REVOLVING DOOR:
There will never be another Buck Martinez 💙🐐 pic.twitter.com/I23IU7fVLE
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) February 6, 2026
Buck Martinez has announced his retirement after calling more than 4,000 Toronto Blue Jays games. Martinez, 77, has been battling undisclosed health issues over the past year. He returned to the Blue Jays broadcast booth in early August of last year after taking three months off, starting in May, and then postponing a previously-scheduled return in June. The former MLB catcher’s broadcasting career began in 1982 when he covered the American League Championship Series, the World Series and the All-Star Game for the Telemedia Radio Network, while still playing for the Jays. He started as a colour analyst for the team in 1987, which led to a job with TSN, moving on to work with ESPN from 1992 to 2000. Following a one-year stint as manager of the Blue Jays, he returned to ESPN as an analyst, eventually making his way back to the Blue Jays broadcast booth full-time in 2010. Read more here.
Catherine Tait is joining not-for-profit New Public, which is behind the privacy-focused, community web app Roundabout, as the organization’s first-ever Expert-in-Residence. The former President & CEO of CBC/Radio-Canada is also currently serving as an advisor to Toronto-headquartered Gander Social.
Kate Porter is the new Senior Producer of News at CBC Ottawa. Porter has been with the public broadcaster for more than two decades, primarily as a municipal affairs reporter.
Liz West has joined CP24 as an anchor. West arrives from ZoomerRadio, where she’d been a host since 2022. Prior to that, she hosted daily current affairs program “Square Off” on CHCH-TV, and had runs as an anchor, reporter and producer with Citytv, Star! And CTV.
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Melanie Ng has surfaced as the midday host on CityNews 24/7 Alberta. Ng left the same position at CityNews Toronto late last year as her family relocated to Calgary. She first joined CityNews in 2010 as a field reporter.
Susan Knight is retiring from radio after 35 years as a host on stations across Ontario, Alberta and B.C. Knight has most recently served as promotions director and swing host at Pattison Media’s The Zone (CJZN-FM) and 100.3 the Q (CKKQ-FM) Victoria. She’ll continue her voiceover work, while pursuing a new career as a licensed real estate appraiser.
David Beers is stepping back as Editor-in-Chief of The Tyee. The not-for-profit publication’s co-founder, alongside Michelle Hoar in 2003, Beers previously stepped away from the role in 2014 before resuming the post again in 2002.
Mark Swierszcz has joined Substack as Head of Partnerships in Canada. Swierszcz arrives from Google Canada, where he’s held the title of Creative Effectiveness Lead for the last six years. He’s also held roles with Youtube, Bell Media (including serving as Director of Digital for MuchMusic, MTV and E!), and Universal Music Canada.
RADIO & PODCAST:
Blackburn Media has announced it’s transitioning Chatham-Kent heritage radio station, CFCO, to a new home on FM, starting April 25. After broadcasting on the AM band since 1927, most recently at 630 AM, in addition to being heard on low-power 92.9 FM since 2000, Blackburn says CFCO’s move to 91.3 FM “positions the station for long term sustainability while delivering a stronger, more reliable signal to listeners across Chatham-Kent.” Blackburn says station programming will remain unchanged with CFCO to serve the community as “Chatham-Kent’s Country.” The station is currently in a simulcast period, broadcasting across 630 AM, 92.9 FM, and the new 91.3 FM frequency, with the AM and low-power signals set to go dark at the end of April. Read more here.
Rogers Sports & Media’s 1130 NewsRadio (CKWX-AM) Vancouver is marking 30 years on-air. CKWX rebranded from Country 1130 to News 1130 on Feb. 8, 1996. The first newscast was read by then News Director Tom Mark.
Flow 98.7 (CKFG-FM) is celebrating 25 years of the Flow brand in Toronto. Originally launched by Milestone Broadcasting on CFXJ-FM on Feb. 9, 2001, Canada’s first Black-owned station went live with “Roots, Rock, Reggae” by Bob Marley. Stingray relinquished the heritage brand to CINA Radio Group and CKFG-FM (formerly G98.7) in 2022.
SiriusXM Canada and Mitsubishi Canada have announced the expansion of SiriusXM with 360L to the updated 2026 Mitsubishi Outlander Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV). The Outlander PHEV, along with the gas-powered 2026 Outlander compact SUV, now feature SiriusXM with 360L, which delivers an expanded library of on-demand programming, live sports discovery, and personalized “For You” recommendations.
PodCamp Toronto is set to host its 18th annual “un-conference,” Feb. 28-March 1. Among this year’s speakers are Lead Podcasting founder Amanda Cupido, Sean Sirianni of The Creative Imbalance podcast, ChatGPT, Matt Hird of Signal Hill Insights, and Janice Neil from the Toronto Metropolitan University School of Journalism.
Radio Connects has endorsed new creative for World Radio Day this Friday, produced by The Pro Bono Group. The PSA carries the theme “Radio Loves You Back” – a reminder of the medium’s proven power to connect with people of all ages in a human, immediate and intensely local way across a variety of platforms. The spot features the voice talents of Tracey Hoyt and Adrian Griffin.
LISTEN: Rob Hopkins – aka “Radio Rob” has used his DIY ethos to become a pioneering force in community broadcasting and open-source innovation in Canada’s North. He’s the founder of Yukon community stations CJUC Whitehorse and the low-power CFET-FM in Tagish, Yukon, as well as OpenBroadcaster – a web-based, open-source system to run community radio and TV broadcast transmitters. He joins us on Broadcast Dialogue – The Podcast ahead of World Radio Day 2026, with this year’s theme “AI and radio,” underscored by the tagline “AI is a tool, not a voice.” We talk to Hopkins – who was named to Yukon’s Hall of Innovators last year – about his work with Indigenous communities, local radio’s enduring ability to connect, and how OpenBroadcaster is using AI.
LISTEN: Julian Nieh aka “Julian on the Radio,” is on the Sound Off Podcast, tracing his radio career from Washington, DC to major markets like Chicago, Seattle, and Las Vegas. He and Matt Cundill geek out on the magic of ‘90s radio and MTV, the emotional pull of that era’s music, and the power of creating anticipation and memorable moments for listeners. Julian also reflects on influences like Elliot in the Morning, Donnie Simpson, and his time at B96 Chicago.
SIGN OFFS:
Jim Robson’s greatest calls with the Canucks ❤️
(🎥: @Canucks | X) pic.twitter.com/PbgjscRvaA
— CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) February 10, 2026
Jim Robson, 91, on Feb. 10. Robson began his 47-year broadcasting career in 1952 at CJAV Port Alberni at the age of 17, covering sports and calling play-by-play for the Alberni Athletics Senior A men’s basketball team. From there, he moved on to CHUB Nanaimo in 1955 and CKWX Vancouver a year later, helming play-by-play for the WHL Canucks, the B.C. Lions and Vancouver Mounties baseball. When the Canucks joined the NHL as an expansion team in 1970, Robson moved to CKNW as a play-by-play announcer, going on to call over 2,000 games over the next 24 years. He additionally did work for CBC’s Hockey Night in Canada, covering several Stanley Cup finals and NHL All-Star games, and contributed to television broadcasts for BCTV, CHEK-TV and VTV. Robson stepped down as the Canucks’ radio announcer in 1994, moving over to television full-time as the Canucks’ TV announcer for five seasons, until his retirement in 1999. Among the accolades amassed over his career, he was awarded the Foster Hewitt Memorial Award by the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1992, inducted into the B.C. Hockey Hall of Fame in 1998, and the B.C. Sports Hall of Fame in 2000. He was named to the Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB) Broadcast Hall of Fame in 2002. Read more here.
Franco Nuovo, 72, on Feb. 8, following a heart attack. Over five decades, Nuovo was a constant presence in Quebec media. Arriving from the entertainment industry, he joined the Journal de Montréal in 1977, starting as a pop culture and film columnist. He continued as a columnist there until 2008, while contributing to Québec Rock magazine throughout the ‘80s and making frequent appearances on radio and television. He joined Radio-Canada in 1992, hosting ICI Première show “Je l’ai vu à la radio.” From 2011, up until last week, he had helmed “Dessine-moi un dimanche.”
Pete James, 89, on Feb. 4. Nicknamed “The Godfather of Sports,” James began his career at CKTB St. Catharines, before moving on to CHLO St. Thomas where he was known on-air as “Pecos Pete.” He eventually arrived in London at CKSL radio and then CFPL, where he served as sports director for 14 years on the radio side and another 25 in the same role at CFPL-TV through the late 1990s. He went on to serve as the morning sportscaster on 1290 CJBK for a decade. James’ local play-by-play and commentary over the years included Western Mustangs Football and the London Knights, most recently for Rogers TV. James received the RTDNA Lifetime Achievement Award in 2005. He was inducted into the London Sports Hall of Fame in 2009. A banner hangs in James’ honour in the rafters at Canada Life Place. He’s also recognized on the Western University Football Wall of Champions.
Dave Reynolds, 82, on Feb. 4. Originally from Sydney in Cape Breton, Reynolds attended Prince of Wales College in Charlottetown, dropping out in his second year to pursue a job at CKCW-TV Moncton. He worked at the station from 1963-67, going on to take a hosting position at CJCB Sydney. From there, he joined CFCF Montreal, then CFOX hosting morning radio and sports. An opportunity to join CBC’s Hockey Night in Canada presented itself in 1973, hosting Montreal Canadiens’ broadcasts between periods. While in Montreal, Reynolds also handled radio play-by-play for the Alouettes and Expos. In 1976, he moved to Citytv Toronto for several years, before eventually returning to CJCB-FM Sydney in 1981. He hosted the station’s morning show until 1990.
TV & FILM:
thinkTV’s Fall Total TV & Streaming Viewing report indicates neither YouTube nor the major streamers saw an increase in viewer time year-over-year. It emphasizes what the TV marketing and research association says is the Canadian reality vs. the U.S. narrative, arguing that American data can’t be used as a proxy for Canadian viewing habits. According to the report, which primarily relies on Numeris’ VAM (Video Audience Measurement) data, streaming in Canada accounts for just 20% of TV set viewing, compared to 50% of viewing on TV sets stateside. Linear TV dominates in the living room, in particular, accounting for 80% of time spent on a TV set. The report maintains that TV takes the top spot, even among young adults (A18-34), where it continues to beat YouTube in time spent. Read more here.
Super Bowl LX attracted an average audience of 6.8 million viewers across TSN, CTV, RDS, and Crave, according to preliminary data from Numeris. Bell Media says nearly 16 million unique Canadian viewers watched some or all of the NFL championship. Audiences peaked at 9.6 million viewers at 8:23 p.m. ET during the Apple Music Super Bowl LX Halftime Show headlined by Bad Bunny. Those numbers are down for a second straight year, with last year’s Philadelphia Eagles Super Bowl LIX victory over the Kansas City Chiefs attracting an average audience of 8.5 million viewers across TSN, CTV and RDS. Read more here.
CBC/Radio-Canada says Friday’s Milano Cortina 2026 Opening Ceremony was the most-watched Olympic Winter Games opening in Canada since Sochi 2014. Sixteen million viewers watched CBC/Radio-Canada’s coverage of the Opening Ceremony, in addition to broadcast partners TSN, Sportsnet and RDS, with an additional 1.1 million streams on CBC/Radio-Canada digital platforms. Read more here.
The Canada Media Fund (CMF) has published the third edition of its Demographic Report, based on data collected from individuals who self-identified through CMF’s PERSONA-ID system for 2024–25 fiscal year. Representation of individuals from Diverse Communities in CMF-funded projects continued to rise for the third consecutive year. In linear content, Black and Racialized individuals accounted for 17% of both key roles and ownership, nearly 10 points below their share in the registry and national population figures. In IDM (Interactive Digital Media), representation was stronger, with over 25% in key roles and 21% ownership. Persons with Disability(ies) continued to show the most consistent year-over-year growth, with representation in linear content key roles and ownership nearly doubling compared to 2022–23.
Netflix Canada has announced that following the success of semi-autobiographical romance Feel Good, thriller Wayward, and a 2023 stand-up special, actor, comedian, and screenwriter Mae Martin has inked a deal to create and develop new projects. The first-look deal will include a new stand-up special.
Henri Pardo has been announced as this year’s recipient of the Charles Officer Legacy Award, presented by TIFF and CBC. The award, now in its second year, recognizes a Canadian Black director and/or writer whose body of work exemplifies the late filmmaker’s creative excellence, strong point of view, and community-mindedness. Pardo is a Montreal-based filmmaker whose debut film Kanaval premiered at TIFF ’23 in the Centrepiece programme.
CBC’s The New Wave of Standup Season 7 brings together 14 comedians from across the country. The live show taping returns to Gastown’s Guilt & Co. on Wednesday, Feb. 18 as part of Just for Laughs Vancouver. The lineup includes Abbas Wahab; Alasdair Tremblay-Birchall; Andrew Packer; Anjelica Scannura; Bita Joudaki; Cass Furman; Dustin Searcy; Emmanuel Lomuro; Hannah Veldhoen; Mark Thomson; Niki Mohrdar; Sam Burns; Savannah Erasmus; and VIZA.
Beakus, the UK animation studio founded by Steve Smith, and Canada’s Big Bad Boo Studios, the animation production and distribution company founded by Shabnam Rezaei and Aly Jetha, are co-producing two new animated series for children: Alien Book Club and S.TINK. S.TINK (26 x 11) is a comedy series for 6–12-year-olds, based on the Fairy vs Boy book series, written and illustrated by Jenny McLachlan, who joins the writing team, alongside supervising director Eddie Soriano (Kid Vs. Kat, Mighty Ducks, Winnie the Pooh) and producer Paddy Gillen (Atomic Betty, Transformers, The Bravest Knight). Alien Book Club (39 x 7), aimed at 4–6-year-olds, encourages children to read by engaging them with classic stories. It’s been greenlight by TVO.
The Canadian Film Fest (CFF) has announced the return of the You-CAN Pitch Competition for the second consecutive year. This initiative provides Black Canadian filmmakers with the opportunity to pitch their projects to a panel of industry experts and receive feedback and mentorship to advance their careers. Applications are now open, with the deadline Feb. 22. The winner of the 2025 competition was Vanessa Magic’s Nadine Pick Up the Phone, which is in pre-production.
Gender Equity in Media Society Vancouver (GEMS) has unveiled the full lineup for the 21st annual Gender Equity in Media Festival (GEMFest), returning to the VIFF Centre from March 5–8. Featuring 35 films from 13 countries, including 18 Canadian films and 11 B.C.-based creators, opening night features a screening of TELUS originals feature Hearse Chasing, preceded by TELUS STORYHIVE short Burcu’s Angels.
REGULATORY, TELECOM & MEDIA:
BCE results for Q4 saw net earnings increase 25.1% year-over-year to $632 million and were up $6,139 million to $6,514 million for the year. Bell Media operating revenue decreased 3.4% in Q4 to $804 million, due to lower year-over-year advertising revenue, partly offset by higher subscriber revenue and the acquisition of Sphere Abacus. For full-year 2025, Bell Media operating revenue grew 0.1% to $3,154 million, reflecting higher subscriber revenue and contributions from the OUTEDGE Media Canada and Sphere Abacus acquisitions, partly offset by lower ad revenue, which was down 11.1% in Q4. For full-year 2025, ad revenue decreased 5.6%. Subscriber revenue increased 1.5% in Q4 and 2.7% in 2025 on continued Crave and sports direct-to-consumer streaming subscriber growth. The popularity of Crave series Heated Rivalry fueled a 26% subscription bump in Q4 to 4.6 million. Total digital revenues grew 3% in Q4 and 6% in 2025, now representing 44% of total Bell Media revenue for the year, up from 42% in 2024.
Stingray Group has released financial results for Q3 2026. Revenues increased $16.6 million, or 15.4%, to $124.8 million in the quarter, compared to $108.2 million in Q3 2025. The year-over-year growth was largely due to enhanced ad revenue from the recent TuneIn acquisition, higher equipment sales related to the acquisition of The Singing Machine, and greater FAST channel revenues. For the quarter, revenues in Canada decreased $0.6 million, or 1.1%, to $53.6 million, attributed to lower equipment and installation sales related to digital signage, partially offset by higher Radio revenues. Radio revenues improved by $0.7 million, or 2.0% year-over-year, to $36.7 million in Q3 2026 on higher digital ad sales, partially offset by lower airtime revenues. Broadcasting and Commercial Music revenues were up $15.9 million, or 22.0%, to $88.1 million in Q3 2026.
The CRTC is taking steps to improve how official language minority communities (OLMCs) and the French-speaking majority in Quebec can participate in its proceedings. Following a public consultation, the CRTC is introducing new measures to better support participation by clearly identifying during its proceedings which issues may be of particular interest to them and giving OLMCs more time to submit their comments. The commission says the measures build on broader efforts to encourage participation, including through the creation of OLMC engagement and Indigenous Relations teams.
The Canadian Telecommunications Workers Alliance – a coalition of Unifor, the United Steelworkers of Canada and CUPE – is demanding legislation from the federal government to protect Canadian jobs, privacy, and the security of Canada’s telecommunications infrastructure. The new alliance, which represents more than 32,000 workers in the telco sector, says over the last decade almost 20,000 jobs have been outsourced abroad to the U.S., India, the Philippines, and Egypt, among other countries. It cautions that the offshoring of services is putting Canadians’ data in danger, as large telecommunications companies use subcontractors abroad who aren’t subject to Canada’s rules and protections.
BROADCAST TECH & ENGINEERING:
Triton Digital has launched its new Podcast Metrics Industry Feature Set, a suite of analytics capabilities that provides publishers with access to industry-level benchmarks, market share visibility, and audience composition insights across the top 20 podcast markets worldwide. The new Industry Feature Set expands Triton’s existing Podcast Metrics by enabling publishers to evaluate their performance beyond their own programs. Previously, publishers using Podcast Metrics could only access their own data.
NBC Sports has selected Grass Valley to provide production infrastructure and signal processing for its coverage of the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics (Feb. 6–22) and Paralympics (March 6–15). NBC Sports is deploying Grass Valley’s frame rate conversion, routing, and orchestration technologies on site in Italy, as well as at NBC Sports’ facilities in Stamford and at 30 Rockefeller Plaza, to support high-quality live coverage across NBC and Peacock.
