“Saturday Night Live” is changing channels in Canada and triggering some changes in CTV’s local nightly newscast.
The long-running sketch comedy series will move to CTV and Crave this fall under a new Bell Media deal, ending its decades-long run on Global.
Created by Toronto-born producer Lorne Michaels, “SNL” remains one of television’s most valuable franchises and must-watch live programming for many viewers.
“SNL” will simulcast Saturday nights on NBC and CTV with a live stream on Crave. Episodes will be available on demand Sunday mornings.
The move reshuffles Saturday night lineups on two of the country’s biggest networks.
On CTV, “SNL” takes over the 11:30 p.m. slot in several major markets, including Toronto. The shift will push local newscasts an hour earlier, a Bell Media representative confirmed.
CTV Toronto’s nightly newscast will air at 10:30 p.m. before the CTV National News at 11 p.m.
When the change takes effect will be announced at a later date, and CTV says more details about its fall schedule will be shared at the spring upfronts, where it announces its full programming lineup.
The shift also leaves a hole at Global, where “SNL” has aired since its 1975 debut, according to a representative for Corus Entertainment, which owns the network. Global did not say how it will fill the time slot.
“As the show concludes its 51st season, we’ve decided to move on from the series as we continue to evolve our lineup and invest in programming that reflects where audiences are headed,” Corus said in a statement.
Bell Media has been building up its “SNL” slate in recent years, adding “best of” collections to Crave and picking up the Canadian rights to the British spinoff, “Saturday Night Live UK,” which launched last month.
