VANCOUVER (March 9, 2016) – CTV Vancouver was recognized as the Best Local Newscast in Canada for CTV NEWS AT SIX with Mike Killeen and Tamara Taggart during the annual Canadian Screen Awards presented at the Westin Harbour Castle in Toronto yesterday evening.

[caption id="attachment_102697" align="alignnone" width="320"] CTV NEWS AT SIX Co-Anchors Tamara Taggart and Mike Killeen[/caption]

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The program took top prize in the Best Local Newscast category, which included submissions from local competitor Global BC NEWS HOUR, as well as CBC Halifax and CBC Toronto. CTV Vancouver's flagship newscast was singled out by the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television for its coverage of a chemical fire at the Port of Vancouver last spring and its coverage of the debate over the proposed Kinder Morgan oil pipeline expansion in Burnaby, B.C.

“This award recognition is a testament to the tireless efforts of our entire team at CTV Vancouver to tell the stories that matter most as they happen across the region," said Les Staff, News Director, CTV Vancouver. “We are honoured to serve the community every day, and this award underscores our commitment to producing the highest quality local news that viewers trust while reinforcing that indeed, local news matters.”

Charting an upward trend in viewership, CTV NEWS AT SIX has achieved a ratings increase of 15% since February 2015 in the key A25-54 demo, drawing more than four times the audience of the city’s third-ranked newscast in the same demo. In addition, an average of 10,000 more adults aged 25-54 are tuning into CTV NEWS AT SIX each day versus last year, marking a steady increase for CTV’s newscast, in contrast to declining audiences for its biggest competitor.

CTV Vancouver produces 38 hours of local news each week, including CTV MORNING LIVE, CTV NEWS AT NOON, CTV NEWS AT FIVE, CTV NEWS AT SIX, and CTV NEWS AT 11:30.

Source: Numeris, Feb. 2015 and Feb. 2016, Vancouver/Victoria EM, A25-54