Music: {allcanada} CTV takes flight with 'Pan Am'

You know what they say about phone companies being from Mars and TV networks being from Venus. Or something like that.

"You said that, not me," said Phil King, the president of CTV programming and sports, with a chuckle.

But on Thursday at the first CTV upfront presentation to advertisers since Bell took majority control of the company, the old CTV philosophy of "you need to spend money to make money" still seemed to be in place.

Already boasting 15 of the top 20 shows in Canada, CTV announced the acquisition of 16 new series to CTV and the soon-to-be-rebranded CTV Two (presently the A channels).

Among the highest-profile additions from the U.S. are Pan Am, Smash, Whitney, Anderson Cooper's new daytime show, and Simon Cowell's The X Factor, which previously was announced but finally will debut this fall.

"If we didn't buy a new show this year, I think it'd be pretty safe to say we'd still be No. 1," King said. "But that's like a hockey team that doesn't draft. You might be only a little weaker in year one, but you'll be even weaker in year two, and even weaker in year three.

"We had to impress upon (Bell) that we need to invest in new shows. So Bell totally understands that. Tomorrow's hits are really bought today. You can't take a year off from that, you just can't."

For the media portion of the event on Thursday, CTV brought in the four main actresses from Pan Am: Christina Ricci, Canadian Karine Vanasse, Margot Robbie and Kelli Garner; Debra Messing from Smash; Anderson Cooper from Anderson; Whitney Cummings from Whitney; and Simon Helberg, Kunal Nayyar, Melissa Rauch and Mayim Bialik from Canada's No. 1 show, The Big Bang Theory.

Pan Am, of course, is a sharp-looking show about stewardesses in 1963 that will be simulcast in the crucial Sunday-at-10 p.m. time slot on CTV. Ricci arguably had the funniest line of the press conferences when she was asked about the authenticity of the retro foundation garments on the show.

"Basically it's a half-hour pee break," Ricci said. "And someone has to help you, because afterward it's all unhooked."

Later, Ricci was asked about that classic Pan Am stewardess walk, with its swish of the hips and hand in the air.

"We're all wearing girdles, it makes you walk a certain way," Ricci explained. "It keeps your legs together."

Other new shows in the CTV stable include the reboot of Charlie's Angels, Free Agents, Grimm, Once Upon a Time, Man Up, The Sing-Off, The Protector, Unforgettable, Up All Night, G.C.B. and Missing.

With all this content, King insisted the rebranding of the A channels as CTV Two is much more than a cosmetic endeavour.

"I kind of said when I took on this role, I think (CTV) has been operating with one arm tied behind their backs," King said. "So we're going to give it a real shot, with HD and a proper promotion and marketing campaign. We certainly have invested in some programming for CTV Two this fall."

Additionally, some of CTV's top-20 hits - like Criminal Minds, CSI: Miami and Two and a Half Men - will be shifted to CTV Two.

"It's taking a bit of the page from what we did with TSN and TSN 2," King said. "It seemed pretty obvious - let's call it what it is."

Calling it what it is for CTV these days amounts to taking pride in its current position at the top network in Canada, but not taking it for granted.

That's a clear-headed approach whether you're from Mars, Venus, or any other planet in the solar system.

CTV wants 2014, 2016 Games

CTV wants to be Canada's Olympic network full-time.

Phil King, the president of CTV programming and sports, told QMI Agency on Thursday that CTV aggressively will bid for the Games in 2014 and 2016. CTV aired the Vancouver Winter Games last year and already has the rights to the London Summer Games next year.

"There is no backing off," King said. "We very much are interested in Sochi (2014) and Brazil (2016).

"The way it works is, the Americans are bidding this week, they're in Switzerland. So ESPN, Fox and NBC are bidding. They always do the Americans first. The Canadian networks will bid sometime this summer, early fall."

For decades CBC was the network Canadians most identified with the Olympics. While CBC may be anxious to get the Games back, King said there has been no change in CTV's appetite for the Olympics now that Bell has become the company's majority shareholder.

"You'll remember, Bell was a major sponsor of the Vancouver Games, and will be in London next summer," King said. "You know, we own TSN, and it was great for CTV, and we very much loved the experience, so we're going to take our best shot at expanding that.

"It was a no-brainer. The discussions were, 'When do we bid, and let's start getting our bid ready.' There was no hesitation .