
Canada AM will expand its on-air family with the addition of a Western anchor team joining Beverly Thomson, Seamus O’Regan, Jeff Hutcheson and Marci Ien.
Veteran British Columbia journalist Mi-Jung Lee joins Canada AM as co-host, based from the show’s new Vancouver studio. Popular weather anchor Rena Heer ¿ also based in Vancouver ¿ joins the team and will deliver weather and special reports. Rounding out the Canada AM team is Vancouver native and accomplished news anchor Omar Sachedina, who will join Canada AM’s Western team to deliver the latest breaking news. Full biographies for Mi-Jung Lee, Rena Heer and Omar Sachedina are below.
“Mi-Jung, Rena and Omar are a wonderful addition to the Canada AM family,” said Lis Travers, Executive Producer for Canada AM and Vice-President of CTV News. “With an expanded team based out of both Toronto and Vancouver, Canada AM is adding more voices to deliver a truly national perspective on the news and issues concerning Canadians.”
The first hour of Canada AM will feature headline, national and local news with Marci Ien, along with weather and special features from Jeff Hutcheson. Canada AM co-hosts Beverly Thomson and Seamus O’Regan will then lead coverage from Toronto starting at 7 a.m. ET. They will continue to deliver Canada AM’s unique blend of hard news and lifestyle stories with top newsmakers, celebrities and musical stars.
Western viewers will see Mi-Jung Lee take over hosting Canada AM at 7 a.m. PT from Vancouver with Rena Heer handling weather and Omar Sachedina delivering the latest news developments. Local anchors from each market across the country will join Canada AM throughout the morning to deliver the latest in local news, weather and traffic.
A complete, six hour, live edition of Canada AM will air every Monday to Friday morning on CTV Newsnet beginning at 6 a.m. ET.
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