A football legend will soon be showcasing the Battlefords and area to a North America-wide audience.
Former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Terry Bradshaw hosts the show Today in America, and that series will be in the Battlefords this summer to produce a segment for the program.
The segment will highlight the Battlefords and give the community a unique opportunity to promote itself on television across North America.
Today in America is shown nationally in Canada on BNN, and on Fox Business in the United States. It is also shown on several local and cable channels in the United States.
The plan is for their production team to come to the Battlefords to film a five-minute segment for the show in June. It will likely include interviews with civic officials and individuals within the community.
The finished production will feature Bradshaw and will air on Today in America as one of the segments.
The City was contacted by the show's producers about possibly partnering to do a segment spotlighting the Battlefords, according to Director of Business Development Denis Lavertu.
"It's quite an exciting opportunity," said Lavertu, noting the potential for international exposure.
City officials see the show as a new opportunity to promote Battlefords and region in a way they haven't done before.
The City has marketed itself extensively in print and online, and has been featured in promotional videos, but this is a chance for the Battlefords to be featured on network television. Lavertu called this an opportunity to "use a different media that we've never used before."
The Today in America series focuses on upbeat stories about thriving companies and communities throughout America. The Battlefords segment will be part of the show's plans to showcase the "gems of Canada."
"Specifically, they are looking at cities that are growing and prospering," said Lavertu.
When Lavertu asked why the Battlefords community was invited to take part, he said the producers responded, "we're progressive. We've been advertising, we've been noted in many economic development magazines, so they wanted to hear our story, as well."
The plan is to showcase all the highlights of the Battlefords, including museums, the Credit Union CUPlex, and some of the area's other attractions including Table Mountain and Fort Battleford. There will also be a chance to highlight some of the exciting businesses coming in to the community.
But there will be a cost associated to the community, which will be footing a bill of $24,000 for the segment. Lavertu says that is a bargain considering the costs normally associated with television.
Normally, this type of television exposure across Canada and the United States would require a campaign costing hundreds of thousands of dollars, Lavertu said.
As a side benefit to all this, the rights to the video will stay in the Battlefords. That means all the video can be used on the City's website and in all the promotional, tourism and marketing packages to promote the community, Lavertu said.
The city will be footing some of the $24,000 bill, plus the town of Battleford has also agreed to be on board, said Lavertu. He adds a number of private players in the community have come forward as well as sponsors, and Lavertu says they continue to seek out private sponsors to help with the costs.
The town of North Battleford is contributing a total of $2,560 to the cost of the video, based on a calculation of 63 per capita.
