REVOLVING DOOR:
Manon Brouillette is stepping down after 14 years with Quebecor, the last five as president and CEO of Videotron. Brouillette will leave at the end of fiscal 2018, Dec. 31. The company says at that time her name will be submitted for appointment to the board of directors of Quebecor Inc.
Kirstine Stewart is the incoming head of Information and Entertainment at the World Economic Forum (WEF), including news, digital platforms, television and other content. The former CBC and Twitter executive has been president and CRO of Toronto software engineering firm TribalScale for the last 10 months. Stewart will be based in Geneva.
Suzanne Leonard is leaving The Weather Network after two decades. Leonard joined the network in 1998 after 10 years behind the scenes with TVO. She hasn’t announced what’s next.
Neetu Garcha, Sonia Sunger, Paul Haysom, and Mark MadrygaGlobal News Morning BC is revamping its on-air lineup, beginning Oct. 22. Neetu Garcha joins anchors Sonia Sunger and Paul Haysom, meteorologist Mark Madryga and traffic reporter Kaitlyn Herbst, as morning news reporter, moving from her anchor position at BC 1. Current morning news reporter Jordan Armstrong is heading to the weekend evening anchor desk on Global BC and BC 1, with additional weekday reporting duties. Weekend anchor Sonia Deol is now also the host of BC 1 weekly political series Focus BC. She continues to anchor Global News Hour at 6 Weekend.
John Copsey is the new national evening/overnight news anchor on Global News Radio 980 CKNW Vancouver. He’ll deliver newscasts during Charles Adler Tonight and The Shift with Drex evenings & overnights across the Global News Radio network. Copsey was most recently with News 1130 (CKWX-AM) Vancouver. This is his second stint with Corus Radio after five years at CJOB-AM Winnipeg from 2007-13.
Ashley Stanhope has been hired as the new assignment editor for Global Toronto and Global Durham. Stanhope comes to Global after more than six years on the assignment desk at CP24. Her first day at Global will be Oct. 29.
Chris Dunseith has rejoined Global News Toronto in the role of senior digital technician. In addition to being part of the camera team, Dunseith will manage scheduling of the camera department and work closely with the assignment desk. Dunseith was with Global up until 2008 when he left to pursue outside opportunities, working over the last decade at CBC, City TV, and CTV.
First People’s Radio (FPR) has unveiled the on-air and management lineup for 106.5 ELMNT FM Toronto and 95.7 ELMNT FM Ottawa, set to launch officially on Oct. 24. The Toronto on-air lineup includes Bob Magee (mornings); David Moses (host of network call-in show Moment of Truth airing 11 a.m. to noon); Andrea Rooz (middays); Julian Taylor (drive); Janet Panic (host of evening show ‘Panic in the Night’); with Moses and Cathy Sobocan handling news duties. The Ottawa on-air lineup has Aiden Wolf on mornings; Kayla Whiteduck (middays); Missy Knott (drive); Cody Coyote (evenings); with Shaun Malley and Caroline O’Neill in the newsroom. The management team will be helmed by operations manager and content consultant Dave Charles; music director Luca Capone; IT/Engineer Glenn Prins; production manager Andrew Johnson; imaging producer Doug Thompson; social media manager Bruce Barber; creative Adrian Wallace; traffic manager Ann Pospischil; GSM Gary Murphy; national sales manager James Wansbrough; and marketing consultant Naaz Jiwa.
H.G. Watson is leaving j-source.ca to be assistant editor of Ontario Hubs for TVO, starting Oct. 22. Watson had been managing editor at The Canadian Journalism Project website for the last three years.
Astrid Braunschmidt is leaving CTV Vancouver Island to join the media relations team at BC Ferries. Braunschmidt began her broadcast career in 2001 with the The New VI (CIVI-TV) as a reporter/videographer. She’s since held roles from co-hosting the station’s breakfast show to evening weathercasting and went back to school in 2012 to become the Island’s only certified meteorologist.
Warren Dean has left CTV Calgary to be the new weekday evening weather specialist at CTV Regina. Dean had been the weekend weather anchor at CTV Calgary since Oct. 2016. Dean is not a stranger to the Regina market, starting his career at 104.9 The Wolf (CFWF-FM) Regina.
Alex Brown is leaving CTV Regina to take on the role of traffic reporter at CTV Winnipeg. Brown has been with the station for the last five years, most recently as the on-the-go reporter for the local CTV Morning Live broadcast. She’s the daughter of CTV Toronto weather anchor Tom Brown and former Global Regina anchor Shelly Brown.
Zaib Shaikh has been appointed Consul General of Canada in Los Angeles, replacing James Villeneuve. Shaikh has been the City of Toronto’s film commissioner and director of entertainment industries since 2014, and is an actor and producer. Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland also appointed Joe Comartin as Consul General of Canada in Detroit. The former Windsor area NDP MP replaces Douglas George.
Brittany Webster has joined the CFTK-TV Prince Rupert news team. Webster has been the president of University of Windsor campus station CJAM 99.1 FM for the last year, in addition to reporting for Windsor Essex Television (WE-TV).
Ahmar Khan is leaving CTV Winnipeg to join CBC Manitoba. Khan had been with CTV as an associate producer, digital and video journalist since Apr. 2017.
Stephanie Ouaknine, producer and scripted development executive at Shaftesbury, is leaving the company full-time after six years. Ouaknine will remain on contract with award-winning multi-platform series Carmilla, and several other development projects. She’ll now be based in L.A.
Brandon Graziano has joined the 570 News (CKGL-AM) Kitchener team as morning news editor. Graziano arrives from CKRM-AM Regina where he was afternoon news anchor and talk show host. He’s also done stints with the Jim Pattison Broadcast Group in Prince Albert and Corus Radio Edmonton.
Benjamin Eppel is joining the 570 News (CKGL-AM) Kitchener newsroom as a part-time reporter/anchor. The recent University of Guelph-Humber grad had most recently been working in promotions with the student union. Maddie Demarte also joins the news team and will take on traffic reporting, in addition to her duties in the promotions department.
Amber LeBrun is the new News 95.7 (CJNI-FM) Halifax weekend talk producer and weekday reporter. The Concordia University grad has been working in the financial sector in Halifax for the last four years, but prior to that was with Bell Media’s stations in Montreal for seven years in roles from sales assistant to hosting and producing The Irish Show on CJAD-AM.
Andrew Pinsent is leaving News 95.7 (CJNI-FM) Halifax to return to 1310 News (CIWW-AM) Ottawa to produce Ottawa Today with Mark Sutcliffe. Pinsent started his career at Rogers Ottawa after graduating from Algonquin College, before heading east to Halifax three years ago to join News 95.7 as morning show reporter, afternoon news anchor and most recently morning news editor. His first day in Ottawa is Nov. 5.
Patrick White is no longer editor-in-chief of HuffPost Quebec after the position was eliminated last week. White, who previously held positions with CTV and Reuters, had been with the digital publication since 2011. Deputy editor Christian Duperron is now in charge.
Larry Donohue, longtime music director at CFCW Edmonton, will hang up his headphones at the end of the year. Donohue has been in broadcasting for 50 years, the last 35 with Newcap Alberta.
RADIO/AUDIO/PODCAST:
Bryan Hall celebrated 65 years in broadcasting on Wednesday. “Hallsy” was celebrated at an Edmonton Broadcasters Club luncheon with 170 guests in attendance. Mayor Don Iveson also issued a proclamation declaring Oct. 17 “Bryan Hall Day” in Edmonton. The longtime sportscaster and play-by-play announcer started his career in news at CKUA Edmonton in 1953, in addition to hosting Saturday jazz show Music for Moderns. He started filling in covering sports and by 1955 was working full-time at CHED 1080. He would go on to work at CHUM 1050 Toronto, covering the Toronto Maple Leafs and Toronto Argonauts, before returning to Edmonton. After years with CJCA, including hosting the city’s first open line sports talk show, Hall returned to CHED in 1993 as sports director.
Radio Cité 97,9 (CFED-FM), Edmonton’s new Francophone community radio station, officially launched Oct. 5. The 113-watt station launched with almost $700,000 in grants including $400,000 from Western Economic Diversification, $296,000 from Canadian Heritage and over $46,000 from the Community Radio Fund of Canada. About 65 per cent of the station’s programming is French-language music.
The CRTC has approved Cogeco’s application to purchase RNC Media French-language commercial radio stations CHPR-FM Hawkesbury, ON; CFGT-FM Alma, CKXO-FM Chibougamau; CHVD-FM Dolbeau; CJLA-FM Lachute, CJGO-FM La Sarre and its transmitter CJGO-FM-1 Rouyn-Noranda; CHRL-FM Roberval, CHOA-FM Rouyn-Noranda and its transmitters CHOA-FM-1 Val-D’or and CHOA-FM-2 La Sarre; CKYK-FM Saguenay and its transmitter CKYK-FM-1 Alma and CHGO-FM Val-D’or, Quebec. Cogeco will acquire the stations’ assets for $18,500,000. The applicant has proposed a value of the transaction of $19,736,958, which includes the site leases. Proposed tangible benefits amount to $1,184,217 or six per cent of the value of the transaction.
Lift & Co. has opened voting for the 2018 Canadian Cannabis Awards, including Best Cannabis Podcast and Best Cannabis YouTuber. Former Calgary radio personality Chris Foord (Q107/CJAY 92) is nominated in both categories for The Cannabis Show, which took best podcast honours last year. Also nominated for best podcast are Canadian Cannabis Update, Expert Joints, Legalized and The Pace Radio Show. In addition to The Cannabis Show, top Youtube nominees include Hart Steinfeld, Valerie Connelly and Peter Nolan-Smith of ‘the bis, Urban Remo and Scottrades, which focuses on Canadian cannabis stocks. Voting is open until Oct. 26.
Bob Irving called his 800th Winnipeg Blue Bombers game on Saturday. Irving, 68, joined the CFL team’s radio broadcasts, shortly after being hired at 680 CJOB Winnipeg, during the 1974 CFL season. He recently celebrated his 45th anniversary with the station.
iHeartRadio Canada has announced the first slate of performers for the 2018 iHeartRadio Canada Jingle Ball, taking place Sunday, Dec. 2 at Toronto’s Scotiabank Arena. Now in its third year, the holiday spectacle kicks off at 7 p.m. ET sharp with performances from: The Chainsmokers, Khalid, Dua Lipa, Alessia Cara, bülow, Loud Luxury, Lauv, Max, Elijah Woods x Jamie Fine, Delaney Jane, and Tyler Shaw. Additional performers will be announced in the coming weeks. Tickets to the iHeartRadio Jingle Ball go on sale to the general public Friday, Oct. 19 at 10 a.m. ET at TicketMaster.ca.
The Canada Media Fund (CMF) has released the first episode of its six-episode podcast series Now & Next. The podcast will explore the digital transformation of the media and entertainment industry. Produced by CMF and hosted by digital media researcher Leora Kornfeld, former host of 1990s CBC network program Realtime, the podcast’s first guest is Mark Swierszcz, operations lead at the Toronto YouTube Space.
SIGN-OFFS:
Roy Luckow, 90, on Oct. 13. Luckow joined CBC Vancouver in 1953 and was one of the first cameraman in the new medium at CBUT. Over the next 34 years, he did a variety of studio and location cinematography work in drama, variety, current affairs and documentaries. He was director of photography on numerous episodes of The Beachcombers and The Nature of Things. Luckow retired from the CBC in 1987.
David Craig, 77, on Oct. 9. Craig was raised in Woodstock, N.B. where CJCJ-AM opened in his final year of high school. He started at the station in 1959 as a farm editor, DJ, newsman and even swept the floors. He enrolled in the Ryerson Radio and Television Arts Program and upon graduation worked in Smiths Falls, Fredericton, Saint John and Sydney where he also hosted “Saturday Dance Party,” set up the first TV newsroom at CJCB, and played trumpet and percussion in various militia bands. From there, he worked in Sault Ste. Marie and Hamilton which led him to CFRB-AM Toronto in 1967. He was the station’s Queen’s Park bureau chief for one year before settling into a 22-year stretch as the morning news editor. After CFRB, Craig took a year off to do public relations for the Anglican Church of Canada and then became morning man and news director at CKSL-AM London. He later did a stint at CJEZ-FM and went on to become the first news director at 680 News (CFTR-AM) Toronto. Over the years there were also stops at Classical 96FM, CHUC and Star FM in Cobourg. He also hosted “The Band Show” at CJRU-AM Oakville where he played big band and concert band music from his extensive collections. In the 1980s and 90s he taught Broadcast Journalism and Radio Production Theory at Ryerson University and Broadcast Internet Reporting at Seneca College. Most recently, he worked as a weekend announcer for CBC before deciding at age 68 it was time to retire. Craig’s assertion was that the attraction of news is “the constant adventure of life” it provides. He was honoured with an RTNDA Lifetime Achievement Award in 2010 in the Central Region.
Bob Gilchrist, 79, on Oct. 7, suddenly of a heart attack. Gilchrist worked for several decades in television, starting at The Australian Broadcasting Co., and then the CTV network and CFTO-TV Toronto, retiring as an ENG editor at CBC Toronto. He worked freelance in the 1980s, working in the camera and electrical department on shows like Jim Henson’s Muppets, SCTV, and 20 Minute Workout, to name a few.
TV/FILM/VIDEO:
Netflix stock closed up nearly 17 per cent Tuesday after the streaming giant beat earnings estimates, revealing it added almost seven million net subscribers in Q3. Posting its third-quarter earnings report, the company said its broad slate of original programming helped drive a solid quarter of growth with streaming revenue increasing 36 per cent year over year and global membership surpassing 130 million paid and 137 million total. The company reported revenue of $4 billion, on target with estimates. Netflix added 6.96 million subscribers, with 1.09 million of those domestic and international subscriber additions of 5.87 million. The company is predicting it will add 9.4 million total net subscribers in the coming quarter. Netflix shares closed up 16.73 per cent Monday to $388.87 USD, up more than 80 per cent for the year as consumers continue to abandon traditional TV providers.
The Canadian Media Producers Association (CMPA) and 14 other TV and film trade associations from around the world have formed the Global Creative Alliance (GCA), a new partnership to encourage more effective international collaboration between producers and increase opportunities for co-productions. Trade bodies from Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Croatia, France, India, Italy, New Zealand, Portugal, Singapore, South Korea, the U.S. and the UK signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) at a reception in Cannes on Oct. 14. As part of the MOU, all parties commit to using best efforts to share information like market intelligence and will endeavour to arrange delegations to share best practices and enable producers to foster new creative relationships. Each party will also act as an administrator for the Production Platform, an online networking tool available to TV companies worldwide that allows registered users to pitch ideas for international collaboration.
Blue Ant Media has announced its acquiring Toronto-based production company Saloon Media. Saloon Media’s Michael Kot (CEO), Steve Gamester (Executive Producer), Paul Kilback (Executive Producer) and Betty Orr (Head of Production) will join Blue Ant Media’s Global Production unit. Specializing in factual television and digital content, Saloon Media launched in 2013 with recent credits including Mummies Alive for HISTORY (Canada), Smithsonian Channel (U.S.) and Yesterday (UK); and 10-part broadcast and web series Tornado Hunters for CMT. Read more here.
Quebecor Content and French-Canadian producer and distributor Media Ranch are teaming up to launch a format incubator program. Horsepower will be based at new Media Ranch premises in Montreal and aims to develop the next generation of French-Canadian format creators. The first intake of between six and eight participants will happen in January with the program running until June. Shortlisted candidates will benefit from ongoing development, editorial support and mentorship with producer and distributor Sophie Ferron, Media Ranch’s president. The winning project will receive an investment from Quebecor Content to produce a proof-of-concept episode, which will be produced and distributed by Media Ranch on the international market. The submission process opens Nov. 10.
The CRTC has approved the installation of a new over-the-air TV transmitter in Îles-de-la-Madeleine, the first digital transmitter on the island. With no local television station currently serving the island, CHAU-DT Carleton-sur-Mer, an affiliate of the TVA network, says it will make local television news produced in Gaspé and Acadia available and plans to offer local news content to the Îles-de-la-Madeleine community. CFIM-FM Cap-aux-Meules argued that the transmitter would threaten the viability of its community radio station and that its advertising revenue would plummet, however the CRTC dismissed that concern.
Sportsnet is expanding its SN NOW+ service, offering a top tier package lifting regional blackout restrictions for every NHL game that is exclusive to Sportsnet. SN NOW+ is available as a direct-to-consumer service for $27.99/month. The basic SN NOW tier continues to provide a direct feed of what is available on Sportsnet’s television channels, including the Sportsnet regional channels (Sportsnet Ontario, East, West and Pacific), Sportsnet ONE and Sportsnet 360, including all national NHL games, in-market games for Toronto Maple Leafs, Edmonton Oilers, Calgary Flames and Vancouver Canucks, Toronto Raptors, Blue Jays, WWE and more. SN NOW is now offered at a reduced price of $19.99/month for direct-to-consumer customers and remains available at no additional cost for Sportsnet cable, satellite and IPTV subscribers.
Shaftesbury, Pope Productions, and Citytv have started production in St. John’s, NL on new drama series REX (working title). Centred on the partnership between a police detective and his hardworking dog, REX stars John Reardon (Van Helsing, Continuum), Mayko Nguyen (Killjoys, Fahrenheit 451), and Enrico Colantoni (Bad Blood, Flashpoint). The eight-episode, hour-long series is based on the long-running, international hit Rex, a Cop’s Best Friend which has aired in 125 countries for 18 seasons.
Nelvana Enterprises, the global licensing and merchandising arm of Corus Entertainment’s Nelvana, has announced a partnership with UK-based Vivid Toy Group for global licensing rights (excluding toys) to UniVersus. Nelvana will produce original digital media content for the brand, beginning with an order of 20 shorts based on the upcoming line of toys, and will hold global distribution rights. The toys and digital shorts are slated to launch in fall 2019. UniVersus features a host of collectible alien characters, each one trapped in its own sand-filled pod that has plummeted to Earth. It’s up to kids to help free the aliens by decrypting the secret code, unlocking them from their hyper-sleep.
Whoopi Goldberg and Canadian-born actress Alison Pill (Vice, Three Tall Women, The Newsroom) helm the voice cast for Nelvana’s upcoming animated short film The Most Magnificent Thing. Based on Ashley Spires’ bestselling picture book of the same name, published by Corus’ Kids Can Press in 2014, Goldberg stars as the film’s narrator, with a cast rounded out by Pill as “mom”, Lilly Bartlam (Total Drama Island, Dot.) as “the determined girl”, and Tony Daniels (Atomic Puppet, Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood) as her canine best friend. The Most Magnificent Thing is currently wrapping production and is set to debut on the film fest circuit in early 2019.
DHX Media and Mattel report that new animated children’s series Polly Pocket has been picked up by 16 broadcasters internationally. Based on the Mattel toy brand, the new series premiered in Canada in July, on DHX Media’s own Family Channel and Family Jr, and will roll-out globally throughout late 2018 and into 2019. Additional broadcasters set to air Polly Pocket include Sony Pictures Television’s POP channel (UK); RTL Telekids (Netherlands); Kidzone TV (Baltics); Lagardère’s Gulli and TiJi (France), Gulli AFRICA (22 African-French speaking countries) and Gulli Girl (Russia); teleTOON+ (Poland); AMC Minimax (Eastern Europe); vtmkzoom (Belgium); Canal Panda (Portugal); Turner (Italy, Middle East, Turkey and Greece); Star Channel (Greece); kidZ (Israel); SABC (South Africa); and Discovery Kids (Latin America).
Discovery all-new original Canadian series Vintage Tech Hunters debuts with back-to-back episodes beginning Nov. 5. Viewers are invited to join technophile co-hosts Bohus Blahut and Shaun Hatton as they scour liquidation sales and backcountry antique auctions to uncover “rare, weird and nostalgic” tech. Produced by Crooked Horse Productions (a division of Boat Rocker Studios), the 14-part series follows the duo as they turn up a slew of throwback collectibles, including the world’s first talking pinball machine, a Robert the Robot, Minox B Spy Camera, Speak ‘n Spell toy, and an Apple I computer.
Future History, a documentary series (13 x .30) celebrating the reclamation of Indigenous knowledge, will premiere on APTN next month. Actress Jennifer Podemski, president of Redcloud Studios Inc., co-produces and directs. Following Anishinaabe hosts Sarain Fox and Kris Nahrgang as they venture into their community to gain understanding, the series debuts Nov. 13 at 7:30 pm ET on APTN East & HD and 7:30 pm MT on APTN West.
ONLINE/DIGITAL:
Sportsnet says its inaugural #IceSurfing Twitter broadcast of the 2018-19 NHL season captured a total audience of 649,000 viewers during its three-hour Oct. 9 premiere. The network says #IceSurfing attracted 503,000 unique visitors – 200,000 more than its pilot episode last season. The weekly Tuesday evening broadcast is hosted by Jeff Marek and Jason York, featuring contributors like Steve Dangle and Stan Nieradka with segments like ‘Stat of the Day.’
CBC/Radio-Canada will hold its first-ever national bilingual Hackathon Feb. 1-3, which will challenge programmers to enhance the personalization of the public broadcaster’s digital platforms. Sponsored by Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft, the friendly tech competition is open to all Canadian residents, either on-site at the CBC Broadcast Centre Toronto or Maison de Radio-Canada in Montreal, or remotely online. Working in teams of three to five people, participants are tasked with developing a functional web or mobile prototype that uses personalization techniques to generate engagement between Canadians and CBC/Radio-Canada’s digital platforms. Interested amateur, professional and student programmers, designers and other digitally-inclined Canadians have until Friday, Nov. 30 to register their team’s application at cbc.ca/hackathon. Read more here.
GENERAL:
CRTC-commissioned public opinion research finds that 40 per cent of Canadians surveyed by IPSOS reported experiencing sales practices by telecommunications companies in Canada that they consider to be aggressive or misleading. The commission published the results ahead of its week-long public hearing on the issue, starting Oct. 22. Canada’s largest telecommunications carriers will appear before a full commission panel, as will public advocacy groups, senior advocacy groups and other stakeholders. Canadians are invited to participate throughout the hearing via Twitter using the hashtag #CRTCforum. Tweets using the hashtag which comply with the CRTC’s Rules of Engagement and which are posted between Oct. 22 (starting at 9 a.m. EDT) and the end of hearing will be added to the public record and considered for the CRTC’s report to government on the matter. Read the full story here.
Faith Goldy has had her complaint against Bell Media thrown out by an Ontario Superior Court judge. The Toronto mayoral candidate and conservative commentator was seeking an injunction that would have compelled the broadcaster to play her 30-second ads on its CP24 television station ahead of the Oct. 22 municipal election. Judge Peter Cavanagh, who heard Monday’s emergency motion, said in his written decision Tuesday that the matter is under the “exclusive jurisdiction” of the CRTC and while the court could grant an injunction in a “truly dire emergency even where a statutory tribunal has exclusive jurisdiction” he declined to exercise that jurisdiction in this case. Goldy’s counsel, constitutional and civil rights attorney Clayton Ruby, had argued that Ontario Superior Court should hear the matter because of its urgency. In his decision, Cavanagh states that with Goldy polling at approximately six per cent according to her counsel, it’s unlikely the outcome of the application would “have any realistic impact on the outcome of the election.” Earlier in the week, Goldy revealed that Rogers Media had also refused her ads after initially agreeing to a contract. Read the full story here.
The Competition Bureau has launched public consultations to better understand what influences consumer choice when buying internet services. The bureau is asking Canadians to fill out a short online survey as part of its latest market study, undertaken in May. Ultimately, the bureau says it’s aiming to find out if internet regulations could be smarter and more effective, as well as ensure that it’s focusing on the issues around internet service that matter most to consumers. The bureau anticipates publishing the study no later than June. Read more here.
Rogers Media employees at The Shopping Channel have accepted a new four-year collective agreement that includes wage increases, upgrades, improved benefits and job security. Unifor Local 79-M represents 90 employees in broadcasting operations who will see annual wage increases retroactive to June 2018 of 1.5, 2.0, 2.0 and 2.5 per cent. Showroom clerks, studio camera operators, photographers, general operators and technical directors, who make up 50 per cent of the bargaining unit, will also earn special upgrades. The new agreement includes language that clarifies that layoff, bumping and recall goes by seniority with no management discretion. Other gains include doubling severance pay to two weeks per year of service, capped at 52 weeks, improved contracting out language, and new jurisdictional language prohibiting non-union personnel from performing union work. Regular part time and casual workers who average 20 hours weekly will be eligible for benefits, and night shift and work on day off premiums are improved. The employer has also agreed to contribute to Unifor’s paid education leave.
Monique Lafontaine, Ontario commissioner for the CRTC, will be the Keynote Luncheon speaker at this year’s OAB Connection ‘18 conference set for Nov. 8 at the Marriott Toronto Airport Hotel. More info on this year’s speakers lineup is available on the OAB website.
Rogers’ 2013 NHL media deal is the subject of a new book by The Globe and Mail sports writer David Shoalts. Hockey Fight in Canada: The Big Media Faceoff delves into the 12-year, $5.2 billion dollar agreement which marked the first time a professional sports league had sold all of its broadcast rights to one company. Shoalts also looks at some of the company’s missteps including replacing Hockey Night In Canada host Ron Maclean with George Stroumbouloupoulous.
Anne-France Goldwater has won a lawsuit against Quebec’s V network over uncompensated rebroadcast and early cancellation of her TV show L’Arbitre. The broadcaster and producer of the show have been ordered to pay Goldwater over $600,000 in damages. While a clause in Goldwater’s contract didn’t allow rebroadcast on another channel other than V, the show was re-aired on MusiMax. Goldwater demanded $1,000 in damages for each episode, plus the $432,000 that would have been received for Season 8 of L’Arbitre, which was ultimately not produced.
SUPPLY LINES:
Momentum Media Marketing, which specializes in marketing media brands, is making Vancouver-based consumer behaviour expert, best-selling author, and international speaker David Allison’s “Valuegraphics” available to the broadcast industry. Using data based on 75,000 in depth surveys, Valuegraphics is the new science of shared human values that delves into what audiences really want and what messages will motivate them. Allison’s recently-released book We Are All the Same Age Now explores how moving on from demographic stereotypes can help organizations make more strategic, values-based decisions with the help of big data. For more info on how Valuegraphics can help achieve results in the broadcast sector, contact MMM president Shawn Smith at shawn@momentummediamarketing.com.
Stingray’s commercial services division Stingray Business is poised to expand into the European market with the acquisition of DJ-Matic, a provider of in-store media solutions (music, video, digital signage) for businesses with clients in Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, and Denmark. Launched in 2000, DJ-Matic serves clients in a range of industries including bars and pubs, retail stores, restaurants, hotels, and fitness centres. Under the terms of the agreement, Stingray will fully own and operate DJ-Matic with the continued direction of the company’s current leadership team. Stingray says the acquisition supports its business plan and growth strategy by giving Stingray Business a solid foothold in Europe and a share in the local demand for curated, commercially-licenced entertainment services. Stingray Business, already a leader in the Canadian background music market with clients in 78,000 locations, has been on a growth streak signing contracts over the last 12 months with Mexico’s Farmacias del Ahorro, entered the Australian market with the acquisitions of SBA Music and SMA Entertainment, and acquired Novramedia, a Toronto-based design, development, and digital media solutions company.
Vividata, a Toronto-based provider of media market analytics and consumer research, is partnering with New York audience-based social media measurement company Shareablee Inc. The partnership establishes Shareablee’s largest presence to-date in the Canadian market, and gives Vividata’s network access to its social metrics, including custom reporting tools and Monetization Suite advertiser-publisher dashboards. Vividata says the agreement capitalizes on Canada’s surging social media landscape with overall major social network content and actions growing at a rate of 15 per cent since 2017 and Instagram per-post average engagement rising 25 per cent during the same period. Shareablee will work closely with the Vividata team to support the needs of the Canadian market through their Toronto based representative, Alex Castro.
QYOU Media, the Canadian-based curator of premium “best-of-the-web” video for multiscreen distribution, has announced a major marketing agreement with FansUnite Entertainment Inc., a blockchain-based sports betting company, around its flagship eSports platform “Heads Up Daily” (HUD). The sponsorship agreement will see FansUnite sponsor HUD’s daily highlights segment, weekly player vs. player segment, and accompanying social media activations. Founded and created by industry veterans from Lionsgate, MTV, and CinemaNow, QYOU’s millennial-focused products including linear television networks, genre-based series, mobile apps, and video-on-demand formats reach customers on six continents. Distribution partners include Vodafone, 21st Century Fox, Liberty Global, Showmax, iflix, Jio, SuperChannel and Tata Sky.
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