Bell Media Brings THE IHEARTRADIO MUSIC AWARDS to Canada with First-Ever Broadcast, April 9 on CTV

TORONTO (March 18, 2016) – Following the new Bell Media and iHeartRadio partnership announced in January,  CTV announced today it will bolster its leading awards programming with the addition of the annual IHEARTRADIO MUSIC AWARDS. For the first time ever on a Canadian network, viewers will see the blowout celebration of fan-favourite artists and hit songs when the three-hour awards show airs Saturday, April 9 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on CTV, CTV.ca, and the CTV GO app (visit CTV.ca to confirm local broadcast times). THE IHEARTRADIO MUSIC AWARDS will air later on Much and M3, as well as much.com and m3tv.ca. The announcement follows the news earlier this month that Bell Media will present the first-ever iHeartRadio Fest in May in Toronto. “The addition of THE IHEARTRADIO MUSIC AWARDS is an extension of our partnership with iHeartRadio, delivering some of the biggest artists in the world to Canadians,” said Randy Lennox, President, Entertainment Production and Broadcasting, Bell Media. “THE IHEARTRADIO MUSIC AWARDS is already a proven must-see showcase that fits perfectly with CTV’s extensive roster of the most-watched awards broadcast in Canada,” said Mike Cosentino, Senior Vice-President, Programming, CTV Networks. Hosted this year by platinum recording artist Jason Derulo, THE IHEART RADIO MUSIC AWARDS celebrates the most popular music heard throughout the year across iHeartMedia Radio stations in the U.S. and on iHeartRadio worldwide. This year’s IHEARTRADIO MUSIC AWARDS features today’s biggest artists, including multi award-winning performers Justin Bieber, Meghan Trainor, Demi Lovato, Fetty Wap, Zayn, Chris Brown, and DNCE performing direct from the Forum in Los Angeles. The award show also feature first-time duets and collaborations, celebrity guest appearances, and exclusive can’t-miss performances by Maroon 5 and Pitbull from the Capital One JamFest^® stage in Houston, Texas. Additional performers will be announced closer to the broadcast. As previously announced by iHeartMedia, THE IHEART RADIO MUSIC AWARDS features 31 categories, including new awards for “Best Tour,” “Best Duo/Group of the Year”, and “Latin Song of the Year,” as well as individual awards for “Artist of the Year” in music’s biggest genres. Taylor Swift leads all nominees with eight nominations and will vie for the first “Female Artist of the Year” award, while The Weeknd received seven nominations, including in the inaugural “Male Artist of the Year” category. Swift and The Weeknd will go head-to-head in the coveted “Song of the Year” and first-ever “Album of the Year” categories. Other artists who have received multiple nominations include Adele, Drake, Justin Bieber, Ed Sheeran, Luke Bryan, and Sam Smith. This year marks the third edition of THE IHEARTRADIO MUSIC AWARDS. The inaugural awards show was held in 2014 at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. ETALK’s L.A. correspondent Jessi Cruickshank will report from the red carpet as the stars arrive, providing the perfect warm-up to the award show for viewers back home. Watch for ETALK’s special IHEARTRADIO MUSIC AWARDS coverage Monday, April 4 at 7 p.m.ET/PT on CTV, CTV.ca, and the CTV GO app, and at 7:30 p.m. ET/PT on CTV Two (visit CTV.ca to confirm local broadcast times). Viewers can visit CTV.ca/iheartradiomusicawards, the online destination for show information, performer updates, video highlights from the show, as well as the complete nominees and winners list. In addition, viewers can visit Etalk.ca for wall-to-wall coverage of the awards including highlights from the red carpet. For even more IHEARTRADIO MUSIC AWARDS coverage, viewers can tune in to E! LIVE FROM THE RED CARPET: THE 2016 iHEARTRADIO MUSIC AWARDS, Sunday, April 3 at 6 p.m. ET on E!, as well as a special episode of FASHION POLICE: THE 2016 iHEARTRADIO MUSIC AWARDS on Monday, April 4 at 8 p.m. ET on E!. THE IHEARTRADIO MUSIC AWARDS is part of CTV’s extensive roster of the most-watched awards broadcast in Canada, delivering the biggest names in film, television, and music. In addition to THE 67^th PRIMETIME EMMY^® AWARDS, THE 73^rd GOLDEN GLOBE AWARDS^®, THE 88^th ACADEMY AWARDS ^®, and the 2015 AMERICAN MUSIC AWARDS^®, CTV is set to broadcast THE 2016 JUNO AWARDS, and THE 2016 BILLBOARD MUSIC AWARDS.