Canada Votes 2015

Today Canada votes for a new leader and all the Canadian networks are pull out the big guns to cover the National Elections.

CBC -
CBC News coverage will orginate from CBC Broadcasts Centre in Toronto on a huge purpose built set in the atrium.
http://i.cbc.ca/1.3277245.1445203277!/fileImage/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/16x9_620/cbc-election-night-coverage.jpg
Watch this timelapse of the set construction.

CTV - This is CTV Toronto's set they used previously. Is it going to be the same thing this year? They claim they are going to have a purpose built set.
http://www.ctvnews.ca/polopoly_fs/1.2616208.1445224296!/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_620/image.jpg
http://www.ctvnews.ca/polopoly_fs/1.2616622.1445268330!/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_620/image.jpg
CTV News will originate from its Toronto HQ "The broadcast special will feature a brand new state-of-the art election set," CTV IMO doenst have a great network news set design pedigree. The CTVNEWS Channel being the exception. Well a part of it anyway.

Global - Global havent released many details production wise, but I expect to the CSO sets as per normal and lots of graphics.

If CTV is claiming it will be a purpose-built set, then it won't be like the images above. That's actually just the CTV Toronto news set. I'm guessing CTV will push the boat out this year. I'm in Canada a lot and I heard heaps of commercials on CTV-owned radio stations with Lisa LaFlamme plugging their best election coverage ever. The previous few elections have been pretty uninspiring and, therefore, the commercial broadcasters probably didn't invest much in them. This year is different. It's a very tight race with high turnout expected. That 'in theory' should translate into high audiences and good returns for the broadcasters.

Several times across the broadcasts they all updated the Bluejays vs KC Royals Score. Baseball Cute. Bluejays going to World Series?

Well CTV didnt do much IMO. Again they used the CTV Toronto set as posted above. They did add a 3 screen set infront of the main set that features a touch screen table so they can play with the graphics. So basically the statement "state-of-the art election set" was IMO a bunch of PR rubbish. Lisa LaFlamme was a usual solid. This was same even the graphic of Parliament HIll was the same I think. They added graphics logos of each party in the balcony above the set.
http://newsonnews.com/media/k2/items/cache/a9ea13237c0502159263f017095ec8e6_L.jpg?t=1445309641
http://www.tadlighting.ca/images/cftoset2.jpg
CTV Toronto

CBC had the best set up. Peter Mansbridge IMO is the best anchor in North America. Solid. The use of the CBC Broadcast Centre atrium was dressed up nicely featuring screen "towers" encircling the set and a wall of scattered screens in front of the green tower with a large centre screen surrounded by yellow rectangle. They had multiple analyst desks and several presentation points in the atrium. Strangely the lower third was almost a bit busy. Not too much but IMO i found the logo animation, with the flashing "x" a bit annoying. The floor featured a augmented graphics for maps and Parliament Hill with the camera swirling around the Peace Tower and Centre Block. IT was nice and smooth in execution.
Peter Mansbridge sat the end of the white runway thing. The white runway was sometype of projections of coloured lines. And the white box at the end of the runway is their augmented graphics area.
http://i.cbc.ca/1.3277245.1445203277!/fileImage/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/16x9_620/cbc-election-night-coverage.jpg
CBC

Global - Global decamped to Toronto from their BC HQ and used the Toronto Morning show studio. Global didnt really use its signature CSO sets. Didnt watch much of their coverage. THeir didnt really change anything on the set. Like a special desk or something. Kinda ehhh. Graphics were ok.
http://www.christiedigital.com/img/Customer%20Stories/The%20Morning%20Show/inpage/morningshow-main-1.jpg
GLobal

I'm watching the CBC's coverage on C-SPAN here in Chicago, but I'm a bit surprised that BBC Parliament isn't carrying it. Surely some Britons and UK-based Canadians would be interested in live coverage of an election happening in a major Commonwealth country?

Its also streaming live on Youtube..Running it thru Roku..without the video being squashed into a blue box and CSPAN graphics.
CBC

Radio Canada -French

Global

I think the general attitude is that as long as they're not going mad and considering electing a dangerous buffoon like, say, Donald Trump, then it's best to let them get on with it.

On a serious note, I've just tuned into BBC News at 4am - the top story is that the Liberals have won, and they're reporting from the CBC HQ.

EDIT: The reporting position:

http://weatherfieldgazette.co.uk/norris/BBCCBCE15.png

Mike Embley mentioned "our own Canadian" Lyse Doucet quoting a BBC poll saying that Millennials thought the economy was the deciding factor in the election.

My theory is BBC Parliament is run on the tiniest of budgets that they probably couldn't get anyone/it wasn't worth it to monitor live output in the early morning for such a minority of viewers.

That atrium in the Canadian Broadcast Centre is huge, I've walked through it on a visit to Toronto, nice museum in the basement too. A good place to go.

Thanks for the effortposting in here, nice to see the pics and clips.

CBC's graphics, coverage and set was better than the BBC's General election effort IMO.

I really liked the look of CBC's coverage. The lower-thirds were literally that, and perhaps took up a tad too much space for my liking (due to being 4:3 safe) - but superb design work across the set and graphics. I like the fact that they carried on with post-show coverage from a separate part of the atrium too.

I quite liked Global's lower-thirds too - they managed to get quite a lot of information on there.

A lot of Global's graphics felt quite BBC-inspired. Even the titles. (But definitely not the hideous set) Not a bad effort for a broadcaster that really doesn't hide the fact that it's an entertainment focused channel. (Think Channel 5)

The stand-out was definitely CBC. I think CTV needs to review its on-air look. It's getting quite dated.

Here is the dramtic re-join when the polls closed across most of the country and the big numbers were due to come in. Nicely done. They did 3 of these opens for each section of the country when the polls closed I believe. The Martimes/Atlantic Ridings, Then Central Ridings and then Western Ridings. When the actual result for Mr Trudeau was announced the lights did the a "Weakest Link" style flutter. Very Dramatic.