REVOLVING DOOR:

Bill Carroll has returned to Toronto airwaves and Newstalk 1010 (CFRB-AM) with a new one-hour show. The Bill Carroll Show is airing weekdays from 9 – 10 a.m. ET. Carroll will also continue hosting The Morning Rush with Bill Carroll, weekday mornings on Bell Media sister station, 580 CFRA Ottawa. Carroll has been with Bell Media since 2016, arriving from the afternoon drive time slot on AM640 (CFIQ-AM) Toronto, while also holding down middays on KFI Los Angeles, where he started hosting in 2010. He previously worked with CFRB from 1998 to 2004. Read more here.

Santiago Bedoya, 640 (CFIQ-AM) Toronto’s Imaging and Technical Producer, is among those confirmed to be caught up in a new round of layoffs this week at Corus Entertainment. The company confirmed to Broadcast Dialogue late Wednesday that it’s making changes that will impact roles at Global BC, its flagship newscast Global National, and its talk radio network, including 640. Read more here.

Ian Kalushner is retiring from CBC News after 28 years. Kalushner has served as a Senior Producer on numerous programs across both radio and TV, including The World at Six and The National.

Jaden Whitelaw has joined CBC as an Editorial Assistant in Toronto. A recent Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) graduate, Whitelaw is a mentee of the RTDNA Canada Future Journalist program.

Nick Parker is stepping away from CBC News after five years to pursue a new opportunity. Parker, who has most recently been helping manage CBC News’ social channels, started with the public broadcaster in 2022 as an intern on Because News.

Jocelyn Lemieux has revealed that his time as a hockey analyst with RDS and Bell Media has come to an end after 16 years. In a post to X, Lemieux said the network’s new broadcast deal sees the number of Ottawa Senators broadcasts reduced to 45 regional regular-season games from the previous 60 and that going forward, Montreal Canadiens analysts will get more air time on the network.

Marie-Claude Lavallée will retire at the end of the summer radio season from Cogeco’s 98,5 (CHMP-FM) Montreal. Lavallée has been heard on the station for the last 12 years after previously retiring from a 30-year career with RDI and Radio-Canada.

Tyson Rewucki is the new co-host of Jets at Noon on Winnipeg’s 680 CJOB, alongside Jim Toth. Rewucki succeeds Cameron Poitras, who stepped away from the show in May. 

Reece Doumani will take over as play-by-play commentator for the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) Niagara IceDogs on Niagara’s New Country 89.1 (CKYY-FM) for the 2026-27 season. Doumani is familiar to IceDogs fans, previously serving as host of DOGS TV from 2016-19, and also spent time filling in as play-by-play broadcaster over the past several seasons. 

Tony Fera is among those departing Citytv and OMNI. Fera had been an ENG camera operator with Rogers Sports & Media in Toronto for the past 20 years.

Karen So has left OMNI TV in Vancouver after 23 years. Most recently Chief News Anchor, So joined the station in 2003 after anchoring and reporting for Fairchild TV in the market.

Matt Gauthier has been promoted at Rogers Communications to Senior Manager, Commercialization. Gauthier has been with the company since 2020, most recently as Manager, Content Profitability.

Anne Gaviola has joined Pivotal Media as a Communications Advisor, alongside Marisa Thomas and Jennifer Burke. The longtime anchor, reporter and host was most recently with Global Toronto, up until this past April.

Ted Emmett has left 106.7 Rewind Radio (CFDV-FM) in Red Deer after four years. Emmett signed off from the morning show earlier this year to move behind-the-scenes. He joined the station in 2022 after previously stepping away from radio in 2015 to work with Hockey Alberta.

Derek Stewart has left MBS Radio in Sydney, NS after six years as an Account Manager. Stewart is joining Ultramar as the Commercial Accounts Manager for Cape Breton – Truro.

Imaan Sheikh has left Daily Hive after four years to join MoneySense as Managing Editor. She’d been with Daily Hive since 2021 and Managing Editor for the past year and a half.

Laurie May is stepping down as co-president of Elevation Pictures. May co-founded the indie film distribution and production banner in 2013 with backing from Teddy Schwarzman’s Black Bear Pictures. Her co-president, Noah Segal, will now take the helm of Elevation as president.

Jeff Cooke has joined Blue Ant Media as Marketing Manager, Studios & Rights. He arrives from New Metric Media where he’d served as Senior Marketing Manager for the past year. He was previously in marketing at WildBrain for a decade.

Shane Smith has joined TELUS Originals as a Senior Production Executive. Smith joins from TVO Docs where he’d been a programmer since 2024. Prior to that, he spent nearly eight years with Hot Docs as Programming and Artistic Director.

Jacob Glick has joined Anthropic, as Head of Public Policy for Canada. Glick had formerly held the same role at Amazon Canada since 2024.

RADIO & PODCAST:

The Buffalo Bills have announced a significant expansion of the team’s radio footprint into Canada. The NFL franchise has partnered with Bell Media’s TSN, adding TSN 1050 (CHUM-AM) Toronto, TSN 690 (CKGM-AM) Montreal and TSN 1200 (CFGO-AM) Ottawa to the Buffalo Bills Radio Network. Read more here.

A Day of Giving Niagara saw seven local radio stations come together last week to raise over $40,000 for Feed Niagara to support flood victims in the region. The stations involved included Byrnes Communications’ 105.1 The River (CJED-FM) and 101.1 More FM (CFLZ-FM), Whiteoaks Communications’ 610 CKTB, 97.7 HTZ FM (CHTZ-FM), and Dream 105.7 (CHRE-FM), and My Broadcasting Corporation’s 91.7 Giant FM (CIXL-FM) and New Country 89 (CKYY-FM). 

Lighthouse Radio, a new online radio station in Metro Halifax, is hoping to fill the void left by the abrupt closure of the city’s only commercial news/talk station last month, 95.7 NewsRadio (CJNI-FM). Co-founded by Dan Budgell and local videographer Matt Dagley, the station is streaming a Nova Scotia-focused music playlist and local news updates, in addition to featuring local weather and community events, and a daily local news brief that streams on YouTube. It will introduce a weekly live call-in show next month. Read more here.

CTV’s The Social is evolving into a podcast-first format as the daytime talk show enters its 14th season this fall. The network says the weekday broadcast, previously filmed live in front of a studio audience, will shift to a premium video podcast format “to better reach audiences wherever they are.” The new format will still be filmed live, but without an audience, combining “the strength of a podcast with the feel of a daytime series.” It will continue to be broadcast weekdays on CTV at 2 p.m. ET/PT, in addition to Crave, iHeartRadio Canada, and The Social’s YouTube channel. Read more here.

LISTEN: Kolter Bouchard returns to the Sound Off Podcast after a seven-year absence. The former host of afternoon drive on 102.1 The Edge (CFNY-FM) Toronto, Bouchard has since launched a creative agency with his wife, and received a Hodgkin’s lymphoma diagnosis and subsequent stem cell transplant. After hitting the five-year remission milestone, he shares how cancer permanently reshaped his outlook, work, and sense of identity. He and Matt Cundill also dig into why vulnerability, honesty, and genuine connection matter more than ever—on-air and online.

SIGN OFFS:

Peter Maher, 79, on Aug. 12. The voice of the Calgary Flames for more than three decades, Maher originally hailed from Campbellton, NB, where he started his broadcast career at age 14 when he started announcing the lineup for the local softball league, going on to call games for the International Hockey League (IHL) and North Shore Hockey League. His professional career got underway in 1977, calling radio play-by-play for the Toronto Maple Leafs. He was named the radio voice of the Flames in 1980, going on to call 33 straight seasons for the team, including the 1989 Stanley Cup championship and 2004 cup run, before retiring following the 2013-14 season. Read more here.

TV & FILM:

Sportsnet has confirmed that Hockey Night in Canada: Punjabi has been cancelled after 18 years. According to the network, audiences for the broadcast weren’t sustainable, with game broadcasts averaging just 1,500 viewers last season overall, and more than half of those garnering an average audience of less than 1,000. Read more here.

CBC and Sportsnet have announced new five-year broadcast agreements with Grand Slam of Curling and Rock League that will see the two networks split coverage between them. Read more here. The leagues have also announced a new three-year agreement with ESPN that will bring more than 300 hours of live curling coverage to U.S. audiences during the 2026-27 season.

Global has unveiled premiere dates for its fall lineup, with new series including Private Eyes West Coast, NCIS: New York, Eternally Yours and Cupertino alongside returning series like Survivor, which is back for Season 51 beginning Wednesday, Sept. 23.

Halloween Bakeshop (7×60) returns to Corus Entertainment’s Flavour Network for Season 2 on Sunday, Sept. 13. Hosted by Canadian actress and musician Lauren Ash, the competition brings together eight competitors from across North America to face off in a series of high-stakes baking challenges for a $25,000 grand prize. Ash is joined by chef and TV personality Kareem “Mr. Bake” Queeman on the judging panel, alongside new addition, food media personality Colin Asuncion.

APTN is debuting two new paranormal docuseries: Squamish Medium and Unsettled Spirits, in addition to returning favourite, Ghost Hunters of the Grand River. Both series are from Wapanatahk Media, a Vancouver-based Indigenous female-led production company.

Crave has unveiled additional cast members set to appear in the highly-anticipated second season of Heated Rivalry. Joining Hudson Williams, Connor Storrie, Justice Smith, and Charlie Gillespie in Season 2 are: Emily Hampshire (Schitt’s Creek, Marvel’s Visionquest), Edvin Ryding (The Young Royals, 28 Years Later), Robert Naylor (Mile End Kicks, Cardinal), Sabrina Jalees (I Used to Be Funny, Black Mirror), and Priyanka (Drag Brunch Saved My Life, Meet Me Next Christmas). Season 2 is set to premiere in spring 2027.

Front Street Pictures, the Vancouver-based prodco backed by Blink49 Studios, along with actor/producer John Cassini, has acquired Deacon Zak Santiago’s life-story rights. The Golden Gloves–winning boxer, nightclub and radio DJ, classically trained musician, flamenco and ballet dancer and stuntman, is the inspiration for original television drama, Deacon. Jonathan Lloyd Walker, known for his work on Netflix’s Van Helsing and Season 1 of Amazon’s House of David, will serve as showrunner. The series, which is in development, will be shopped at the TIFF Market in September.

TELUS has introduced the TELUS Wise Digital Content Safety Seal, a new designation provided to Canadian children’s programming funded through TELUS STORYHIVE that has successfully completed TELUS’ comprehensive digital content safety review. It will debut on eligible children’s programming on TELUS STORYHIVE Kids TV, available on TELUS Optik TV Video on Demand channel 611, Stream+ and YouTube.

ONLINE & DIGITAL MEDIA:

Update to How Public Views Are Counted on YouTube pic.twitter.com/9CZ38YHG6y

— YouTube Creator Insider (@YouTubeInsider) August 17, 2026

YouTube is making changes to how it counts public views, aligning viewer counts with how it counts public views for Shorts. Starting Aug. 24, a view will be counted the moment a video begins to play—from the very first frame, globally across all formats. Historically, YouTube has used multiple view counting systems across different formats, but in response to creator feedback, says it’s eliminating “metric confusion.” Creator earnings will continue to be based on ”Engaged Shorts views” and “Engaged Watch Hours.” 

Pink Triangle Press (PTP), the publisher of Xtra Magazine, has launched new self-serve advertising portal, PinkAds, giving advertisers direct access to purchase ad inventory and manage digital ad campaign inventory across its portfolio of online properties. PTP says PinkAds represents a significant evolution in how advertisers can engage with queer and trans audiences, a community with $4.7 trillion in estimated spending power according to LGBT Capital.

REGULATORY, TELECOM & MEDIA:

The Canadian Media Producers Association (CMPA), Alberta Media Production Industries Association (AMPIA), and Directors Guild of Canada (DGC) are among 50 Canadian screen sector organizations that have written an open letter, appealing to Ottawa to preserve Canadian content contribution requirements for foreign streaming services. Read more here.

Toronto Foundation has partnered with Centennial College’s Contemporary Journalism grad certificate program (a joint program with the University of Toronto Scarborough) to support student reporting from neighbourhoods across the GTA. Supported by a foundation gift to Centennial’s School of Media and Creative Arts, students have the opportunity to be paid for this work through stories published in local outlets in Toronto. This fall, students will also write stories based on insights from Toronto Foundation’s 2026 Toronto Vital Signs Report.

The Jack Webster Foundation has announced its 2026 special award recipients. Thirty-five year Surrey Now-Leader reporter and columnist Tom Zytaruk is being recognized with the Bruce Hutchison Lifetime Achievement Award. CBC Radio British Columbia producer Anne Penman is this year’s Shelley Fralic Award recipient, while Negar Mojtahedi, host of Iran International, English and a former Global BC producer, receives the 2026 Bill Good Award.  

OP-ED: Three separate fights, three separate parts of the CRTC’s mandate, all opened the same way in the same few months: a rule gets written, and the regulated party immediately works around it, out-litigates it, or challenges the math,” writes James Wallace in his latest op-ed. “That is not a jurisdiction problem. The CRTC has jurisdiction over all three of these. It is an enforcement problem and as of this week, it’s an open one. Not a settled one.” Read more here.