John Brunton

Chair & Chief Executive Officer, Executive Producer
Insight Production Company Ltd.

John Brunton thinks TV. All the time. As the Globe and Mail writes, he “has airwaves between his ears.”

A natural-born storyteller, Brunton is now celebrating over thirty years at the helm of Insight Production Company Ltd. As Chairman & CEO, Brunton’s entrepreneurial ingenuity, creative vision and passion for television have enabled him to position Insight as an industry leader in the development, financing and production of world class television programs. As the Executive Producer of compelling dramas and documentaries, ground-breaking award shows, record-breaking comedy and variety series, sports, music and other programs across all conventional and digital platforms, Brunton has worked with some of the most talented personalities in the world.


With thousands of hours of programming under his belt, Brunton recently produced his 20th year of The JUNO Awards, second seasons of "The Amazing Race Canada" and "Big Brother Canada" and is currently on the air with the second season of "Never Ever Do This At Home" and the fourth season of "Top Chef Canada". Ending 2013 on a high note, Insight was honoured to be named TV Producer of the Year by Playback Magazine.

Having produced the highest rated shows in Canadian television consistently for the last four decades, starting with Heart of Gold in 1982, it was no surprise that "The Amazing Race Canada" is the most-watched Canadian series on record with the highest rated Canadian debut ever from an American or Canadian series. Airing three nights a week, "Big Brother Canada" premiered to record breaking ratings drawing huge audiences both on air and online, making it the most watched series ever in the history of Slice, increasing its overall audience by 77%.

Brunton enjoys creating new and exciting formats that can be sold worldwide, including Insight’s original formats "Canada Sings" and "Battle of the Blades", which in its fourth season remained the highest rated original format in Canadian history. Along with Joke or Choke, Insight is currently in production on their other new original formats "America, Eh!" and "The Great Canadian Food Express".

Brunton and his team dove into the digital world at full speed in 2013, producing the interactive digital media property "But I’m Chris Jericho!" At its center is a comedy web series and for fans seeking more active participation, they were offered an element of gamification with the online BICJ game. The cross-platform element of "Big Brother Canada" shattered records making it one of the most tweeted about topics in Canada and ranking second on Google Canada’s top trending searches of 2013, second only to "Breaking Bad". Fans were given 24/7 access to the houseguests via the live feeds streaming over a million hours of the show.

Brunton’s international reputation for outstanding drama and comedy programming has brought shows like "Ready or Not" and "Falcon Beach" to over 100 territories worldwide. He has produced award-winning shows like "The Jon Dore Television Show", "Hatching", "Matching & Dispatching" and "The Sean Cullen Show", all of which have showcased Canadian talent.n Brunton has been acknowledged for developing a Canadian “star system” and along with Canadian Idol – recognized internationally as one of the best Idol formats around the world - Mike Myers was another example of new talent discovered by Insight in "It’s Only Rock n’ Roll".

Accolades for Brunton and Insight Productions include numerous Gemini Awards, four Emmy nominations, two Cable Ace awards, six American Film Festival ribbons and a variety of other film and television awards.

For further information please visit www.insighttv.com

Speaking at: Media Leaders Series: Canadian Media Leaders