REVOLVING DOOR:
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Nat Hunter is leaving the Move 103.5 (CHQM-FM) Vancouver morning show to move back to Ontario to be closer to family. Hunter’s last day with The Nat & Drew Show is Friday, June 5. Hunter began hosting alongside Drew Savage in 2003, initially on Vancouver’s Z95.3 (CKZZ-FM). They’ve been hosting on MOVE predecessor QMFM since 2014.
Cameron Poitras is leaving Winnipeg’s 680 CJOB, where he’s most recently been the co-host of Jets @ Noon. Poitras is moving on to a new opportunity outside of broadcasting. He’d been working with CJOB off and on since 2013.
Matt Huntingford has left Rogers Sports & Media. Huntingford had been with Rogers since 2010, most recently as Sales Manager in Victoria.
Mitch Willemsen is stepping away from Rogers Sports & Media after more than a decade. Willemsen joined Rogers in 2015 as a Digital Sales Intern at Rogers Digital Media. He’d most recently been a Digital Sales Strategist in Metro Vancouver.
Ian Hunter has wrapped up his more than 16-year-run with Rogers Sports & Media. Hunter has been a Kitchener-based copywriter with Rogers since 2000. He’s also Editor-in-Chief of Toronto Blue Jays blog, BlueJayHunter.com, and a contributor to The Nation Network and Village Media.
Katrina Clarke and Ghazal Azizi are joining the Investigative Journalism Foundation (IJF). Clarke will focus on government procurement contracts, while Azizi will expand coverage of Indigenous affairs. Clarke arrives from the Winnipeg Free Press, while Azizi was most recently an intern at Xtra Magazine.
Creative BC CEO Prem Gill is stepping down, effective June 26. Gill had been in the role since 2015. The Creative BC Board of Directors intends to name an Interim CEO by the end of May, with a national search for Gill’s permanent successor to follow.
Kalpana Srinarayanadas is the new Managing Director of the Reelworld Screen Institute. Srinarayanadas was most recently Executive Director of the Regent Park Film Festival, bringing 15 years of experience in the arts sector, including working with TIFF, the Royal Ontario Museum, and Canadian Stage.
(Photo Credit: Ted Belton)
Jacob Tierney and Brendan Brady’s Accent Aigu Entertainment, the Toronto-based prodco behind Heated Rivalry, has unveiled a new leadership structure. The changes include new titles for Tierney and Brady, who previously served as Co-Presidents. They now assume the roles of Chief Creative Officer and Executive Producer, and Chief Executive Officer and Executive Producer, respectively. Appointed President is Jayme Alter Wilson, who’ll lead strategy and operations alongside the founders. Craig Merritt has been named to the newly-created role of Chief Financial Officer. Lori Fischburg, who has served as a line producer on Heated Rivalry, joins as Head of Production and Producer, while Liane Cunje joins as Development Executive and Producer, overseeing development, while also serving as a producer on Heated Rivalry. Read more here.
Mélanie Boudreau Blanchard has joined NFB’s French Animation Unit as a producer. A line producer with the unit since 2022, Boudreau Blanchard first worked with the NFB in 2005, at what was then known as the French Program’s Animation and Youth Studio. She went on to join Ottoblix / Unité centrale from 2006 to 2022 as a studio manager and project manager, working across both live-action and animation. Among the projects she’s contributed to is Oscar-winning Best Animated Short Film, The Girl Who Cried Pearls.
Rob Braide is retiring as Chair of the National Music Centre (NMC) after 13 years of volunteer service. Canadian Music and Broadcast Industry Hall of Fame inductee Steve Kane succeeds Braide as Chair of the Board. A 35-year veteran of the Canadian music industry and the former longtime President of Warner Music Canada (2001-21), Kane has also held roles as Senior Vice President of Universal/Island/Def Jam Canada and SVP of Polygram Records in Canada.
RADIO & PODCAST:
CBC/Radio-Canada has been named Broadcaster of the Year by the New York Festivals Radio Awards for a second consecutive year. Multiple top honours secured by the public broadcaster included several Gold Towers and one of the competition’s prestigious 2026 Grand Awards for the critically-acclaimed Sea of Lies, telling the true story of Albert Walker, a Canadian con artist whose trail of destruction stretches from rural Canada to the far corners of coastal England. TVO also claimed two awards, Silver for technology podcast, Me & Viv, which follows social scientist Alexandra Samuel as she creates a custom AI to help her navigate life, and a Bronze Tower for Arachnid: Hunting the Web’s Darkest Secrets. Season 4 of Cited Media environmental education podcast, Green Dreams, captured a Bronze Tower. Read more here.
Whiteoaks Communications Group is expanding into HD Radio, reintroducing its Christian music and talk station JOY Radio (CJYE-AM) as a digital-first listener experience, and extending the reach of heritage news/talk station 610 CKTB St. Catharines into Hamilton. Both JOY Radio and Whiteoaks’ CJMR 1320 Mississauga ceased broadcasting on the AM band early this year, as the company “re-tuned” their transmitters to boost CKTB’s 610 AM frequency and undertook the first-phase of the stations’ digital-first transition. JOY Radio will debut on 102.9 FM-HD3 on June 1, while 610 CKTB will officially join 102.9 FM-HD2 on July 2. Read more here.
Vividata’s latest Cross-Media Update affirms that while audio and television continue to have mass reach, engagement is becoming more varied, particularly regionally. Drawing from its ongoing Study of the Canadian Consumer, encompassing more than 70,000 annual respondents across 10 provinces and 52 markets, the update indicates audio continues to reach 21 million Canadians weekly, with listeners spending an average of 13.1 hours per week. Quebec is a standout audio market, leading in both reach and time spent, spending almost 30 minutes more with audio per week than the average Canadian. Television also still has mass reach, with 83% of Canadians watching weekly, spending about 20 hours per week with TV. Read more here.
OP-ED: Starting June 1, Netflix will air The Breakfast Club live, daily, on its platform. The Power 105.1 (WWPR-FM) New York morning show, one of the most listened-to radio programs in America, will stream in real time on the streaming platform. “No tape delay. No clip packages. Live. This is not a podcast deal. It’s not a clip licensing arrangement. Netflix is going live, on a weekday schedule, with a show that has been a broadcast radio institution for nearly two decades,” writes James Wallace. “That is a category change and if you’re running a media business that still treats “live” as its moat, you need to sit with what just happened. Read more here.
LISTEN: The theme of this year’s Echo Podcast Summit is community. Returning to Halifax for a third year on June 18, founder and Podstarter Chief Creative & Partner Rhys Waters is on Broadcast Dialogue – The Podcast talking about what’s in store for this year’s event. He also shares his thoughts on setting realistic markers for a podcast’s success, and discusses his Canada’s Best Podcasts Ranked project.
LISTEN: Jen Austin, founder of Riply Media, is on the latest Sound Off Podcast. She and Matt Cundill talk about how AI can actually strengthen local news rather than replace journalists and the long, slow decline of newsrooms—layoffs, shrinking staffs, and the closure of CBS News Radio—while the public’s need for credible local information has only grown. This is what led to the creation of Riply, an AI-assisted production tool that scans trusted local sources, assembles hyper-local scripts, and frees up journalists to focus on reporting, interviews, and creativity.
TV & FILM:
TSN has unveiled the broadcast team that will anchor its FIFA World Cup coverage from the opening match on June 11 through the Final on July 19. As the exclusive Canadian broadcaster and streamer, all 104 tournament matches will be available on TSN and RDS, with coverage also available on CTV and streaming on Crave via the live CTV channel. TSN’s broadcast team is headlined by hosts James Duthie, Luke Wileman, Lindsay Hamilton, Jennifer Hedger, Mark Roe and Tekeyah Singh. Read more here.
UPFRONTS: CBC has announced its 2026-27 programming slate featuring over 50 original series, including roughly a dozen new greenlights. Headlining the new original Canadian series is coming-of-age drama Junior, inspired by former NHL defenceman P.K. Subban’s experience in the high-pressure world of junior hockey. Other new series include Cold Country, a limited series starring Sarah Podemski, Chaske Spencer and Michael Greyeyes. Comedian Samantha Bee is also set to star in half-hour workplace comedy, The Ambassador, as Canada’s unorthodox ambassador to Bulgaria. Read more here.
UPFRONTS: Prime Video announced seven new and returning Canadian Prime Original series at its 2026 Amazon Upfront, including a new hockey series with Michael Bublé and Drew Scott, and a true crime docuseries on serial killer Robert Pickton. Produced by Scott Brothers Entertainment, Hometown Giants follows Bublé and Scott, part owners of the Western Hockey League (WHL) Vancouver Giants, where teenage players chase a shot at the NHL. The six-episode series will premiere on Prime Video this fall. Amazon has also greenlit outdoor survival competition series Surrender (working title), hosted by Scott McGillivray; in addition to several French-language Prime Originals. Read more here.
Crave is the latest streamer to announce it’s introducing video podcasts to its streaming platform. Bell Media says the move marks the next phase of evolution for Crave, “expanding beyond a premium streaming destination into a platform Canadians can return to throughout the day.” The addition of podcasts builds on Bell’s recent moves to shore up the streamer’s offering with the launch of its Sports and News Hubs, as it sunsetted the CTV and Noovo websites and apps on May 1 in an effort to deliver stronger results for advertisers and create a more seamless streaming ecosystem – bringing together culture, sports, breaking news, and live entertainment events – in one destination. Read more here.
Crave has acquired rights for contemporary romance novel, Five Brothers, from New York Times bestselling author Penelope Douglas. The streamer plans to develop the book into a multi-season original series, with Carlyn Klebuc, General Manager of Original Programming at Bell Media, saying in an announcement that Heated Rivalry “proved there is global appetite for sexy, sophisticated, and mainstream romance stories.” Hailed as Crave’s “next big swing in the romance genre,” the dark romance novel follows a woman who learns the secrets of the five Jaeger brothers.
Skywild Pictures has optioned three novels as part of the Toronto prodco’s growing development slate. The titles include award-winning best-seller The Treasure Hunters Club by Tom Ryan, thriller Our Little Secret by Edward Kay and Mikhael Klassen-Kay, and The Affinities by Robert Charles Wilson. All three are being developed for television adaptation.
Women In the Director’s Chair (WIDC) has announced Tricia Black as the recipient of the 2026 WIDC Advantage Award for her debut feature film, The B-Side: Dusk. The prize includes a one-year mentorship, a director spot in WIDC’s flagship program, Story & Leadership, and WIDC’s Industry partner nomination for the 2026 Telefilm Canada Talent to Watch program. Gaining traction as a CSA-winning actor and comedian, Black (Band Ladies, Stories from My Gay Grandparents) is turning her talents to writing and directing, with The B-Side: Dusk to blend comedy-horror with character-driven storytelling, drawing from her Maritime roots.
WIFT+ Toronto has launched its new Women in VFX & Post-Production Mentorship Program, supported by Amazon MGM Studios’ Ascend Program. The initiative will provide accessible professional development opportunities for six mid-career participants seeking to deepen their experience in visual effects and post-production, including a week-long, in-class intensive from July 15–21. Applications are now open until June 12 here.
The Shine Network Institute has announced the 2026 cohort of the Shine Bright Mentorship Program. The career-advancing initiative equips writers and emerging showrunners with the resources and leadership skills to bring their stories to life through a transformative seven-month creative journey. The 2026 mentees are: Ashley Qilavaq-Savard – Writer, Director, Producer, Iqaluit, Nunavut; Bree Island – Writer, Director, Creative Director, VFX Producer, Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation; Jonelle Belcourt – Writer and Director, Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation; Rachel Beaulieu – Director/Producer, Can Dream Productions, Sandy Bay Ojibway First Nation, MB; and Sonya Ballantyne – Writer/Filmmaker, Misipawistik Cree Nation.
REGULATORY, TELECOM & MEDIA:
The CRTC has unveiled its latest efforts to modernize the Broadcasting Act, setting new rules that will exempt private Canadian broadcasters generating less than $25 million in annual revenue from CPE (Canadian Programming Expenditures) requirements, while establishing a new funding framework for SEIs (Services of Exceptional Importance). The new CPE framework will apply to both private Canadian broadcasters and online streaming services with annual Canadian broadcasting revenues of $25 million or more. Under the framework, they’ll be required to contribute 25% of their annual Canadian broadcasting revenues to CPE, providing relief from current requirements, which range from 30% to 45%. The CPE requirement for online streaming services is being set at 15%, which includes their 5% base contribution requirement established in 2024 and still before the courts. Read more here.
The Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB) says while the new CRTC directives address several longstanding priorities, significant issues remain unresolved, including a persistent asymmetry in the financial burden placed on terrestrial broadcasters. Read more here.
The CRTC has taken steps to make programming more accessible for Canadians who are Deaf, DeafBlind or hard of hearing, requiring online streaming services to caption new original programs. Introducing the changes based on a public consultation, streamers will be obligated to comply within one year. Within five years, the requirement will apply to all online programming. Read more here.
The CRTC has published Corus Entertainment’s application requesting approval for a change in the ownership and effective control of all licensed programming services operated by Corus and its subsidiaries. Under the proposed transaction, Corus’ lenders would forgive approximately $500 million in debt in exchange for 99% ownership of a newly-created parent corporation (NewCo), which would wholly own Corus and its services. Comments are being accepted until June 25. The debt-for-equity recapitalization transaction has already been approved by the Ontario Superior Court under the Canada Business Corporations Act.
The Western Association of Broadcasters (WAB) and BC Association of Broadcasters (BCAB) are getting set to usher in the future of local media, at the inaugural FWD Conference, June 3-4, in Kelowna. Among the highly-anticipated presentations is an industry health check and economic forecast by Sarah Thompson, Executive Managing Director at Glassroom, who’ll reveal the latest findings from the Canadian Media Means Business initiative; programming consultant and talent coach Tracy Johnson; consultant and author Sean Ross with a session titled “Beyond Live & Local: How Radio Can Be In The Moment” and radio futurologist James Cridland, who’ll present on global trends in radio and on-demand. Read more here.
Polytechnique Montréal is marking the graduation of its 150th class by presenting an honorary doctorate to science journalist and TV host Charles Tisseyre, in conjunction with Université de Montréal. The French voice of science outreach, Tisseyre studied law at Université de Montréal before embarking on a career in journalism with Radio-Canada, first at Radio-Canada International and then with the Téléjournal team in 1978. Initially a general-interest journalist, he distinguished himself covering science, driven by his natural curiosity. He went on to host Sunday evening science program Découverte.
The Canadian Journalism Foundation (CJF) has announced Thuy Anh Nguyen of Carleton University as the recipient of the 2026 CJF Bursary for BIPOC Student Journalists. Funded by Media Profile, the $5,000 bursary aims to support graduating racialized journalism students. Her feature story on the rising popularity of K-pop and K-dramas as a sign of shifting perceptions of Korean identity and culture is a finalist for this year’s National NewsMedia Council/CAJ Student Journalism Award of Excellence.
Government House Foundation, in partnership with the Jack Webster Foundation, has announced the two 2026 recipients of the Lieutenant Governor͛s B.C. Journalism Fellowship: Amanda Follett Hosgood of The Tyee and Tchadas Leo of CHEK News. The $20,000 fellowship supports excellence in public-interest journalism by providing B.C. journalists the opportunity to pursue deeply researched, long-form reporting on issues of significance. Follett Hosgood has been awarded funding to produce a multi-part story examining the effects of declining news media capacity in small-town B.C., while Leo will explore how aging infrastructure, climate vulnerability and limited emergency access leave remote First Nation communities in B.C. exposed to public-safety risks, despite ongoing government funding commitments.
BROADCAST TECH & ENGINEERING:
Bell Media has announced a strategic agreement with TELUS expanding its Connected TV live advertising capabilities to Western Canada, activating new inventory across TSN, CTV, and other English-language specialty channels on the TELUS TV+ platform. Bell says the agreement is a first between a Canadian broadcaster and broadcast distributor to bring live linear ad replacement to market. Via TELUS, Bell Media’s live Connected TV inventory now reaches households across Alberta and B.C., in addition to its established footprint in Ontario, Quebec, and Atlantic Canada. Read more here.
CCBE (Central Canada Broadcast Engineers) has announced that its 75th anniversary conference will be held at the Toronto Delta Airport Hotel & Conference Centre in Etobicoke, Oct. 28-29. For the second year in a row, CCBE is partnering with the Ontario Association of Broadcasters (OAB) to give its vendors more access to owners, managers, and decision-makers, including a joint round table where CCBE and OAB delegates will discuss education, retention, and growth possibilities in radio, television, and multimedia environments.
