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Newscast review: CTV News Toronto at 6 for Sunday, August 10 2025

Originally posted to Broadcast Plaza Discord server on August 10, 2025 at 19:08

Summary

Tonight's newscast felt very unbalanced with a 27 minute A-block essentially covering important local, national, and international news - a fair mixture as CTV National News at 5:30 is a weekday exclusive. The newscast opened in typical CFTO fashion, with the opener and a brief description of the top story before they get into it. Unlike typical CTV News Toronto newscasts seen on weekday evenings, a break was slotted in the 18:25-18:30 time range which permitted an on-time switch to (indirect competitor) Global National. The ~7 minute B-block was merely small talk, the proper weather segment, and a feel good story. The C-block went back to business with a mixture of local, sports, and entertainment news, making reasonable use of the ~8 minutes allotted. The D-block was merely fluff and a condensed weather segment that was run through as the small talk apparently burned up too much time. The newscast closed out in typical fashion with CTV National News, CTV News at 11:30, and CP24 mentions, and a vertical panning camera shot in the studio. The newscast was followed by an episode of The Big Bang Theory.

Opener & A-block

17:59:52 - 18:26:55

The A-block on this newscast was... lengthy to say the least. Running 27 minutes consecutively before going to break, one could feel caught up on the news and switch to Global National on time, a departure from weekday newscasts which typically place weather and Consumer Report segments around 18:25-18:35. This block ended with a 10400 CTV News Tip Line promotion which transitioned to actual commercials at 18:27:08.

A-block structure

B-block

18:30:53 - 18:37:04

The B-block on this newscast was the polar opposite of the A-block: running under 7 minutes, consisting of small talk, weather delivered by an anchor, and one feel good story. Promos for tonight’s CTV National News and a $28k texting scam story on Monday’s CTV News Toronto at Six pushed the clock to 18:37:37.

B-block structure

C-block

18:41:12 - 18:49:00

The C-block on this newscast was a good mixture of local news, sports, and entertainment. Decent pacing without feeling rushed or drawn out.

C-block structure

D-block

18:52:14 - 18:56:13

The D-block was merely fluff and a condensed weather segment.

D-block structure

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