TORONTO — New Year's Eve will look much different this year on CBC-TV.
Canada's public broadcaster told The Canadian Press on Friday that "financial pressures" have led the network to cancel this year's countdown, which inched towards midnight with musical performances and a fireworks show.
This year, CBC plans to air a new "Just For Laughs" special hosted by comedian Mae Martin on Sunday at 11 p.m. in most markets. The hour-long taped show will not include a countdown.
It will befollowed at midnight by episodes of "Comedy Night with Rick Mercer" as the new year rolls in. The programs also stream on CBC Gem.
It's a notable change for CBC, which has long been a reliable stop for viewers on the momentous night.
For more than two decades, the Royal Canadian Air Farce hosted a New Year’s Eve special until it was cancelled in 2019.
A representative for CBC said the broadcaster first began producing a live countdown special in 2017, kicking off a new tradition to mark Canada's sesquicentennial year.
The program swept across the country's time zones to feature musical performers on the ground in key cities. Mercer was a focal point many of those years as the night's emcee.
"Since that time, this live special format has become increasingly expensive to produce," said CBC spokesperson Kerry Kelly in an email.
Homegrown New Year's Eve specials have been hard to come by in recent years.
This year, Citytv will continue to air U.S.-produced "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest," after whittling down its local New Year's programming a decade ago.
Global TV, which for some years broadcast live from Niagara Falls, Ont., has planned to run a repeat of its political conversation show "The West Block," after the local news, to ring in 2024.
CTV will repeat the entertainment news magazine special "etalk Presents: A Toast to 2023" in some markets and classic TV shows in others.
At least one local station has taken to producing its own program this year.
Hamilton's CHCH-TV, which is available over much of Ontario, will bring back its New Year's Eve special with a countdown hosted by former MuchMusic VJ Rick Campanelli, with appearances by performers that include July Talk and U.S. Girls.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 29, 2023.
David Friend, The Canadian Press
