REVOLVING DOOR:
Patty Handysides, host of The Shift on AM800 (CKLW-AM) Windsor, is retiring after 45 years in broadcasting and 41 at CKLW. Handysides, who started her career in Oshawa while still attending Centennial College, went on to join CBC Windsor, before being recruited by ‘The Big 8.’ She’s held roles from news to DJ’ing, with her last afternoon show to air on June 26.
Dave Palmer, Program Director and host at Country 92.9 (CKCO-FM) Chatham has parted ways with Blackburn Media. He had been with the station, which transitioned from AM to FM in April, for 18 years.
Stephanie Hallihan has joined the Global News online team as a video journalist. Hallihan has been working with Global since 2022, most recently as Morning Affiliates Coordinator for the last four years.
Josiane N’tchoreret-Mbiamany is joining Radio-Canada’s bureau in London, ON as a Reporter/Rédactrice. The 2025 Western University Masters of Journalism grad has been a casual reporter on the English side with CBC London for the past six months.
Najah Dhuny has joined CBC/Radio-Canada as Communications Officer for Atlantic Canada and Quebec. Dhuny has held previous marketing and communications roles with the Halifax Chamber of Commerce and VON Canada.
Dave McCulloch has joined Acadia Broadcasting’s Thunder Bay team as General Sales Manager, while Eddie Forte has also been lured out of retirement to join the sales team. Forte was formerly Senior Manager of Media Sales for Dougall Media. As previously reported, Scott Pettigrew is also back in Thunder Bay as the Ontario Regional Manager overseeing Thunder Bay, as well as Dryden, Kenora and Fort Frances. Former Station Manager John Ongaro remains with Acadia in a new leadership role focused on company-wide programming initiatives.
Sarah Stephens has left Corus Entertainment to join TikTok Canada as Brand Partnerships Manager. Stephens had been with Corus since 2021 as a Toronto-based Account Manager, Client Marketing. She’s previously held brand partnership and marketing roles with Shoppers Drug Mart, Bell Media, and CBC TV,
Chelsea Johnston has announced her departure from Corus Entertainment. Johnston has been with Corus for more than decade, holding roles from Supervising Producer, Social & Digital Content to Director, Client Accounts with Corus social agency so.da for the past two years.
Kyle O’Byrne has been promoted at the Canada Media Fund (CMF) to Associate Vice-President, Public Affairs & Regulatory. Rod Butler is also upped from VP to SVP, Policy & Program Design.
Kelly Fox is the new Executive Director of AMPIA (Alberta Media Production Industry Association). Based in Edmonton, Fox has previously held leadership roles with NFB, TELUS originals and her own company, Morning Lark Productions.
Carlyn Staudt, President of Global Channels & Streaming at Blue Ant Media, will be leaving at the end of the summer as the company combines its Global Channels and Streaming & Rights businesses under Blue Ant Rights & Streaming. Staudt has been with the company since 2017. Read more here.
Bruce Hills has joined Attraction as Executive Producer and Strategic Advisor. The former President of Just For Laughs, Hills will support Attraction’s continued expansion in English-language production and the development of new projects for international markets. With JFL for nearly four decades, his leadership helped drive the production and distribution of more than 1,500 comedy specials, including content deals with Netflix and Prime Video.
Alec Stevenson has been appointed Chief Financial Officer at TVO, reporting to CEO Pary Bell and serving as a member of TVO’s Executive Leadership Team. He arrives from Toronto Foundation, where he served as VP of Finance & Administration. He’s also held roles with Artscape, CAMH (Centre for Addiction and Mental Health), and University Health Network.
Gail Haupert has joined the board of FilmOntario. Haupert, Director, Contracts & Production at ACTRA Toronto, will serve the remainder of Alistair Hepburn’s term, who left the board earlier this year to take up the National Executive Director role at Directors Guild of Canada (DGC).
Darren Battersby has been appointed to the board of directors of Network Media Group. Battersby was the Chief Financial Officer of the company for over 10 years, from 2014 until his retirement in 2025. Prior to that, he served as CFO for public companies including Rainmaker Entertainment, a division of WOW! Unlimited Media, and JZR Gold.
RADIO & PODCAST:
@stromboLet’s do it!♬ original sound – George Stroumboulopoulos
George Stroumboulopoulos returned to where it all started Tuesday evening, pulling an impromptu overnight shift at 104.7 The Lizard, The Rock of Kelowna (CKLZ-FM). The Order of Canada inductee started his broadcasting career at the station in 1993, hosting a late-night metal show called High Voltage and serving as the station’s lizard mascot. Afternoon host Chris Roach took to the airwaves with Stroumboulopoulos at midnight, who interspersed playing songs from artists like Metallica, Flogging Molly, Dropkick Murphys, Mermaid Island, Alice in Chains, and Rancid, with stories. Read more here.
The Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB) CEO Radio Council was on Parliament Hill last week, making their case, for among other provisions, more of the federal advertising spend. Their advocacy included a presentation to the CRTC on the current state of the business, and their strategic outlook for the radio industry. Right now, radio makes up just 11% of Ottawa’s $78.15 million ad budget. Read more here.
FWD Conference heard that radio stations are focusing too much on the hits and not enough on the humans behind the microphone. Radio futurologist James Cridland told the room of Western Canadian media leaders that broadcast radio’s traditional selling points are dead, and its only path to survival is doubling down on human connection. Read more here.
Triton Digital’s 2026 Canadian Podcast Report finds that 46% of Canadian adults now consume podcasts monthly, the largest single-year increase ever recorded for the format, up from 39% in 2024. Canadian-made podcasts hold their widest lead over U.S. podcasts in seven years, capturing 43% of average listening time among monthly Canadian podcast listeners, compared to 41% for U.S. content. Read more here.
LISTEN: Nails Mahoney is on the Sound Off Podcast unpacking what it really means to be a radio presenter/personality today. Mahoney and Matt Cundill talk about how the shift from DJ and announcer to “content creator” has forced many presenters to overthink and lose their natural talent, and why formal training for content creation is almost non‑existent.
SIGN OFFS:
Corey Ash-Elliott, 79, on June 5, following a battle with cancer. Born in Edam, SK and raised in Olds, AB, Ash-Elliott moved to Calgary to attend post-secondary which led to a career in broadcasting. Best known for heading the CFRN (later CTV) sports department in Edmonton, among his career highlights was covering the Edmonton Oilers during their legendary Stanley Cup runs in the 1980s. He retired in 1999 after 27 years with the station. In retirement, Ash-Elliott hosted The View from My Couch sports podcast in 2022-23.
Larry Delaney, 83, on June 4. Delaney was the co-founder and publisher of Country Music News, which was launched from his Ottawa home in 1980 and published 332 issues. His championing of homegrown talent and contributions to the industry were officially recognized in 1996 when he was inducted into the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame and became the first recipient of the Canadian Country Music Association’s Stan Klees Hall of Honour Builder Award. He was also honoured 11 times as the CCMA’s Country Music Person of the Year. Alongside his wife, Joanne, the Delaneys were inducted into the Ottawa Valley Country Music Hall of Fame in 1993.
TV & FILM:
Hockey Night in Canada won’t be returning to CBC television after a 74-year run, as the public broadcaster announces a shift in its approach to sports programming, including a Saturday night primetime show spotlighting Canadian athletes. In an announcement, released just moments after news broke that CBC’s NHL sub-licensing agreement with Rogers Sports & Media’s Sportsnet would not be renewed, the public broadcaster said it’s looking to significantly increase sports coverage “of high-performance athletes and events” including the 2026 Commonwealth Games, women’s professional leagues and more than 20 Major World Championships. Read more here.
Bell Media says FIFA World Cup 2026 audiences are up +47% over the tournament’s first four days, compared to 2022, reaching 16.9 million Canadians so far. Broadcasting across TSN, RDS, CTV, Noovo, and Crave, preliminary data from Numeris, suggests over opening weekend (June 11-14), Canadians watched nearly 50 million hours of FIFA World Cup content, up more than 50% from 2022. Read more here.
Crave French-language drama series, Empathie, about a former criminologist turned psychiatrist, swept the special awards categories at this week’s Rockies Awards International Program Competition at the Banff World Media Festival (BANFF). Produced by Montreal’s Trio Orange, Empathie captured the Grand Jury Prize, Rogers Prize for Excellence in Canadian Content, the Prix Francophone, as well as Drama Series: Non-English Language. Read more here.
The Directors Guild of Canada (DGC) has unveiled the Manifesto on the Value of Human Creativity, a declaration calling on governments, tech companies, broadcasters, producers, funders, and audiences to protect human creativity, cultural expression, and creative labour in the age of AI. Unveiled this week during BANFF, the DGC says the manifesto is a response to the rapid expansion of AI technologies across the audiovisual sector. Read more here.
Disney+ has unveiled its first-ever Canadian local Originals, billed as “an important step in the streamer’s expanding investment in Canadian storytelling.” The new greenlights include “Knighted,” a new eight-episode scripted comedy executive produced by Bruce McCullough, and “I’m Not Coming Back,” a three-part true-crime doc on the 2019 Fox Lake Cree Nation manhunt. Read more here.
CBC has announced further details of its new $7 million investment in documentaries. Unveiled at BANFF, the announcement follows news of the Sept. 1 launch of dedicated documentary FAST channel, CBC Docs. In addition to supporting more feature-length documentaries, CBC is creating two new funds – the CBC Creator Catalyst Fund supporting new projects from emerging CBC Creator Network producers, and the CBC Co-Production Fund, supporting documentaries for long-running series, The Passionate Eye. Read more here.
Blink49 Studios has entered into an exclusive first-look deal with Andrew Phung and Scott Townend, the creative partners behind Run the Burbs. Under the multi-year pact, Blink49 Studios will collaborate with Phung and Townend to develop and produce original scripted and unscripted television projects for the global marketplace.
Muse Entertainment and The Walrus have struck a first-look development partnership focused on adapting original reporting and longform journalism into premium documentary and unscripted programming. Under the agreement, Muse will receive exclusive early access to unpublished stories slated for future publication in The Walrus, along with first right of negotiation to adapt select reporting into documentary and unscripted projects.
Crave has unveiled the drag superstars vying for another chance to snatch the crown in new Crave Original series Canada’s Drag Race All Stars, premiering Thursday, July 9. The six-episode, one-hour spin-off welcomes back nine queens to compete for the title of “Canada’s Ultimate All-Star,” and a cash prize of $100,000. The series launches simultaneously on World of Wonder’s SVOD platform WOW Presents Plus, in the U.S. and 190 territories worldwide.
The Canadian Media Producers Association (CMPA) and IATSE, Local 411 have wrapped up negotiations on a new voluntary recognition agreement for Set Medics in Ontario. The tentative deal establishes terms, conditions and rates for Set Medics engaged on film, TV and digital media productions in Ontario. Once ratified, the voluntary agreement will be available to productions starting Aug. 1.
Stingray has launched a suite of FAST channels on OTT streaming platform, Vesta Stream, in the U.S. and Canada. The launch introduces Stingray Music to the platform, with channels including Country Greats, Euro Hits, Nothin’ but the 90s, Pop Adult, Romance Latino, and Today’s K-Pop, as well as video channels like Stingray Naturescape, and Stingray Classica, among others.
The Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF) has launched the VIFF Collection, a curated online archive of short films by B.C. filmmakers available free to the public. Featuring early works by filmmakers who have since achieved national and international acclaim, the initial titles available include Broken Bunny, Cabbie, Nuxalk Radio and Ocean Falls.
ONLINE & DIGITAL MEDIA:
Bell Media has unveiled 16 new Connected TV apps across web and mobile, in conjunction with FIFA World Cup 2026. Extending across TSN and French-language sports network RDS, the expanded offering is centred around a new FIFA World Cup 2026 hub – a dedicated in-app destination featuring live matches, highlights, news, scores, and stats in one place. Bell is attempting to reach viewers in the way they want to consume the sports experience, with Matches in 30 delivering a full match in a condensed 30-minute viewing experience. Read more here >
TIME and ArtsHouse Media Group have launched TIME Canada. Launching across digital, print, live events, video and social platforms, TIME Canada will feature original reporting from a dedicated Canadian editorial team, complemented by select content from TIME’s global newsroom, spanning business, leadership, politics, culture, innovation, and technology. Headquartered in Toronto, Arthouse Media Group’s portfolio includes Billboard Canada, Billboard UK, Rolling Stone Canada, Rolling Stone Québec, NXNE, and SOUNDSTAGE.
Media Technology Monitor (MTM) has released a new report on multi-tasking habits, finding that daily second-screen habits are the norm as more than three in five online Canadians engage with another device while watching TV. Close to a quarter admit they multitask all the time when video content is playing. Younger audiences are significantly more attached to their second screens, with seven in 10, aged 18-49, multitasking on a daily basis. Less than half of online Canadians, 65+, use another device while watching content.
REGULATORY, TELECOM & MEDIA:
BCE is cutting nearly 700 positions across multiple lines of business, however Bell Media is not among them. The Bell Canada cuts impact approximately 460 non-unionized workers and 230 unionized roles and are part of the company’s three-year growth strategy. Read more here.
CRTC Chair Vicky Eatrides told the Banff World Media Festival (BANFF) on Monday that the federal regulator is forging ahead with its digital-age overhaul, despite the federal government reversing course on the Online Streaming Act. Read more here.
The CRTC is launching a public consultation to make consumer protections clearer and more consistent for Canadians across their internet, cellphone, home phone and television services. Given that many Canadians purchase services together, the CRTC aims to bring protections into a single code. Comments are being accepted until Aug. 11.
CTV News’ W5 is this year’s recipient of the CJF Dr. Eric Jackman Award for Excellence in Journalism in the large-media category for Sleeping with the Enemy, exposing misogynistic criminality being secretly perpetrated by men. In the small-media category, Edmonton’s Taproot Publishing was recognized for its 2025 Election Project, centred on the Taproot Survey as a way to focus on issues that mattered most to voters. Check out more CJF Awards honourees here.
The Canadian Association of Journalists (CAJ) capped off its 2026 national conference weekend with the CAJ Awards Banquet and Gala. The CTV W5 team of Avery Haines, Joseph Loiero, Angelo Altomare and Jerry Vienneau were awarded this year’s McGillivray Award, recognizing the best investigative journalism published or broadcast in 2025. The W5 team was also recognized as gold winners in the Broadcast over Five Minutes category as well as the Gold winners of the inaugural Janice Johnston Award for Crime and Justice Reporting. Find the full list of winners here.
HEC Montréal is presenting the 3rd Global Media Peace Awards on Conflict Prevention and Conflict Resolution. The awards are presented to the best radio, video/television and digital programs/content/stories focused on conflict prevention and resolution, with the intent of encouraging high-quality and engaging content production.
The Walrus has launched a new partnership with Peter Mansbridge – the Mansbridge Essay, a new annual essay program supporting emerging writers. The program will offer $5,000 to one winning writer whose original essay pitch explores an issue of pressing interest to Canadians. Pitches close July 15.
The Jack Webster Foundation has announced its 2026 Professional Development Grant recipients empowering 10 journalists with funding to take a course and further their career and skills. They include freelance photojournalist Quinn Bender; Marc Fawcett-Atkinson, National Observer; Charlotte Groulx, CBC/Radio-Canada; Tanya Hill, The Peak, Voice of the Qathet Region; Michael John Lo, Victoria Times Colonist; Jami Makan, Business in Vancouver (BIV); Lauren Pullen, CTV Vancouver; Ish Sharma, Darpan magazine; Rosanna Tiranti, CBC/Radio-Canada; Jen Zielenski, B.C. Bureau Chief, Southern Interior/Cariboo/Yukon, Black Press.
BROADCAST TECH & ENGINEERING:
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has opened submissions for the 2027 Scientific and Technical Awards, recognizing the individuals and companies whose discoveries and innovations have contributed in significant and lasting ways to motion pictures. Eligible submissions include devices, methods, formulas, discoveries and inventions of outstanding value to moviemaking. The deadline to submit is July 23.
