REVOLVING DOOR:
Harvard Broadcasting has eliminated its General Manager positions across the chain as it looks to minimize the revenue impacts of COVID-19. The layoffs include Tamara Konrad, who had been GM in Edmonton for the past decade; Craig Picton, GM for the company’s stations in Fort McMurray for the last five years; and Jason Huschi, GM in Regina, who’d been with the company since 1985. Darren Robson, program director for MY 92.1 (CHMX-FM) and 104.9 The Wolf (CFWF-FM) in Regina, and Sara Parker, PD at Kraze 101.3 (CKIK-FM) and X100.7 (CKEX-FM) in Red Deer, were also casualties.
Andy Ross loses his GM title in Saskatoon, but will stay on as Program Director for 96.3 CRUZ FM (CFWD-FM), while adding PD duties for Regina. Chris Meyers, PD for Harvard’s Edmonton stations, is now also PD for Kraze, while Christian Hall, PD at Calgary’s X92.9 (CFEX-FM) and National Program Manager, adds programming X100.7 to his duties. The restructuring includes the creation of VPs who will oversee their departments across all markets. They include Hall, now VP Brands and Content; Karen Broderick, VP Sales – Saskatchewan; Gary Brasil, VP Sales – Alberta; Angela Prokop, VP Finance and Administration; and Chris Terpsma, VP Engineering and Infrastructure. Read more here.
Ben Mulroney, who has anchored CTV entertainment magazine etalk for the last 18 years, has announced he’ll be stepping away from the show to “create space for a new perspective or a new voice.” Mulroney, who made the announcement on CTV Your Morning, started out by acknowledging “the situation surrounding my wife Jessica.” Bell Media cut ties with Jessica Mulroney earlier this month following an online disagreement with Black social media influencer and blogger Sasha Exeter around the Black Lives Matter movement. Mulroney indicated that while he’ll no longer anchor etalk, he’ll continue to contribute to the show, hosting red carpets and taking on other special projects for Bell Media, in addition to his co-hosting duties on Your Morning. Read more here.
Geneviève Levasseur has been named Senior Director of ICI Musique. Up until recently, Levasseur was president and creative director at Ingrid Ingrid, a production company that specializes in designing interactive experiences for physical spaces. Since 2013, Levasseur has also been a strategic digital consultant for SODEC (Société de développement des entreprises culturelles), the National Film Board, APTN, and Just for Laughs, among other cultural organizations. Levasseur previously worked at Radio-Canada for 13 years and formerly was head of programming and development for ICI Premiere.
Dorothy Alexandre has been appointed Senior Specialist and Outreach Coordinator on ICI Radio-Canada’s Community Inclusion Team. Alexandre’s mandate will be to open doors for diverse talent at Radio-Canada, identify candidates, and bring them to the attention of in-house content managers and independent producers with whom Radio-Canada does business. Alexandre is the founding president of Inspiration Communication, and a former journalist and researcher with TVA.
Drex aka Justin Wilcomes has announced he’s stepping away from his Corus Radio late night show The Shift with Drex to pursue other opportunities. Wilcomes has been with Corus since 2013 and hosted the late night show for the last two years.
I wanted to let you know that I have decided to step away from Corus Entertainment and #TheShiftwithDrex to pursue other opportunities. (let the rampant speculation begin) One of them is working on a docu-series about collectors! (totes Drexy’s jam) 1/3
— drex@home⚡ (@drex) June 25, 2020
Brock Lewis and Drew Dalby are leaving Regina’s 104.9 The Wolf (CFWF-FM) to head to Winnipeg where they’ll launch The Brock and Dalby Show in the afternoon slot on 92 CITI FM in August. Lewis had been with the station for the last two years, while Dalby leaves The Wolf after six years as afternoon drive host and music director.
There’s definitely things we’re going to miss about the Queen City when we’re gone. pic.twitter.com/aDWTJysONk
— Dadby (@Dalby) June 23, 2020
Leah Ramsay and Seth Armstrong have been released from mornings at Harvard’s My 92.1 (CHMX-FM) Regina. Both joined the station in a reshuffle in June 2018, when Armstrong was initially paired on the morning show with Rustie Dean. Ramsay joined the morning show in April 2019 when Dean stepped back from radio to spend more time with her family.
Crystal Darche has left Corus Radio Edmonton after relocating to Kelowna with her family. Darche first joined Fresh 92.5 (now 92.5 the Chuck) (CKNG-FM) in 2015, and has also been voicetracking middays for the last few years on both 93.1 Fresh (CHAY-FM) Barrie and Peggy 99.1 (CFPG-FM) Winnipeg. Most recently, she did mat leave fill-in for Jacqueline (Jack) Sweeney on CISN morning show, CISN in the Mornings.
Scooter aka Scott Shantz is doing summer fill-in on 102.9 The Peak (CKPK-FM) Vancouver. Scooter was part of the Z95.3 (CKZZ-FM) morning show, up until this past March, when the station made a move to bring in Kid Carson and Vancouver actor and comedian Jordan McCloskey.
Lauren Fink is leaving her helicopter traffic reporter position with the Canadian Traffic Network (CTN) after four years. Fink has been a regular contributor to Global Edmonton, as well as Corus Radio stations Global News Radio 880, CISN, 630 CHED and 92.5 The Chuck.
After several years of being our afternoon eye in the sky, Friday was the last day for Global 1 news helicopter traffic reporter @LaurenFink_.#yeg #yegtraffic pic.twitter.com/Y577EEw1uv
— Global Edmonton (@GlobalEdmonton) June 20, 2020
Dalia Ashry has departed CityNews Edmonton. She’d been a VJ with the station for the past two years. A Seneca College grad, Ashry previously hosted her own YouTube channel “ViewPoint tv.”
You’ve been great Edmonton!
Thank you for trusting me to share your stories ❤️ #Edmonton #YEG pic.twitter.com/N26OvZfzv5— Dalia (@DaliaReports) June 23, 2020
Charles Gabriel has been appointed to the newly-created position of Vice-President and Head of U.S. Advertising Sales for WildBrain Spark, the digital media division of WildBrain. Gabriel brings over 15 years of experience in digital advertising to the role aimed at expanding WildBrain’s digital AVOD sales efforts to its current partners, U.S. media agencies and brands reaching kids and families. Gabriel has previously held roles with AOL and Disney, as well as multi-platform publishers like First Media. Based in Los Angeles and New York, he’ll report to Managing Director Jon Gisby.
Melissa Williamson has been named SVP, Scripted Content, at Blue Ant Studios’ Saloon Media. The newly-created role sees Williamson oversee development and production of all scripted series across comedy and drama. Based in Toronto, she reports to Managing Director Michael Kot. Prior to joining Saloon Media, Williamson was President of Toronto-based prodco Pier 21 Films, most recently serving as Executive Producer on The Beaverton for CTV.
David Casey is joining Cineflix Productions in the newly-created role of Head of Current, in which he’ll oversee creative for Cineflix’s factual slate. Casey was formerly Executive Producer of Television and Digital Media with Wilderness Productions and show runner for Coyote Peterson: Brave The Wild.
RADIO & PODCAST:
Corus Radio has confirmed that Jump! (CKQB-FM) Ottawa is the network’s only remaining station carrying syndicated American morning show, Brooke & Jeffrey. Formerly Brooke & Jubal, the Seattle-based show rebranded earlier this year with the departure of Jubal Fresh. Corus was airing the show in the drive time slot on Energy 95.3 (CING-FM) Hamilton, which now sees Jeunesse on-air weekdays from 3 – 7 p.m., while Kella takes over Jeunesse’s midday slot for the rest of summer. Brooke & Jeffrey also previously aired on Chuck @ 92.5 (CKNG-FM) Edmonton which has yet to introduce a replacement.
Vista Radio’s 98.9 Jet FM (CFCP-FM) Courtenay, BC rebranded to ‘98.9 Dr. Bonnie Henry FM, the Comox Valley’s Best Doc’ on June 19 for one day only, in honour of the B.C provincial health officer. Henry, who marked her 100th COVID-19 briefing this week, has achieved celebrity status in the province and was also recently lauded in the New York Times for helping keep B.C.’s case numbers at bay. General Manager Allison Mandzuk says the one-day rebrand will expand to two additional Vista stations this Friday, Today FM (CIQC-FM) Campbell River and 89.7 Juice FM (CJSU-FM) Duncan. “We’re just so in love with her and she’s just so fantastic for this province,” Mandzuk told Broadcast Dialogue. “We’ve really targeted our radio broadcasting on the messages she’s put out – be kind and be calm, and we’ve taken that up as a mantra. It was important for us to pay tribute to her.”
Stingray’s Classic Hits and Classic Rock stations will air a nine-hour Canada Day event that will see boom 97.3 (CHBM-FM) Toronto morning man Stu Jeffries, Burton Cummings and Randy Bachman count down the Top 100 Canadian Songs of All Time. A total of 32 stations are picking up the broadcast, including some Harvard and Acadia Broadcasting affiliates. Vote for your favourite song, here.
CBC British Columbia host Wil Fundal explores gender and more in They & Us, a six-part podcast series that talks to non-binary British Columbians about finding identity beyond “he” and “she” pronouns. Based in Prince George, Fundal explores navigating the world of preferred pronouns, Trans rights, and questions like do pronouns matter in a global pandemic or health emergency?
.@wilfundal seeks to explain their experience being non-binary in the podcast, They & Us, which launched today.
Episodes 1-3 are available now, listen wherever you get your podcasts. https://t.co/kGvgokVAnE pic.twitter.com/qYJYLP24re
— CBC Vancouver (@CBCVancouver) June 22, 2020
Media Technology Monitor’s (MTM) latest report looks at smart speaker and smart home device adoption. MTM found that almost a third of Canadian households now have a smart speaker, with adoption more than tripling in less than a two-year span. Despite that rapid growth, intention to purchase a smart speaker remains low among Canadians, with three in five households without a smart speaker indicating they are “not at all likely” to purchase one in the next year. Google Home remains the most popular brand of speaker in Canada, owned by two thirds of smart speaker homes. Amazon Echo comes in second at 34%, while Sonos One and the Apple HomePod are both at 8% each. The most common smart speaker activity is streaming music with 61% of owners reporting using it for that purpose within the past month. 42% of smart speaker owners use their device to check the weather, 28% have done a search and 25% use it to listen to AM/FM radio.
DOXA, Vancouver’s documentary festival which is underway online, features two short films about radio. Nuxalk Radio, directed by filmmaker and station manager Slts`lani (Banshee Hanuse) and produced by Lantern Films, is a glimpse into a day at the Bella Coola community station. The documentary will have its debut on B.C. public broadcaster Knowledge Network next year, which executive produced the doc as part of 10-part micro-shorts series “Behind the Facade: Untold Stories of B.C. Buildings.” Carmen Pollard’s Red Robinson, meanwhile, looks at the career of Vancouver’s first rock and roll DJ and his role in the city’s history through the radio legend’s own words.
LISTEN: Rush has released a new conceptual video for its 1980 hit ‘The Spirit of Radio’ that pays tribute to both the medium of radio itself and the early DJs who championed the band’s music. David Marsden, Canadian Music and Broadcast Industry Hall of Famer and legendary programmer of Toronto’s CFNY, who first coined the phrase ‘Spirit of Radio’ features prominently in the video. On the latest episode of Broadcast Dialogue – The Podcast, the ‘Mars Bar’ himself talks Rush, radio, records and staying curious.
LISTEN: On the latest Sound Off Podcast, Mistress Carrie, who spent 22 years on-air and a handful more in promotions at Boston Active Rock station, WAAF. She’s now the host of the newly-launched The Mistress Carrie Podcast that talks bands, motorcycles, tattoos, and more.
FEATURE: In the latest Benztown Blog, Andy Sannemann talks to Dubai-based radio, podcast, and imaging producer Vish B about creating in the age of COVID. Read more here.
SIGN OFFS:
Ray Orchard, 89, on June 19. Orchard’s radio career began at CJVI Victoria in the 1940s, while he was still a teenager. Orchard moved over to CKWX Vancouver in the 1950s, before heading for England where he was a DJ on Radio Luxembourg and made guest appearances as a panelist on BBC television show Juke Box Jury, where celebrities would judge the potential of new record releases. Orchard eventually returned to Victoria and the CFAX newsroom before moving on to a job with the B.C. Government.
Sid Kozak, 77, on June 13. Kozak, who grew up in rural Alberta, was introduced to theatre while studying at the University of Alberta. After a few years in England, he returned to Canada in the mid-1970s, working in Toronto and Vancouver in stage management and production. He founded talent agency Act 4 in the 1980s, but moved into casting for the CBC and by 1990 was the public broadcaster’s head of casting for Western Canada. Among the productions he worked on were The Beachcombers, Northwood, Sliders, Max Glick, The Odyssey, Police Academy: The Series, and TV movies like My American Cousin, American Boyfriends and The Diary of Evelyn Lau, among many others. He retired in the early 2000s.
Serafine Crawley, 76, on June 5, after a short battle with cancer. Crawley started in CBC Vancouver’s Finance Department in 1975, assigned to financial reporting for television programming, including TV News, and later took on additional duties maintaining Capital Assets for the B.C. Region. Crawley transferred to Audience Relations in 1997 and remained there until her retirement in 2002. She also volunteered with the public broadcaster’s EAP (Employee Assistance Program) for 10 years.
TV & FILM:
thinktv, on behalf of member companies, Bell Media, Corus Entertainment, Rogers Sports & Media and Quebecor Media, has announced an agreement in principle to adopt a common set of advanced advertising audience segments. thinktv says the adoption of standard audience segments is another step forward in the industry’s journey to facilitate better planning and buying of multiplatform television. Powered by Environics Analytics, the segments are geared towards the largest advertising categories in Canada. thinktv says a linear TV campaign optimized across the four broadcasters will deliver combined reach of more than 90% of total linear television audiences representing targeting at scale – with greater consistency, efficiency, and effectiveness. Rogers, Corus, and Bell started the new offering June 24, with Quebecor to follow later this year.
CBC has revealed the 119 successful Canadian projects selected to receive support through the public broadcaster’s $2.2 million Creative Relief Fund, announced in April. Launched in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the fund is aimed at providing immediate development and production funding to original Canadian projects, including scripted comedies and dramas, unscripted entertainment, kids and young adult programming, podcasts, play adaptations and short documentaries. Barbara Williams, Executive Vice-President, CBC, said the public broadcaster was overwhelmed by the response, receiving close to 9,000 submissions. 99 projects have been selected for development funding and 20 for production funding, including 51 projects (43%) from storytellers who self-identify as Black, Indigenous, or from other visible minority groups. Read more here.
The Canadian Media Producers Association (CMPA) and Teamsters Local 362 have ratified a new three-year master agreement, establishing the terms, conditions and rates for Alberta film, TV, and digital media production crew, including drivers, wranglers and caterers. The deal marks the first-ever Canadian independent production industry labour negotiation to be completed virtually, with negotiators participating from locations across Canada. The new master agreement, which will remain in effect until Mar. 31, 2023, includes a revised budget tier and wage structure for the first year of the agreement. The parties also agreed to a one per cent wage increase in the second year of the deal, and a two per cent increase in the third.
Corus Entertainment has struck an agreement with NBCUniversal that gives the broadcaster exclusive rights to air Peacock Original programming in Canada. The move is a strong indicator that the coming subscription video on demand (SVOD) service won’t be available on this side of the border. Peacock, named for the iconic NBC logo, is set to launch in the U.S. on July 15. The Corus deal includes a selection of original scripted and unscripted content, along with movies and specials, including new series, Girls5Eva, executive produced by Tina Fey; Aldous Huxley adaptation Brave New World, starring Alden Ehrenreich, Harry Lloyd and Jessica Brown Findlay; Rutherford Falls, created by Ed Helms, Sierra Teller Ornelas and Mike Schur; and reboots of Punky Brewster, starring Soleil Moon Frye; and Saved By The Bell with Mario Lopez and Elizabeth Berkley. Read more here.
Blue Ant Media has launched three new linear channels on The Roku Channel, including its wildlife and nature brand Love Nature, Love Nature Español, as well as ZooMoo, a children’s offering devoted to the animal world. The deal is part of Roku’s expansion of its free live/linear channel lineup, which now offers more than 100 free channels. Blue Ant says the partnership is an important step in its AVOD expansion in the U.S. market, allowing it to introduce its premium brands to one of the largest and most engaged streaming audiences in the world.
The CRTC has denied Blue Ant Media’s request to reduce its PNI (Programs of National Interest) requirement. The commission determined Blue Ant did not give sufficient justification to have its required PNI spend reduced from 13.5% to 5% for its eight discretionary services A.Side, BBC Earth, Cottage Life, HIFI, Love Nature, Makeful, T + E and Smithsonian Channel.
Telefilm has released details of the COVID-19 Emergency Relief Fund Top-Up for Regional Companies. As previously announced, a portion of the COVID-19 Emergency Relief Fund was reserved to provide additional support to clients from regional companies with a head office in any part of Canada more than 150 km from Toronto or Montreal. The regional top-up is only available for existing, eligible clients who have already received emergency funding from Telefilm in the first phase. Details for the top-ups reserved for interrupted shoots will be released shortly.
Global Citizen and the European Commission have announced Global Goal: Unite for Our Future – The Concert, a globally televised and digitally streamed special that will highlight the disproportionate impact COVID-19 has had on marginalized communities. Hosted by Dwayne Johnson, The Concert will feature performances from Chloe x Halle, Christine and the Queens, Coldplay, J Balvin, Jennifer Hudson, Justin Bieber and Quavo, Miley Cyrus, Shakira, Usher and Yemi Alade, with appearances from Charlize Theron, Chris Rock, Forest Whitaker, Hugh Jackman, Ken Jeong, and Kerry Washington, among others. It will premiere Saturday, June 27 across the globe, including Bell Media, CBC, Citytv, and Global TV in Canada, and streamed on Apple, Brut, Roku, Insight TV, TIDAL, Twitch, Twitter, Yahoo! and YouTube.
Bell Media has confirmed its new and returning series, including Season 2 renewal for Transplant, Season 3 renewal for JANN, and new seasons of Corner Gas Animated, The Amazing Race Canada, Wynonna Earp, and an all-star edition of Masterchef Canada: Back To Win. New series include Children Ruin Everything, created by writer/producer Kurt Smeaton (Schitt’s Creek) and executive produced by Chuck Tatham (Modern Family) and Mark Montefiore (LETTERKENNY); paranormal series The Surrealtor; new music docuseries This Is Pop from Banger Films; and Holmes Family Effect, starring contractor Mike Holmes & family. Crave has confirmed Season 9 of LETTERKENNY, while Discovery Networks adds new original series Mud Mountain Haulers (from the producers of Heavy Rescue 401); and Chasing Monsters. CTV and Crave are also set to air new original documentaries on Buffy Sainte-Marie, Howie Mandel, and Thomas King, author of national bestseller The Inconvient Indian.
Citytv has announced its 2020/21 schedule, featuring four new shows and 21 returning series and events. New to Citytv this fall is Law & Order: Organized Crime on Thursdays, where Christopher Meloni reprises his role as Elliot Stabler. Citytv brings three new comedies into the mid-season mix with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson starring in single-cam comedy Young Rock, inspired by his formative years. Tina Fey and Robert Carlock’s Mr. Mayor stars Ted Danson as a wealthy businessman who runs for mayor of Los Angeles for all the wrong reasons, along with reality show Alaska: The Last Frontier. Returning are comedies black-ish, Bless the Harts, Bob’s Burgers, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Duncanville, Family Guy, mixed-ish, Mom, and The Simpsons, and dramas Hudson & Rex, Manifest, and A Million Little Things, in addition to The Bachelor / Bachelorette and Chicago Med / Fire / P.D. New series coming to FX and FX NOW in Canada include The Old Man, A Teacher, and Y: The Last Man; returning dramas American Crime Story, American Horror Story, Fargo, Mayans M.C., Pose, and Snowfall; and returning comedies Atlanta, Better Things, Breeders, Dave, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Mr. Inbetween, and What We Do in the Shadows.
Corus Entertainment has announced its 2020-21 programming slate featuring 43 new and returning Canadian Original series and movies. Among the highlights, Food Network Canada makes its first foray into the documentary realm with Cheese: A Love Story (6×60), while Tiffany Pratt (Family Home Overhaul) hosts new series Bake or Break (wt) (10×60). Food Network Canada also debuts new series Bakeaway Camp with Martha Stewart and Big Time Bake, hosted by Buddy Valastro. HGTV Canada debuts Corus Studios Original series, Family Home Overhaul (8×60), where HGTV Canada contractors and designers transform households for deserving families, as well as east coast renovation series Rock Solid Builds (10×60). HISTORY unveils seven new and returning Canadian Original series, including Big Timber (10×60) following the work of loggers on Vancouver Island debuting this fall, and docuseries Backroad Truckers (8×60) featuring the daring lifestyle of independent truckers in northern B.C. National Geographic debuts new series Barkskins, filmed in Quebec and starring Marcia Gay Harden (The Newsroom), and Trafficked with Mariana Van Zeller as the Award-winning journalist investigates the global underworld. YTV’s fall schedule boasts three new Nelvana-produced series, The Dog & Pony Show (26×30), Ollie’s Pack (26×30), and a reboot of The Hardy Boys (13×60).
Global’s 2020/21 slate includes three new primetime shows. They include Global Original, Departure, starring Archie Panjabi (The Good Wife) and Oscar winner Christopher Plummer (All The Money In The World); a reboot of The Equalizer starring Queen Latifah (Chicago, Bessie), who also serves as executive producer; and sci-fi drama neXt starring John Slattery (Mad Men). The new series join 19 returning primetime shows, with Global also announcing it’s picking up CBS newsmagazines 60 Minutes and 48 Hours, beginning this fall.
Sportsnet is celebrating female athletes, builders and rising stars in new interview series, Top of Her Game. Hosted by Tara Slone, the weekly 30-minute show will feature guests like WWE’s Stephanie McMahon and Charlotte Flair; Kim Davis, NHL Executive Vice President, Growth Initiatives & Legislative Affairs; Waneek Horn-Miller, the first Mohawk woman to compete in a Summer Olympic Games; and Chantal Petitclerc, Canada’s Most Decorated Paralympian. Top of Her Game premieres Sunday, June 28 at 6:30 p.m. ET / 3:30 p.m. PT on Sportsnet ONE and Sportsnet NOW. Interviews will also be available online the following day on sportsnet.ca and Sportsnet’s YouTube channel.
ONLINE & DIGITAL MEDIA:
Corus Entertainment has announced a partnership with Florida-based adtech network, Playwire, that will see it launch a Canadian e-gaming network for advertisers as part of an ongoing digital expansion. Playwire specializes in maximizing revenue returns for publishers and content creators in esports, gaming, kids education and entertainment. In addition to the Playwire partnership, Corus says it’s expanding its YouTube multichannel network and is now selling that ad inventory directly. The network currently operates over 200 channels on the video platform, including Complex, Food Network, HGTV, Nelvana, Kin Community Canada, Global News and ET Canada. Read more here.
The Saltwire Network, the biggest newspaper publisher in Atlantic Canada, says a move to temporarily lay off 40% or 109 staff in March will be permanent. Of those laid off, 61 are in Nova Scotia, 25 in Newfoundland & Labrador, and 23 are in P.E.I. Citing the devastating impact of COVID-19 on advertising, the company says it’s lost millions in revenue to date without anticipated improvement in the coming months. Saltwire had also suspended publication of some of its papers. It now says it plans to return some of those in response to market demand.
Canadaland has announced its raised $1 million in funding from the Tiny Foundation, the Victoria-based not-for-profit co-founded by tech entrepreneur Andrew Wilkinson, who earlier this year also funded long-form journalism startup, The Capital. To be paid out in monthly instalments over three years, Canadaland says the investment will result in more original journalism, including a follow-up series to its Thunder Bay podcast, with Ryan McMahon on board to host the new season about Niagara Falls.
Cityline has launched live limited digital series, LIVE: #CitylineReal on Race. Hosted by Tracy Moore on Cityline’s YouTube channel, the series will tackle the issue of race and inequality in Canadian society, with a variety of guests. New episodes will air every Tuesday afternoon through July 21. Upcoming topics will include Activism (June 30); White Privilege and Fragility – What is Performative Allyship? (July 7); Microagression (July 14); Black Trans Lives Matter & Black Women Lives Matter – Listening to All Black Voices (July 21).
DAZN Media North America, the sales and partnerships division of the sports streaming service, has announced an exclusive, first-of-its-kind deal with autoTRADER.ca in Canada as the first brand to lock up category exclusivity on platform. The partnership, which kicks off this season and continues through 2020-21, includes video ad integration during Premier League games in Canada, marking the first time any brand has activated across every single game of an entire season of any sports league on DAZN in Canada. Select fixtures each week will also feature autoTRADER.ca-sponsored half-time coverage and ads in DAZN’s cinematic lookback series Countdown: Premier League.
REGULATORY, TELECOM & MEDIA:
The University of Victoria’s Gustavson Brand Trust Index has updated its 2020 rankings to reflect Canadian brand trust in the early weeks of the pandemic. Among media outlets, CTV News came out on top, ranking third overall behind most-trusted brands Canada Post and Shoppers Drug Mart, while The Weather Network came in fourth overall, followed by CBC News (6). They were followed by Global News (9), The Globe and Mail (22), Maclean’s (26), National Post (60), and the Sun newspapers (102). When looking at digital brands, Google ranked 32nd, Netflix and Walt Disney Co. tied for 33rd spot, while Spotify ranked 82nd on the list, followed by YouTube (93), Twitter (101), Snapchat (103), and Facebook (105).
The Canadian Association of Black Journalists (CABJ) has penned an open letter to Corus Entertainment CEO Doug Murphy, saying that overt racism and a lack of representation within the company have left Black employees “feeling frustrated and overlooked.” The CABJ is calling on Corus to make a clearer commitment to the regular collection and public release of its demographic data, with a specific focus on the news division; introduce a policy requiring that interviews for newsroom, managerial and leadership roles include BIPOC candidates; and require everyone in a leadership position to undergo regular anti-Black and anti-oppression training. Following several CBC employees voicing similar concerns, the public broadcaster has announced it’s expanding the scope of its Diversity and Inclusion Working Group “which will continue its consultations with employees from all of the equity seeking groups to identify other initiatives to improve representation and workplace culture at CBC/Radio-Canada.” It’s set hiring targets that across CBC/Radio-Canada, by 2021–22, would see half of all new hires for executive and senior management roles filled by candidates who are Indigenous, visible minorities, or people with disabilities, with retention and promotion rates from those within those groups doubled.
Journalists for Human Rights (JHR) and TVO.org have partnered on a call for stories from emerging Indigenous journalists in Northern Ontario. They’re looking for original reporting and feature stories relating to COVID-19 on Northern Ontario First Nations. Stories will be published on the TVO.org website and other TVO platforms. Applications are open until July 24. Previous journalism experience is not required.
A Hamilton Police officer has been found guilty of four charges under the Police Services Act after arresting two photojournalists at the scene of a fatal, May 2017 crash, including former Global News VJ Jeremy Cohn and freelance cameraman Dave Ritchie. Cst. Jeff Todoruck was found guilty on four of five counts he was charged with, including unlawful or unnecessary exercise of authority. The ruling follows an investigation by the Office of the Independent Police Review Director.
The CRTC has rescheduled the public hearing into CBC’s licence renewal to Jan. 11, 2021. The new deadline to submit licensee replies is July 23. The public broadcaster has also submitted to a request to provide more documentation of its digital activities, following intervenors concerns about a lack of transparency around digital revenue and expenses. CBC’s existing licences have been extended until Aug. 2021.
TELUS has added Samsung to its list of 5G network infrastructure suppliers, following previous announcements it had tapped Ericsson and Nokia as rollout partners. Telus has announced the launch of the first-phase of its 5G mobile network in Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Montreal and Greater Toronto, with plans to expand to an additional 26 markets across Canada through the remainder of the year.
Rogers Communications and the University of Calgary have announced a five-year agreement to advance innovative Internet of things (IoT) research. Together, they’ve established the Rogers Internet of Things Chair, led by Dr. Steven Liang, renowned researcher at the Schulich School of Engineering. Liang will focus on IoT research in the areas of energy, smart cities, transportation, and workplace safety, including COVID-19 related solutions.
BROADCAST TECH & ENGINEERING:
FEATURE: StatsRadio has released a case study of how the audience measurement startup has been working with Sauga 960 AM (CKNT-AM) to prove the radio station’s worth to advertisers and audiences in the Peel Region. Read more here.
NLogic, which provides audience analysis software, technology and data integration services to the broadcast and advertising industry in Canada, has entered into a strategic partnership with TVbeat Inc., a leading-edge TV ad inventory and yield optimization SaaS framework. The partnership will allow NLogic to expand its offerings by enabling a complete picture of TV advertising inventory across multiple platforms and data sources. It will also help the company maximize the yield potential of addressable, digital and traditional linear inventory through holistic TV ad forecasting, planning, booking, in-campaign optimization, and reporting through a single view, self-serve Web dashboard or APIs.
LISTEN: On this sponsored episode of Broadcast Dialogue – The Podcast, Inovonics Broadcast President and CEO Ben Barber discusses site streamers and more with David Rusch of Audio Broadcast Canada.
ARHT Media, the Toronto-headquarterd developer, producer and distributor of low latency hologram and digital content, has entered into an exclusive U.S. Reseller Agreement with Almo Professional A/V. Almo will offer ARHT’s HoloPresence technology, capable of delivering lifelike holograms, as well as ARHT’s premium online presentation platform known as the Virtual Global Stage™(VGS™) through their vast commercial AV distribution network covering every major market in the United States. HoloPresence enables presenters to appear remotely in front of an audience to speak and interact with people in real-time using ARHT’s proprietary HoloPresence Displays, while Virtual Global Stage™ leverages the proprietary transmission software that powers ARHT’s HoloPresence platform to beam multiple presenters in real-time into a virtual environment online to appear in lifesize proportions with the capacity to interact with each other virtually.
