The Jim Pattison Broadcast Group (JPBG) has acquired a minority stake in Edmonton digital agency Lift Interactive. Founded in 2002 by Micah and Kristi Slavens, the boutique agency has been behind projects for clients like Lululemon and Tourism Jasper. Pattison’s outdoor advertising arm has also tapped its services. JPBG President Rod Schween says the company has been looking for a digital partner since an overhaul of its strategic priorities last fall. Schween says with multiplying options for advertisers to spend their marketing dollar, part of JPBG’s enhanced company strategy is determining how to offer a multi-platform solution for clients and drive long term organizational growth. Going forward, JPBG will work with the Lift team on a rollout strategy to determine what product mix is right for each of its markets. Read the full story here.
CBC Sports and Red Bull Media House have a new three-year partnership that will see the extensive back catalogue of past events from the Red Bull Signature Series made available on the CBC Gem streaming service. The Red Bull Signature Series spans the sports of snowboarding, mountain biking, freestyle motocross, ice cross downhill, skiing and BMX. Canadian events like the Red Bull Ice Cross World Championship races in Ottawa (2017) and Edmonton (2018) as well as Red Bull Joyride in Whistler (2016/17) are also available to stream.
Michael “Shroud” Grzesiek, the Canadian former competitive gamer and top streamer, has left Amazon-owned Twitch for an exclusive streaming deal with emerging Microsoft platform Mixer. Shroud leaves 7 million followers behind on Twitch. Former top Twitch streamer Tyler “Ninja” Blevins made a similar deal in August. Mixer, which was acquired by Microsoft in 2016, is mostly used for gaming but also plays host to amateur streamers, professional e-sports players and other content creators. One of its draws is that it’s integrated with Xbox One and Windows 10. It also offers a channel subscription monetization option for streamers and like Twitch has a tipping option that allows viewers to donate ‘Embers’ – the platform’s currency – to their favourite creators.
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