REVOLVING DOOR:
Christian Hall will be joining Rogers Sports & Media as National Content Director, JACK and Content Director for Vancouver stations JACK 96.9 (CJAX-FM) & KiSS RADiO (CKKS-FM). Hall, currently VP, Brands & Content for Harvard Broadcasting’s 13 stations across Alberta and Saskatchewan, will join Rogers’ “Music Brands” leadership team and be responsible for leading its portfolio of JACK stations, including JACK 96.9 (CJAQ-FM) Calgary, JACK 102.3 (CHST-FM) London, JACK 92.9 (CFLT-FM) Halifax, JACK 103.1 (CHTT-FM) Victoria and JACK 102.1 (CJCY-FM) Medicine Hat. Hall has been with Harvard Broadcasting since 2006, holding roles from National Program Manager to serving as the founding program director at X92.9 (CFEX-FM) Calgary for the last 15 years. Read more here.
Jeff Winskell has parted ways with Rogers Sports & Media and his position as Content Director for Jack 96.9 (CJAX-FM) Vancouver. In the position since Jan. 2019, Winskell was previously with Bell Media in various roles in Kelowna, St. Catharines, and prior to joining Rogers, Regional Program Director for Bell’s 21 radio stations in the B.C. Interior.
Mike Killeen will anchor his final newscast on CBC Vancouver’s News at 6 on May 21, announcing a departure from the industry after 40+ years in broadcasting. Killeen has been co-hosting the newscast, alongside Anita Bathe, since Nov. 2018. He began his broadcasting career at Mountain FM (CISQ-FM) Squamish, before moving to CKWX-AM (now News 1130) and CKNW Vancouver. He moved into TV news in 1987 at CKVU-TV, leaving in 1991 to do a stint in Hong Kong media. He rejoined CKVU/Global Vancouver in 1995. In 2001, Killeen signed on with CTV British Columbia as a senior reporter and weekend anchor, going on to co-anchor the flagship 6 p.m. newscast from 2011 up until 2018, when station management undertook a major lineup shuffle. CBC Vancouver says it won’t be recruiting a new co-anchor for the News at 6, with Bathe to fly solo on the show following Killeen’s departure. Read more here.
Diana Swain is taking on the role of Executive Producer of CBC’s The Fifth Estate after leading the CBC News Investigative Unit for the past two years. Swain has been with the public broadcaster since 1990.
Frank Seravalli has left TSN. Seravalli joined the network in 2015 as a Senior Hockey Reporter and has regularly appeared on TSN Radio, SportsCentre, and That’s Hockey, among other programs. Prior to joining TSN, Seravalli covered the Philadelphia Flyers for the Philadelphia Daily News for six seasons.
Avi Lewis has announced his intention to seek the federal NDP nomination in the B.C. riding of West Vancouver-Sunshine Coast-Sea to Sky Country. Lewis is the grandson of former federal NDP leader David Lewis and the son of former Ontario NDP leader and diplomat Stephen Lewis. The former MuchMusic and CBC host has been focused in documentary filmmaking since the mid-2000s, including several collaborations with his wife, author Naomi Klein.
Gosia Kamela, the former Bell Media Production Executive in charge of Original Programming, Drama Series & Feature Film, has joined CBC. Kamela, who had been with Bell since 2012, will be the Executive of Current Production, Drama.
Bernadette Vanneste is joining Global News in the newly-created position of Show Producer for The West Block. With more than 20 years of broadcast journalism experience, Vanneste built her career at the CBC where she produced national news and current affairs programs, including Midday, CBC News Morning, and The National. In her new role, she’ll lead the production of the Sunday morning political affairs program, working closely with Mercedes Stephenson. Her first day is May 25.
Jeff Harrington has joined Al Jazeera in Doha as a TV Weather Presenter. Harrington previously worked with CBC Toronto and CBC Montreal as a Weather Specialist for both TV and radio. He also spent time at The Weather Network presenting in-studio and reporting in the field.
Emma Paling, who was formerly with Huff Post Canada, has joined CBC News as a writer. Based in Toronto, Paling had been a front page editor and reporter with the online publication since 2015. She’ll also be continuing to freelance.
Curtis Pon has joined Evanov Communications as a Digital Account Manager with the Toronto CMA Sales Team, encompassing Z103.5 (CIDC-FM), PROUD FM (CIRR-FM), Jewel 88.5 (CKDX-FM) and AM 530 (CHLO-AM). Pon was most recently an Account Executive for Rogers Sports and Media in Toronto.
Gordon Wiebe, the voice of morning news at CJWW Saskatoon, is retiring Aug. 31. Upon his retirement, Wiebe will have been with the CJWW newsroom for 41 years and will have spent 43 years in radio.
Amy Aust, who was part of Bell Media layoffs in February at Pure Country 106 (CICX-FM) Orillia is joining Corus Entertainment. Aust takes over middays (10 a.m. – 2 p.m.) on 95.1 The Peak (CKCB-FM) Collingwood, in addition to hosting weekends on Fresh Radio 93.1 (CHAY-FM) Barrie.
Casey-Jo Loos is being heard weekends on CFOX Vancouver. Loos, who has been a freelance content creator for the last few years, was formerly on-air in various dayparts at 102.7 The Peak (CKPK-FM), including two years hosting afternoon drive from 2017-19.
Abby Jo Neufeld has joined CTV Toronto as a multi-platform writer. Neufeld also fills the role of Managing Editor at The New Twenties and is the Outreach Manager for young journalism startup The Pigeon.
Tahmina Aziz is joining CHEK-TV Victoria as a multimedia journalist. Aziz has been with CBC for the last four years, working as both a VJ and associate producer in Windsor and Toronto.
Nathalie Sturgeon is joining Global News in Fredericton as a videojournalist at the end of May. Sturgeon has been reporting for Brunswick News for the last two years. She was previously based in Fredericton as a reporter with CBC.
Michela Di Mondo has been promoted within Fremantle International to EVP, Distribution and Sales, Canada. Di Mondo remains head of Fremantle’s Canadian office, reporting to Lisa Honig, SEVP for International Distribution in North America. Di Mondo joined Fremantle in 2014 and has overseen brands including America’s Got Talent, American Idol, Family Feud, and Project Runway.
Denis Rozon is joining Sphere Media as Executive Vice-President and Chief Financial Officer. Rozon served as Vice-President and CFO at Groupe TVA from 2006 until 2019 when he moved into the position of VP, Productions, Operations and Technologies, and also served as Chief Operating Officer of MELS. Rozon was also formerly VP, Finance & Business Development at Astral Media Radio.
Sonia Hosko is joining Cineflix Studios as VP, Current, where she’ll source and develop scripted IP for the Canadian market. Based in Toronto, she’ll report to Brett Burlock, SVP. The newly-created role supports the expansion of Cineflix Studios’ scripted activities, building on the success of Coroner, Wynonna Earp, and Pure. Hosko previously served as co-executive producer on Saving Hope and Rookie Blue, as well as The Detail and Burden of Truth.
Andrew Barnsley, CEO of Project 10 Productions, has been appointed the new President of Toronto Film School (TFS). Barnsley, an Executive Producer on Schitt’s Creek, served as the school’s Executive Producer in Residence for the past four years, mentoring students and working alongside staff and faculty. Barnsley will maintain his position with Project 10 where he is a producer on Jann and the reboot of classic sketch comedy show, Kids in the Hall, among other projects in development.
Julie Grenier is the newly-appointed chairperson of APTN’s board of directors, succeeding Jocelyn Formsma, who will continue to serve as a board member. Grenier is from Kuujjuaq, a small community in Nunavik, northern Quebec and the director general of Taqramiut Nipingat Inc. (TNI), a regional television and radio producer. Over the course of her six years on APTN’s board of directors, she served as vice-chair and secretary, and appeared in front of the CRTC under the TNI banner to support APTN’s broadcast licence renewal.
Jeremy Vianna is joining Rogers Sports & Media as the Head of Digital Products, responsible for product strategy and user experience across news, entertainment and sports. Vianna arrives at Rogers from Twitter where he was Head of Automotive, Government & Travel, leading the development of client advertising solutions for brands like Ford, General Motors, Volkswagen, and Air Canada.
Janet Lo is the Commission for Complaints for Telecom-television Services (CCTS) new Assistant Commissioner of Legal, Regulatory and Stakeholder affairs. Lo was most recently the VP of Privacy and Consumer Legal Affairs at TekSavvy Solutions.
RADIO & PODCAST:
Bell Media has undertaken a coast-to-coast reorganization of its radio properties bringing 25 stations under the BOUNCE Radio umbrella. The rebrand to the Adult Hits format, focused on hits from the ’80s, ’90s, and ’00s, sees iHeartRadio Canada distance itself from several iconic brands including BOB FM, which originated in Winnipeg in 2002, as well as The Dock Classic Hits branding in several Ontario markets, and the EZ Rock Adult Contemporary format which was carried by 11 stations across the Okanagan and northern B.C. Bell Media says all BOUNCE Radio stations will continue to be anchored by homegrown morning shows. Read more here.
Stingray Radio launches its “Hot” Hot Adult Contemporary music brand in Nova Scotia and Newfoundland at 12 a.m. Friday morning. The format will appear in Sydney as Hot 101.9 (CHRK-FM, currently 101.9 The Giant), and St. John’s as Hot 99.1 (CKIX-FM, currently 99.1 Hits FM). Stingray says each station’s current on-air lineup will remain, with Mornings with Brad and Keliegh continuing in St. John’s, while the Morning Hot Tub with Mauler, Rush and Jenni continues in its second year in Sydney, with Rob McNamara and Tashia Lee rounding out that station’s local lineup. Stingray’s Hot brand has already had a decade-plus run in Ottawa, with four other Hot stations in Alberta, Ontario and Prince Edward Island.
Acadia Broadcasting has officially taken over operation of Hot Country 103.5 (CKHZ-FM) and Jewel 105 (CKHY-FM) Halifax, following CRTC approval of the stations’ sale by Evanov Communications. Acadia has accordingly issued a call for demos for its on-air talent bank, with President Chris Pearson indicating that the Halifax stations will have “a strong local focus on news” and a news team of five on site. “We will hire as many people as it takes to ensure we provide Halifax and the surrounding area with live and locally focused content,” Pearson told Broadcast Dialogue in an email. With the addition of CKHZ-FM and CKHY-FM, Acadia now owns and operates 17 stations across Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Ontario.
Edison Research and Triton Digital’s latest Infinite Dial Canada study suggests podcasts are finding new audiences as consumer media behaviour continues to be impacted by the pandemic. Familiarity with the term “podcasting” has grown from 74 to 78% in Canada over the last year. Those who said they have ever listened to a podcast went from 50 to 57%, while those who listen to podcasts monthly saw incremental growth, from 37 to 38%. The study found that the gender balance of those listening is now almost identical to the population makeup, 53% women vs. 47% men. Infinite Dial also found that radio tuning across broadcast and AM/FM streaming grew, with 70% of Canadians listening weekly, up from 69% in 2020.
StatsRadio will be including web panel data in its audience measurement methodology within the next six months. Founded in 2016, the audience measurement startup currently uses a hybrid audience-research method that includes landline and mobile telephone surveys to determine proportions of over-the-air and online radio listeners. The resulting ratios, applied to streaming data, provide broadcasters and their stakeholders with cross-platform measurement. StatsRadio has engaged Canadian data science and economics firm Statlog to estimate the confidence interval of the ratios used in its process and working together over six months, the two organizations identified one area ripe for improvement: inclusion of web panel research. Statlog’s audit revealed that when telephone surveys are combined with web panel survey results, they establish reliable, representative ratios between online and over the-air audiences. Statlog Senior Analyst Nicolas Corneau-Tremblay says given the increased adoption rate of streamed technology during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the decrease in survey respondents recruited through traditional means, they believe a mixed approach is more durable long term.
JAR Audio, the Vancouver-based branded podcast producer, and Amsterdam’s Big Orange – The Audio Agency have entered into a global strategic partnership, combining JAR’s branded podcast services with Big Orange’s experiential audio storytelling. JAR Audio has worked with brands like Expedia, RBC, IDC, Lululemon, Cineplex, and Saje, while Big Orange bills itself as an avant-garde audio agency that develops “audio experiences” including immersive podcasts, creative audio tours, and original soundtracks for brands, agencies, and cultural organizations.
The Ambies Awards for Excellence in Audio, the first awards from The Podcast Academy, have been announced. Wondery’s Dying For Sex claimed Podcast of the Year, while Crooked Media’s Wind of Change, which explores the theory that the C.I.A. may have actually penned the Scorpions’ 1990 power ballad, won three awards. The Podcast Academy Board of Governors bestowed the top accolade – the Governors Award – upon WTF with Marc Maron, which recognizes a podcast or individual for the compelling impact they’ve had on the industry. Find the full list of winners here.
Angeline Tetteh-Wayoe from CBC Music’s The Block will host the JUNO Opening Night Awards Presented by Music Canada, which will be live streamed June 4 at 8 p.m. ET (5 p.m. PT) on cbcmusic.ca/junos, CBC Gem and CBC Music’s Facebook, Twitter and YouTube pages. 37 JUNO Awards will be presented along with this year’s special achievement awards. Pegi Cecconi will receive The Walt Grealis Special Achievement Award, while Gary Slaight will be awarded the MusiCounts Inspired Minds Ambassador Award Presented by Canadian Scholarship Trust Foundation. The evening will feature five performances, including Reggae Recording of the Year nominees, Ammoye, Kirk Diamond and TÖME, Oshawa rock duo Crown Lands (Breakthrough Group of the Year, Rock Album of the Year), and country music mavens Lindsay Ell and MacKenzie Porter (Country Album of the Year). The alt-rock group from the 2020/21 Allan Slaight JUNO Master Class short list, MONOWHALES, will also hit the virtual stage.
LISTEN: Dean Blundell and Matt Cundill join Broadcast Dialogue – The Podcast to talk about joining their respective independent creator communities to help first-time podcasters and former broadcasters like MuchMusic icon Erica Ehm and former Edmonton news anchor Carrie Doll, transition their talents into the digital media space and grow their audiences. Listen on your favourite podcast app or here:
LISTEN: On the latest Sound Off Podcast, Matt’s guest is Skye Pillsbury, podcast host and writer for Hot Pod. Listen on your favourite podcast app or here:
SIGN OFFS:
Mike Woodworth, 64, on May 14, following complications from a heart attack. Woodworth had a 39-year media career that started at the age of 15 1972 in Campbellton, NB. By the time he was 20, he had worked his way to the morning news anchor position. He moved on to CFBC in Saint John where he was eventually made news director and in 1982 arrived at CKPG-TV and Radio in Prince George. Woodworth went on to spend 26 years with the station, most of that as news director. Woodworth retired from CKPG-TV and its sister radio stations in July 2008. He was recognized with the RTDNA Lifetime Achievement Award in 2010.
Nicolas Wry, on May 14, from complications from COVID-19. Wry graduated in 1972 from Ryerson Polytechnic University’s Radio and Television Arts Program and began his career in broadcasting at CityTV, first as master control operator and then technical producer in the station’s first two years. Wry moved on to ITV Edmonton shortly after the station’s launch, holding positions from Supervisor of On-Air Operations to Production Manager for the Tommy Banks Show and Producer on SCTV. One of his career highlights was attending the 1982 Emmy Awards, with SCTV nominated for Outstanding Variety, Music, or Comedy Program. Wry eventually moved up to Vice-President of Creative, Business and Industry Affairs and then VP of Business Affairs for Allarcom, with his scope widened with the company’s merger with WIC. Wry went on to produce 2004 comedy “Intern Academy”, shot entirely in Edmonton and written, directed and starring Dave Thomas, along with Dan Ackroyd Maury Chaykin, Dave Foley, Matt Frewer, and others. Wry went on to head creative development for Super Channel and retired in 2008. In addition to the Canadian Television Fund, Wry was a vocal industry advocate and served as Chair of the Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB) Canadian Production Committee, was a Director of the Banff Television Festival, and a longtime Board Member and Past President of AMPIA (Alberta Motion Picture Industry Awards). He received AMPIA’s Friend of the Industry Award in 2000.
Tony (Antonio) Sorgiovanni, 49, on April 25. Sorgiovanni who was the program director at Edmonton multicultural station World FM. He joined the station in 2007, holding positions over the years from music director to promotions coordinator and Italian programming producer.
FILM & TELEVISION:
The 2021 Canadian Screen Awards have been virtually handed this week out during three of four nights of online awards presentations. On night one – which recognized News & Documentary and Lifestyle & Reality programming – Lisa LaFlamme captured Best News Anchor, National for a fourth year in a row, while Best National Reporter went to CBC’s Christine Birak and Best Local Reporter to CBC Vancouver’s Angela Sterritt. Dwight Drummond of CBC Toronto’s News at 6 claimed the award for Best Local Anchor. Find the list of winners in Children’s & Animation and Digital & Immersive, here and those recognized in Creative Arts & Performance categories, here.
Saturday Night Live cast member Kenan Thompson, Orange is the New Black star Danielle Brooks and soon-to-be Marvel superhero Simu Liu are among this year’s Banff Media Festival Rockies Gala Award honourees. Set to stream live on YouTube on June 15 at 3 p.m. ET, the event will be hosted by comedian and YouTube personality Jasmeet Raina. The Program of the Year Award and The Grand Jury Prize, awarded to the highest scoring project in the Rockies Program Competition, will also be presented.
Telefilm Canada is relaunching the International Promotion Program, previously known as the Participation in International Festivals and Events Support Program, with important changes. Offering financial support to Canadian producers, distributors and sales agents whose eligible projects were officially selected at an international festival, the list of eligible festivals has been updated and broadened, with more flexibility in regards to eligible costs. The program opens June 14 and closes Feb. 25, 2022, subject to availability of funds. In keeping with federal advisories, travel expenses remain excluded from eligible costs until further notice.
Peterson Polaris Corp. has announced it has acquired the English-language remake rights to hit Danish tween television series Skyldig (Guilty) from DR International, Denmark’s national broadcaster. The deal, led by producers Michael Peterson and Lars Lehmann, will see Peterson Polaris Corp. develop the remake. Described by Peterson as “Scandinavian Noir for a younger audience,” the series follows 12-year-old Jonas as he tries to solve the riddle of a mysterious school fire. Peterson is executive producer of CBC Gem series Ming’s Dynasty, and co-creator of APTN series The Secret History of The Wild West.
TSN will deliver live coverage of all 64 games of the 2021 IIHF WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP, May 21 – June 6 from Riga, Latvia. Broadcasting in accordance with local COVID-19 protocols, play-by-play commentator Gord Miller and analyst Mike Johnson deliver the call live from Riga for all games in Group B, including Team Canada and medal round games. TSN’s Dennis Beyak and analyst Dave Tomlinson bring viewers the call for all games in Group A. Reporters Lindsay Hamilton and Claire Hanna will be on-site as host reporters. From the TSN studio, Rod Black shares hosting duties with Laura Diakun, alongside analysts Dave Reid and making his TSN debut, former Ottawa Senators defenceman Marc Methot. Ray Ferraro joins remotely for select games, including all Canada and USA games. Find the network’s complete broadcast schedule here.
The Basketball Africa League (BAL) has announced broadcast partnerships with TSN, Canal+, ESPN, beIN SPORTS, NBA TV, Tencent Video, American Forces Network (AFN) and Voice of America (VOA). The inaugural BAL season tipped off Sunday, May 16 and will reach fans in 215 countries and territories in 15 Languages.
Kidoodle.TV, from Calgary-based A Parent Media Co. Inc. (APMC), is growing its linear offering with Samsung TV Plus as it expands to select Galaxy mobile and tablet devices. Samsung TV Plus is Samsung’s free ad-supported Smart TV video service that comes pre-installed on all 2016-21 Smart TVs. Galaxy device users can download the Samsung TV Plus app through Google Play or Galaxy Store to access hundreds of free streaming channels. The Kidoodle.TV linear channel offers a selection of its kid-focused library of 25,000+ episodes, joining a number of other kid-friendly channels in the Samsung TV Plus line-up.
ONLINE & DIGITAL MEDIA:
Radio Canada International (RCI) has launched a redesigned website that includes a full section in Punjabi, in addition to those already available in English, French, Spanish, Arabic and Chinese. The site also now includes the option to read content in traditional Chinese with a new section in Tagalog (the language of the Philippines) to go live in the next few weeks. RCI now appears on the home pages of CBCNews.ca and Radio-Canada.ca and will draw mainly on translations and adaptations of articles curated from those sites. It will also be incorporated into the CBC News and Radio-Canada Info apps, in addition to making its content freely available to interested multilingual media outlets. RCI is also introducing a weekly podcast featuring the top Canadian stories for foreign audiences in different RCI languages and reports from the field in Chinese, Arabic and Punjabi. The public broadcaster says these moves will substantially boost RCI’s visibility and propel the multilingual news service to become more agile and relevant, “in step with a rapidly changing country and world.”
Bev Standing, a Welland, ON-based voiceover artist, is suing the parent company of TikTok for allegedly using her voice without permission. Standing has filed the suit against China-based ByteDance, in a U.S. court for violating copyright. She alleges that when TikTok debuted its text to voice conversion tool last fall, a computer-generated version of her voice became the default voiceover for TikTok content generated using the text-to-speech feature in North America.
so.da, Corus Entertainment’s social and digital agency, is launching five new original series starting this month, producing serialized content in-house on topics from baking to sex education. The five new original series include: Food Network Canada: Baking Therapy (8 x 5-10 mins); HGTV Canada: Plant Mama (6 x 5-10 mins), led by resident plant expert Amanda Roberts; HISTORY: Canada Uncovered (4 x 4-6 mins), a four-part docuseries hosted by Global News anchor Farah Nasser that investigates Canadian histories left out of textbooks; SHOWCASE: Queens of Cosplay (4 x 4-6 mins), hosted by Canadian drag royalty Kyne (Canada’s Drag Race) and Baby Bel Bel (Miss Crews & Tangos 2019); and SLICE: Sex Sessions (10 x 3-5 mins), with sexual health and consent educator Samantha Bitty.
REGULATORY, TELECOM & MEDIA:
RTDNA Canada has announced its regional award winners in the East, Central, Prairie and West Regions. The association has also revealed this year’s Lifetime Achievement recipients which include broadcast news veterans Lis Travers, Sharon Murphy, Eric Rankin, Dave Barry, Harry Forestell, Peter Wugalter, Paul Dunphy, Donna Allen, and Janet Brown. Read more about this year’s honourees, here.
The Atlantic Journalism Awards (AJAs) has announced the 2020 finalists with Gold and Silver winners to be announced in early June. Those up for Best Television Broadcast include NTV St. John’s Evening Newshour; Radio-Canada Acadie Moncton’s Le Téléjournal Acadie; and CBC P.E.I.’s Compass. Radio-Canada Acadie is also nominated for Best Radio Newcast for ICI le midi, alongside CBC P.E.I. and VOCM St. John’s News at Noon.
The Canadian Broadcast Standards Council (CBSC) has concluded that French-language all-news channel LCN breached the Radio Television Digital News Association’s (RTDNA) Code of Journalistic Ethics during its live coverage of an alleged hostage situation broadcast on Nov. 13, 2020. The CBSC concluded in its decision that the station divulged critical information while the emergency response operation was in progress and failed to demonstrate sensitivity and restraint in information gathering. The police operation in question took place in Montreal in response to a phone call alleging there was a hostage taking inside Ubisoft’s offices. The station broadcast images of the police tactical unit around the building, as well as of people gathered on the rooftop terrace with the doors barricaded, which were obtained by the station’s helicopter. A team of reporters on the scene tried to gather information from bystanders and reporter Yves Poirier even opened the door of an ambulance to question people inside. Read more here.
The Canadian Association of Journalists (CAJ) is calling on the courts to limit the powers of the RCMP and other police agencies when issuing injunctions. The call comes after the RCMP temporarily blocked media access to the Fairy Creek watershed, near Port Renfrew, BC as police were set to enforce an injunction and remove demonstrators who have been blocking logging of an old-growth forest since last summer. The CAJ says the key problem is a clause typically included in most injunctions which gives police broad discretionary powers to detain or arrest anyone violating the order or interfering with police actions. In spirit, the clause is meant to allow police to remove demonstrators who are the subject of the injunction. However, CAJ says police have repeatedly used the clause to deny access to journalists and arrest or detain them. The CAJ is monitoring the press freedom situation on the ground and is asking journalists who have had their ability to report impeded by police to contact the association.
CBC has lost its lawsuit against the Conservative Party of Canada over the use of the public broadcaster’s material in ads during the 2019 federal election. The ads included brief excerpts of CBC News reports, in addition to clips from the English-language leaders’ debate re-purposed in a series of four tweets. The court concluded that the party’s use of the CBC works was fair.
CBC/Radio-Canada is issuing an open invitation to its Annual Public Meeting on June 16. Hosted by Le Téléjournal’s Céline Galipeau, the virtual event will allow Canadians to hear from six CBC/Radio-Canada foreign correspondents about the impact of fake news, the rise of online hate, and the increasing threats facing journalists worldwide. Michael Goldbloom, Chair of the Board of Directors, and Catherine Tait, President and CEO, will also provide an update to Canadians on the state of their national public broadcaster in a segment hosted by CBC Montreal’s Catherine Verdon-Diamond. The event will be streamed live on CBC/Radio-Canada’s corporate website and Facebook.
Quebecor has released consolidated financial results for the first quarter of 2021. Revenues were $1.09 billion, up $35.6 million (3.4%) from the same period of 2020. Adjusted EBITDA was up $16.0 million (3.7%) to $452.7 million. Net income attributable to shareholders was $121.3 million ($0.49 per basic share), a decrease of $10.3 million ($0.03 per basic share). The Telecommunications segment grew its revenues by $39.3 million (4.5%) and its adjusted EBITDA by $15.4 million (3.5%) in the first quarter of 2021. Videotron significantly increased its revenues from mobile services and equipment ($23.0 million or 11.1%), Internet access ($19.1 million or 6.9%) and wireline equipment ($18.4 million or 65.0%) in Q1.
Xplornet Communications has closed the acquisition of TowerCo Inc.’s tower assets in Manitoba. With the acquisition of more than 160 wireless communications towers located across rural Manitoba, Xplornet is executing on its infrastructure investment plans to accelerate the deployment of its 5G broadband network and expand mobility coverage throughout rural Manitoba. In recent years, Xplornet has focused on building its network in Manitoba, with both Xplore Mobile and Xplornet Enterprise Solutions headquartered in Brandon, MB, as well as the recent acquisition of CCI Wireless and its Manitoba subsidiary, WiBand Communications.
BROADCAST TECH & ENGINEERING:
MXZN has joined the Canadian Paralympic Media Consortium as an official partner, alongside CBC, Radio-Canada, AMI, Sportsnet, and digital partners Twitter and Facebook. With access to athletes limited and a smaller media presence in Tokyo, MXZN stations will be placed in multiple venues to act as remote digital content capture hubs. The easy-to-use tech features an interactive touchscreen, high quality camera, external microphone, lighting, and an adjustable height, with athletes able to speak directly into the camera following their competition. The resulting video can then easily be shared on a variety of social media platforms or with broadcast and media outlets.
LISTEN: With the pandemic accelerating remote production, Shawn Snider, Ross Video’s Vice-President of Production Workflow and Cloud Services, is our guest on this sponsored episode of Broadcast Dialogue – The Podcast. Snider speaks with Stuart Russell on the advantages of cloud-based solutions, the future of the live production industry, and challenges to be overcome. Listen on your favourite podcast app or here:
Vevo has launched a new contextual ad targeting product, called Vevo Rewind. Through Vevo’s data-backed content recommendations, Vevo Rewind allows brands to place their campaign alongside the top Vevo music videos of a particular decade, from the 1970s through the 2010s, in addition to targeting a specific genre or country. Vevo Rewind follows the success of ‘Moods’ launched earlier this year, a contextual ad targeting product, which groups music videos by specific sentiment for more emotional congruence between a campaign and its surrounding content. Vevo Rewind is available within the Vevo network, including on-demand and linear TV channels (like Vevo 80s), in Australia, Canada, Mexico, the UK, and the U.S.
Telos Alliance has introduced the Telos iPort High Density multiple-codec gateway, which allows broadcasters to license up to 64 codecs in one rack unit. The new, more powerful iPort High Density transports multiple channels of stereo, mono and dual-mono audio across IP networks, including private WANs, IP-radio links and over good quality public internet connections. The new multi-codec is suited for large-scale distribution of audio to single or multiple locations, supporting 24 to 320 kbps for MPEG codecs, standard fixed rates for Enhanced aptX and 24-bit PCM at 48kHz, mono or stereo.
