CTV has launched a free service offering original programming created specifically for online audiences.
Buddy comedy Backpackers is one of Extends first offerings
Housed at the CTV.ca website, the ad-supported CTV Extend service features newly commissioned digital programs as well as digital extensions of popular CTV shows including Arrow and Saving Hope. The service is also available on demand on the CTV Go app.
CTV Extend launched Monday with more than 10 series and 120 episodes. Original programming includes Backpackers from Smokebomb Entertainment, which follows a recently engaged couple as they embark on separate European adventures leading up to their wedding. The eight 11-minute episodes were filmed in Prague, Rome, the Italian Riviera and Paris.
Another original series, Space Riders: Division Earth, follows two regular guys who inadvertently become Earth’s protectors after they somehow defeat an intergalactic supervillain. All 13 of the six-minute episodes are available on the new service.
Spin-off programming includes Arrow: Blood Rush, Saving Hope: Last Call, Motive: Dark Corner and The Listener: Double Date with Death.
CTV plans to add additional content later this year, including Joke or Choke, a pilot commissioned exclusively for the CTV Extend service from Insight Productions and executive producer Howie Mandel, as well as the second season of the Emmy Award-winning Guidestones.
“With CTV Extend, we can deliver exclusive digital content that extends CTV series in unique ways, while also offering compelling newly commissioned content, all in a branded environment that is focused on delivering incremental value to our viewers and advertisers alike,” said Mike Cosentino, senior vice-president of programming for CTV Networks, in a release.
Nancy McConnell, vice-president of digital sales for Bell Media, called CTV Extend a “great destination” for both branded content and advertiser integrations.
