Network: CTV Television Network
Broadcast Run: 1970 to 1974
Broadcast Medium: Television
One of scores of game show formats to be licensed worldwide by the U.S.-based Goodson-Todman organization, a Canadian version of Beat The Clock enjoyed a four-year run in daytime on CTV in the early 1970s. It was Prduced at CTV affiliate CFCF-TV in Montreal, hosted by veteran host Jack Narz, and the announcer was perennial game show voice Gene Wood. The game required contestants to perform various stunts within a specified time limit, usually 60 seconds. Celebrity guests took part in each show.
After two years, Jack Narz left, and Gene Wood took over as host and producer for two more years. According to Wood, the show was then cancelled because Mark Goodson of Goodson-Todman didn’t want to give CTV 50% of the fees paid by advertisers to have their products featured as prizes on the show.
One interesting feature of the series was that the organist who played for two years on the program was well-known jazz pianist Dick Hyman.
Advertising in Beat The Clock on CTV was sold by the stations, who played the series in various daytime and early evening time periods. The program was first scheduled on CTV in September 1970, and the Clock finally stopped in the fall of 1974.