REVOLVING DOOR:
Nora Young is logging off after more than 30 years as CBC’s preeminent voice in technology journalism. Young retires as CBC News’ Senior Technology Reporter, but she started her career with the public broadcaster in 1993 as a columnist on short-lived CBC Radio Saturday afternoon show Brand X, going on to become the founding producer and host of Definitely Not the Opera (DNTO). She went on to create CBC Radio show and podcast, Spark – a weekly guide to tech, trends, and fresh ideas, which came to an end in 2024 after 17 seasons. Read more here.
Dave Wheeler has announced he’ll wrap up his time in the Winnipeg radio market and Evanov Communications’ Energy 106 (CHWE-FM) on July 30, 2027 when his contract is up. Evanov revived Wheeler’s career in 2020 when they hired him to anchor Energy’s morning show, following his much-publicized firing from 92 CITI FM’s highly-rated Wheeler in the Morning in 2018. Read more here.
Lamont Hollywood, one-half of the long-running Lamont and Tonelli morning show on San Francisco Bay Area hard rock station 107.7 The Bone (KSAN-FM), announced on Facebook Monday that he’d been laid off by Cumulus Media after 24 years. Hollywood, who started his career in Winnipeg at 92 CITI FM, had hosted alongside Paul Tonelli for 35 years, initially at KSJO, prior to his co-host leaving the show two years ago.
Marissa Lyons has stepped into a new role as National Midday Host for Corus Radio’s Country stations. Lyons has been hosting middays on Corus’ Country 105 (CKRY-FM) Calgary since 2022. Prior to that, she was a co-host on The Casey Clarke Show, Stingray Radio’s regional morning show for Kamloops/Kelowna.
Vista Radio is making moves to strengthen the radio group’s revenue leadership team with the appointment of Liesel Unger as Vice President, Revenue, and Jesse Van Montfoort as Director, Local Sales. Unger is promoted from the position of Director, National Sales and Partnerships, while Van Montfoort formerly held the position of Senior Manager, Digital Revenue. Read more here.
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Al Lucas is retiring after 40 years in media sales. Retail Sales Supervisor at Harvard Media in Red Deer for the last five years, Lucas started his career as a sales rep at Southern Alberta Broadcasting in Lethbridge in the early 1980s. He went on to hold roles with Monarch Broadcasting, Newcap Radio (where he ascended to the position of General Sales Manager for Red Deer and Alberta Radio Group South), and Golden West Broadcasting in Lacombe.
Clay Young has confirmed his more than 15-year run with Corus Entertainment is over. Young, who was most recently assigned to the Winnipeg edition of Global News Morning, had been with the company since 2008, initially as an anchor and reporter on 680 CJOB.
Kylene Thiessen has announced her departure from Rogers Sports & Media after 17 years. Thiessen had most recently held the title of Media Sales Manager in Calgary. She joined the company in 2009 after holding account roles with Newad and Global TV in Vancouver.
Jeff Walker is taking on Music Director duties at 107.9 GO Rock (CFLB-FM) Lunenburg, NS, effective Aug. 31. On-air since the station first launched in 2024, Walker has hosted Friday Night Loud, while also producing and hosting popular feature, GO Vinyl. In addition to his new music responsibilities, he’ll continue to serve as Program Director for online offering, GO Throwbacks.
Sandra Kleinfeld, the CBC’s Senior Director of Documentary, is set to retire at the end of August after two decades with the public broadcaster. Kleinfeld joined CBC-TV in 2006 as Executive in Charge of Production, Factual Entertainment. A former Canwest and Alliance Atlantis production executive, she’d held her current role since 2016. Michelle McCree will step into the role of Senior Director and Commissioning Editor of CBC Documentary. Read more here.
Marie-Maude Gervais has joined CBC/Radio-Canada as Director, AI & Innovation. She arrives from Quebec-based BRP where she was most recently Director, Connectivity & Application Development. She’s also held roles with Fair Play Productions and Bell Media.
Michelle Tormos has joined the Digital Products and Innovations Team at CBC/Radio-Canada as Senior Product Manager, CMS. Tormos arrives from Montreal’s Valtech, where she was a business analyst and product owner.
Matthew Law has been appointed General Counsel at Rogers Communications. Law, who has been with Rogers since 2024, moves into his new role after serving as Senior Vice President, Legal Affairs.
Emma Bishop has joined the Pacific Screenwriting Program (PSP) as a part-time Program Manager for the year. Bishop has worked with TIFF and the CBC across creative development, scripted content, acquisitions, and industry programming.
RADIO & PODCAST:
The Calgary Flames have found a new radio home on Corus Entertainment’s QR 770 AM (CHQR-AM). The five-year partnership will see QR 770 broadcast all Calgary Flames home and road games. The announcement follows the abrupt shuttering in early July of Rogers Sports & Media’s Sportsnet 960 The Fan (CFAC-AM), where Flames broadcasts had been heard from 2001 on. CHQR 770 AM hadn’t aired a game since the team’s 1989 Stanley Cup run. Read more here.
LISTEN: In her first interview with Broadcast Dialogue, Numeris & Nlogic President & CEO Alicia Olson-Keating discusses Radio Local+, Numeris’ new hybrid measurement approach, why it took so long to get here, and why the industry needs to embrace an innovation growth mindset.
LISTEN: On the latest Sound Off Podcast, Matt Cundill discusses how radio’s relationship with its audience has fundamentally shifted and how a summer marked by mass layoffs at Cumulus, iHeart, Rogers, Audacy, and Corus has exposed a deeper crisis than spreadsheets can solve.
The CRTC has issued a call for comments on market capacity in Selkirk, MB and the surrounding area. The call was triggered by an application for a new English-language commercial FM station from Kelly C. Dion. The deadline for comments is Sept. 2.
Auto Country Radio has expanded to Niagara Falls, with a new online country music station delivering timeless classics and a commitment to supporting local businesses and community events. Owned and operated by longtime broadcaster Laura Mainella, Auto Country Radio Niagara Falls joins the growing Auto Rock Radio Network, which now includes 21 stations across the country. The station can be streamed across TuneIn, Simple Radio, RadioApp, CarPlay, Android Auto, Alexa-enabled devices, and its website.
JAZZ.FM91 (CJRT-FM) celebrates Oscar Peterson Day on Aug. 15 with a live special recognizing the impact of the Canadian jazz pianist’s music and his enduring contribution to Canadian culture and the global jazz community. Hosted by Walter Venafro, the live performance will be broadcast at 2 p.m. ET, featuring Sean Nimmons-Paterson (Music Director / Piano); Kevin Turcotte (Trumpet); Ethan Ardelli (Drums); Jon Maharaj (Bass); and Alana Bridgewater (Vocals).
Luminate’s 2026 Midyear Report indicates total album consumption in Canada rose 3.2% during the first half of 2026, led by digital listening with Canadian On-Demand Audio song streams growing 3.6% year-over-year to reach 77.4 billion streams, up from 74.7 billion in the first half of 2025. Physical music sales in Canada – including vinyl LPs, CDs, and cassettes – also saw steady gains, rising 4.2% to 1.7 million units, highlighted by a global shift toward the resurgence of physical CDs. Read more here.
SIGN OFFS:
John McKeachie, 82, peacefully on Aug. 11. Announced earlier this year as a 2026 B.C. Sports Hall of Fame inductee, McKeachie is best known for his 27 years as a sports anchor on BCTV (now Global) from 1973 to ’99, while also serving as an on-air host and colour commentator for Vancouver Canucks and Vancouver Whitecaps broadcasts. He went on to host CBC Vancouver’s Hockey Night in Canada post-game show, McKeachie’s Hockey Talk from 1998-2000, which later became the long-running After Hours. Other stops included CDKA Victoria (1970-72); CKNW Vancouver, where he hosted Canucks and BC Lions broadcasts (1972-75, 1997-98); TEAM 1040, where he hosted McKeachie in the Morning (2001-03); and MOJO Sports Radio (2003-05), among other work, including two Olympic games. McKeachie was previously inducted into the Victoria Sports Hall of Fame in 2012. Read more here.
Chris MacDonald, 44, on Aug. 7, following an undisclosed illness. While still studying Business Administration at UNB (University of New Brunswick), MacDonald began his career as a Research Assistant and later Executive Assistant to New Brunswick Premier Bernard Lord. He joined Rogers in 2005 as a Strategic Account Manager, moving his way up to Market Manager for Atlantic Canada and then Senior Manager of Sales – Fiber Solutions & Small Business over the next decade. He was appointed to the CRTC in 2015 to a five-year term. He went on to rejoin Rogers as Senior Manager, Regional Delivery for Atlantic Canada, later going out on his own as an independent telecom consultant and trainer. In 2025, he accepted another position within Rogers as Senior Manager, Service Expansion for Atlantic Canada and Quebec. Read more here.
Stu Paterson, 81, on Aug. 6 after a battle with cancer. Paterson’s career in radio started at CJET in Smiths Falls, ON in the early 1960s where he was among the first North American DJs to spin a Beatles record on radio, with CJET quickly receiving new vinyl pressings from the local RCA Victor plant where the first North American Beatles records were produced. From there, Paterson landed at CKWS Kingston as a news reporter in 1964, working in both radio and TV news. He left to join CJRN radio in Niagara Falls as news director in 1969, before embarking on a long career with CBC News as a reporter and anchor, including serving as the voice of CBC National News at 6 on TV. He retired in the early 1990s. Read more here.
Ted Pound, 77, on July 27 in Calgary. Born in Brooks, AB, Pound developed an early passion for rock ‘n roll and motorcycles. He began his radio career as an announcer at CKXL Calgary in the early 1970s, in addition to serving as the commercial production manager. He went on to join CKIQ in Kelowna for many years. Pound was part of a group application from Sun Country Cablevision in 2005 that applied for an FM radio licence in Grande Prairie. Ultimately, the CRTC did not approve the station and Pound moved back to Alberta to partner in his wife’s family business, McArthur Fine Furniture in Calgary. He went on to be appointed Chair of the Advisory Board for the Utilities Consumer Advocate (UCA).
Jim Hall, 66, on July 22. A longtime morning show host and program director in Red Deer, Hall is best known for waking up listeners on 700 CKRD and BIG 105 (CHUB-FM) alongside his co-host Casey Cunningham. Hall started with CKRD-AM in 1989, arriving from CKIQ Kelowna. He took on programming duties at CKRD-AM in 1996, later also managing sister station 106.7 The Drive (CFDV-FM). He spent 23 years in Red Deer radio before retiring in 2012.
TV & FILM:
The Canadian Media Producers Association (CMPA) has unveiled the nominees for the 2026 CMPA Indiescreen Awards, celebrating excellence among independent television and feature film producers. This year’s nominees include the producers behind Heated Rivalry, Allegiance, and forthcoming Crave series YAGA. Read more here.
Nolia Studios has opened in Toronto, a new AI-native film studio positioned at the intersection of independent filmmaking, studio-grade production, and next-gen creative technology. The studio launch builds on the success of award-winning filmmaker Bob Gaudette’s short film, A Face Only a Mother Could Love. His partner in Nolia is veteran TV producer and creative director Kirk Hipkiss, founder of Toronto animation, VFX and generative AI studio, Radical Point Media. Read more here.
Icon Creative Studio has opened its first U.S. office in North Hollywood. Headquartered in Vancouver’s Gastown, the independently-owned premium CG animation studio says the U.S. office will support its work with U.S. partners.
Crave Original Heated Rivalry has cast Justice Smith (I Saw the TV Glow, Now You See Me: Now You Don’t) and Charlie Gillespie (One Night Only, Splitsville, Suze) as Harris Drover and Troy Barrett. Smith and Gillespie join Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie in leading roles for the upcoming new season which is scheduled to premiere in Spring 2027.
Netflix has announced that Love Is Blind is coming to Canada, the reality series that allows singles to “date” without ever seeing each other. The Canadian iteration joins adaptations in Japan, Brazil, Sweden, the UK, Mexico and the United Arab Emirates. Casting is now open for the Canadian version, which is being produced by Insight Productions.
APTN docuseries Racing Waters, directed by Asia Youngman (I’m Just Here for The Riot), has been renewed for a second season ahead of the series’ debut. The nine-episode, 22-minute series, which was shot across B.C., takes viewers into the world of Indigenous war canoe and outrigger racing through the eyes of the paddlers of the Island Brave Canoe Club from the Snuneymuxw First Nation. It begins airing weekly on APTN (in English) and streaming on APTN+ starting on Sept. 13. The series is presented in English and will also be released in Hul’q’umi’num on APTN Languages at a later date.
Home Network has unveiled its fall lineup anchored by two returning Canadian Original hits: Season 4 of Rock Solid Builds, hosted by third-generation builder and Newfoundlander Randy Spracklin, and the sophomore season of House of Ali, helmed by interior designer Ali Budd. Also returning are Interior Design Masters, Renovation Rescue, and Million Dollar Dream Home.
The Black Screen Office (BSO) has opened applications for Round 6 of the Rogers-BSO Script Development Fund. Administered by the Canadian Independent Screen Fund for BPOC Creators (CISF), the fund supported 72 Black and racialized writers across its first five rounds with alumni going on to join writers rooms for projects airing on HBO, Netflix, and CBC. Submissions close Aug. 28.
ONLINE & DIGITAL MEDIA:
The Nation Network (TNN) is unifying its hockey news platforms in Calgary, Edmonton, Toronto, and Vancouver under singular digital brand, Daily Faceoff. Flames Nation, Oilers Nation, The Leafs Nation and Canucks Army will be rebranded as Daily Faceoff Calgary, Daily Faceoff Edmonton, Daily Faceoff Toronto and Daily Faceoff Vancouver. While their respective social media handles have already been updated, a full transition is expected by January. Read more here.
YouTube has unveiled changes to the YouTube Partner Program, which includes changing how the platform distributes Shorts revenue to reward creators. Beginning Feb. 1, creators who have 10 million qualified Shorts views over the last 90 days will be eligible for ads and subscription revenue sharing on Shorts. Channels below that threshold will continue earning on long-form content, with Shorts revenue sharing automatically resuming once they cross 10 million views again. New creators applying for YPP will need 8,000 qualified watch hours in the last 365 days or 20 million qualified Shorts views in the last 90 days.
REGULATORY, TELECOM & MEDIA:
BCE reported results for the second quarter of 2026, with operating revenues of $6,176 million up 1.5% compared to Q2 2025. Bell Media operating revenue increased 8.9% year-over-year to $918 million, driven by both higher advertising and subscriber revenues. Formula 1 Canadian Grand Prix growth and higher program sales via the acquisition of Sphere Abacus also contributed to higher total media revenue. Ad revenue was up 5.3% in Q2, due to strong advertiser demand for FIFA World Cup, including higher digital video advertising revenue. Subscriber revenue increased 6.7% on continued Crave and sports direct-to-consumer streaming subscriber growth, with total Crave subs up 23% year-over-year to 5.07 million at the end of Q2.
Quebecor reported its consolidated financial results for the second quarter of 2026. Net income attributable to shareholders was $270.9 million ($1.21 per basic share), an increase of $53.2 million or 24.4%. In the Media segment, TVA Group reported adjusted EBITDA of $23.3 million, up $21.6 million from the second quarter of 2025, driven in part by excellent results from TVA Sports channel, fueled by the NHL playoffs and the Montréal Canadiens’ extended postseason run, which boosted advertising and subscription revenues for the channel and its “TVA Sports Direct” platform. Quebecor says restructuring initiatives over the past few years and a long‑awaited increase in specialty channel carriage rates also contributed to TVA Group’s improved profitability.
RTDNA Canada has opened nominations for the 2026 Lifetime Achievement Award, presented to individuals who have distinguished themselves through outstanding service and continued excellence during the course of their careers in audio, digital and/or video journalism. Learn more here.
BROADCAST TECH & ENGINEERING:
The Canada Media Fund (CMF) is investigating starting a media tech fund that would help establish Canadian media and technology companies, while accelerating the commercialization of homegrown IP (intellectual property). CMF has signed an expression of interest to explore the creation of the Canada Global Media Tech Fund, alongside L.A.-based private investment holding company, The Interlink Group, and a consortium of organizations including the Vancouver Asian Film Festival, Racial Equity Screen Office, and Muslims in Media. Read more here.
News Revenue Hub and Indiegraf have announced a strategic partnership under which the Canadian-headquartered independent publisher network takes over the ongoing development and management of RevEngine, the donation and contribution management platform. Indiegraf will lead the technical evolution of RevEngine, leaning on its content management and publisher technology expertise. As part of the transition, the nonprofit News Revenue Hub becomes a minority shareholder in the for-profit Indiegraf. The agreement follows a series of acquisitions by Indiegraf in the newsroom tech space, including engagement tool Hearken and Stylebot.
