REVOLVING DOOR:

Scott Metcalfe, Rogers’ National Format Director of News and the longtime news director at Toronto’s 680 News (CFTR-AM), has announced he’ll retire early next year. Metcalfe, who is approaching 45 years in broadcasting, started his career at CHAB Radio in Moose Jaw, SK, followed by a stint as a City Hall reporter at CHED Edmonton. He joined CJCL Toronto in 1981, which at the time was Telemedia’s flagship station. He started as Queen’s Park reporter, quickly assuming the news director title two years later. In 1992, when the station rebranded to The FAN 590 as Canada’s first all-sports radio station, Metcalfe was appointed Sports Director and Executive Producer. When Rogers acquired CJCL in 2003, he was subsequently named news director at 680 News and promoted in 2018 to National Format Director, overseeing the Rogers “Green Brand” news stations across the country. Read more here.

Loreen Pindera is retiring from CBC Montreal after 36 years with the public broadcaster. Pindera has worked in the CBC newsrooms in Thunder Bay, Winnipeg, and Iqaluit, in addition to Montreal where she was notably one of the first reporters on the scene at École Polytechnique on Dec. 6, 1989 when gunman Marc Lepine took the lives of 14 women. 

36 years at CBC! Loreen is a legend!👑💓🤩@LoreenatCBC @CBCMontreal pic.twitter.com/4YaqE4wcEc

— LetsGoCBC (@LetsGoCBC) July 28, 2020

David ‘Jay’ Bedford is retiring after 52 years in radio. For the last 12 years, Bedford has been program director, music director, and morning host at New Country 103.5 (CKCH-FM) Sydney, NS (formerly The Eagle). Bedford has worked in radio and TV from Calgary to St. John’s, NL, starting at CKJL in St. Jerome, Que. at age 18. His last day on-air is Friday, Aug. 14.

Sandra Balind has retired after five and a half years as an account executive with Stingray Radio in Toronto, selling for both Boom 97.3 (CHBM-FM) and Flow 93.5 (CFXJ-FM). Balind wraps up a 25-year career in broadcast sales that began with Standard Radio in the 1980s, where she was one of the first inductees into Allan Slaight’s President’s Club.

John Coldwell has parted ways with Corus Radio after 32 years. Coldwell started with Corus Toronto as a Broadcast Engineer in 1988. He’d been Director, Radio Technology for the last four years.

Dave Graham has retired from mornings on 88.5 The Beach (CIBH-FM) Parksville, BC, after 40 years in radio. He’s among those who have accepted early retirement packages from Jim Pattison Broadcast Group amid COVID-19-related staff reductions across the chain (read more in our Radio column). Graham, who started in radio while still in high school, had been with the station since 2003. Watch his last break, here.

Chris Stoodley is the new weekend editor/reporter at News 95.7 (CJNI-FM) Halifax and Halifax Today. Stoodley is a 2020 graduate of the University of King’s College Journalism program.

Meghan Symsyk is joining FACTOR as President and CEO (elect) as the organization’s Board of Directors approves the succession plan for the retirement of Duncan McKie at the end of this year. Symsyk is the current Chair of the Board of FACTOR, President of the Music Managers Forum, as well as a Director at CARAS and MusiCounts. She was most recently Vice-President, International Marketing and Artist Management at Entertainment One. 

Emily Anne Epstein is the new Editor-in-Chief at Narcity Media. The company says bringing Epstein on board, a former editor at Bustle and The Atlantic, is the next step in growing its editorial team of more than 60 journalists in eight markets across Canada and 10 in the U.S. The company recently announced that it’s seen a 55% year-over-year increase in readership in Q2 2020 and is in the process of expanding its reporting talent to 80, with a focus on original journalism.

Georges St-Pierre is joining RDS. He’ll participate in pay-per-view broadcasts of UFC galas, including the preliminary fights broadcast on RDS, starting Aug. 15. Hailing from Saint-Isadore, the former UFC world champion officially retired from mixed martial arts due to health reasons in Feb. 2019.

Ron Reusch, the hockey play-by-play veteran who spent 20 years as CFCF Montreal’s sports director, is retiring his blog “Intentional Offside” after six decades covering hockey. In a July 30 post, Reusch wrote “It wasn’t a sudden decision but it is my view that coverage of the game (and all sports) should be left to the younger minds who are better equipped to deal with the breakneck speed in which the game is being played, analyzed and reported.” Reusch, who started his career doing play-by-play for the Kamloops Chiefs, covered numerous Olympic Games over the course of his career with CTV, did play-by-play for the first three Canada Cup tournaments, starting in 1976; and served as colour commentator, alongside Dan Kelly for the ‘84–85 and ‘85–86 NHL seasons.

RADIO & PODCAST:

The CRTC has ordered two Quebec French-language radio stations off the air following a lengthy history of non-compliance. The commission announced Friday it would not be renewing the licence of CJMS 1040 AM Saint Constant, Que., owned by Groupe Médias Pam (which also owns Montreal’s CPAM 1410 AM). Its violations, over the last six consecutive licence terms, range from incomplete music logs to non-compliance in regard to Canadian talent development (CTD) contributions. CFOR-FM Maniwaki, owned by shareholders Josée Cholette and Roch Lepine, has also had its licence revoked with the commission saying it could not assess compliance due to the station’s failure to submit monitoring materials and its annual return for the 2018-19 broadcast year. The station was also in non-compliance for a fourth consecutive term for its CCD contributions. Both stations have been ordered to cease broadcasting by Aug. 31. The commission is inviting interested parties to apply for a broadcast licence in both markets.

Jim Pattison Broadcast Group (JPBG) has announced that it’s laying off 40 staff at its stations and has offered early retirement packages to another 30 as it looks to minimize the impact of COVID-19 on its operations. With the voluntary departures, the staff losses represent about a 10% reduction in the company’s workforce. In a memo sent to staff Friday morning, President Rod Schween said for a company focused on growing positions, making staff reductions was an incredibly difficult decision. He cited second quarter revenues which came in at less than half 2019 earnings for the quarter. Five network midday shows have risen out of the staff reductions with many of the hosts longterm JPBG on-air personalities, who were previously heard on individual stations. Each network show will also be overseen by a Lead Program Director, responsible for show direction, host development and communication with affiliate PDs.

Rock: Jason Foui, host of afternoons on 106.7 The Drive (CFDV-FM) Red Deer for the past 16 years, will host the network Rock show, while Drive PD Peter Michaels, serves as Lead PD. Originating from The Drive, it will be heard on 98.3 CIFM-FM Kamloops, 106.9 The Wolf (CHWF-FM) Nanaimo, The Drive (CHDR-FM) Cranbrook, and 93.3 The Rock (CJHD-FM) North Battleford, SK.

Hot AC: Angie Heinze, co-host of the CIFM morning show in Kamloops, will host the Hot AC network midday show. Jamie Rankin, PD at BIG 105 (CHUB-FM) Red Deer, acts as Lead PD. Originating from B100 (CKBZ-FM) Kamloops, the show will be picked up by BIG 105, The River (CKKN-FM) Prince George, B93 (CJBZ-FM) Lethbridge, 102.3 The Wave (CKWV-FM) Nanaimo, MY96 (CFMY-FM) Medicine Hat, Power 99 (CFMM-FM) Prince Albert, Q98 (CJCQ-FM) North Battleford, and B94 (CHBW-FM) Rocky Mountain House.

Country Metro: Kristen Jade will host the Country Metro midday show out of Wild 95.3 (CKWD-FM) Calgary where she continues in the midday role, while the station’s PD, Jonathon Best, acts as Lead PD. The show will be heard on Wild 95.3 Calgary, JR Country (CJJR-FM), Vancouver and QX104 (CFQX-FM) Winnipeg.

Country Non-Metro: From Medicine Hat Kim Johnston, who has been afternoon drive host on MY96 (CFMY-FM) for the past few years, will host the Country Non-Metro midday show. Mike Doll, CHAT Medicine Hat, is Lead PD. The show will air on CHAT, Country 95 (CHLB-FM) Lethbridge, B104 (CHBZ-FM) Cranbrook, XFM (CIXM-FM) Whitecourt, CJVR Melfort, CKBI Prince Albert, CJNB North Battleford, Big West Country (CIBW-FM) Drayton Valley and Big Country (CJXX-FM) Grande Prairie.

Classic Hits: Charlee Morgan, who has hosted the Beach Radio (CKQQ-FM) Kelowna midday show since its 2017 launch, helms Classic Hits network middays. Russell James, Senior PD for the JPBG Okanagan group, serves as Lead PD. The show will be heard on the Beach format in Kelowna, Vernon, and Melfort; The Drive (CHWK-FM) Chilliwack, The Eagle (CKLR-FM) Courtenay, and Q99 (CIKT-FM) Grande Prairie.

Corus Radio has announced that Willy in the Morning, the Rock 101 (CFMI-FM) Vancouver-based morning show that expanded to Q107 (CILQ-FM) Calgary last year, will also be heard on Edmonton’s CHUCK @ 92.5 (CKNG-FM), starting Aug. 24. CHUCK @ 92.5 has been without a morning show since earlier this year when the station dropped syndicated Seattle morning show, Brooke & Jubal (now Brooke & Jeffrey). The Willy in the Morning team, helmed by Willy Percy, Kim Seale and Alece Anderson, will air on CHUCK @ 92.5 from 6 – 9 a.m. weekday mornings. Together for the last seven years, the highly-rated show helped lead Rock 101 to a 14.3% share with women 25-54 in the Spring 2020 PPM ratings and an overall 8.1 share, 12+. The morning show was #2 in the Vancouver market with an 11.2 share A25-54. Q107 garnered an overall 4.4% market share, while CHUCK @ 92.5 finished the last ratings period with a 3.9 share, 12+.

Stingray Q1 2021 revenues were down 35% to $52.3 million from $80.4 million, primarily due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Radio revenues (which fell 62.1%) and, to a lesser extent, on Broadcasting and Commercial Music revenues. The company says for provinces and cities opening their economies faster, the Radio segment is already seeing “encouraging signs of recovery and we are confident that key markets for us, such as Toronto and Ottawa, could follow similar patterns.” It also expects to solidify future advertising relationships as a result of $20 million in Stingray Stimulus Plan grants handed out to businesses across Canada. Broadcast and Commercial Music revenues decreased by 3.7% to $35.9 million, while organic growth in subscriptions was offset by the impact of COVID-19 in the company’s Commercial activities. SVOD subscriber growth was up 18.6% year-over-year and a sequential increase of 4% in a soft seasonal period. Stingray says its new free, ad-supported TV (FAST) channels with major over-the-top providers is fueling month-over-month growth with potential viewer reach now over 400 million. 

Stingray has announced it’s expanding its reach into the U.S. with the launch of Stingray Music on six additional platforms, including Comcast Xfinity, Distro TV, Freecast’s Select TV, Channel Plus on LG, MX Player, and XUMO. Stingray says the new distribution agreements grow its potential reach by over 40 million viewers. Users on those platforms will have free access to up to 10 Stingray Music audio channels spanning the most popular genres including rock, pop, country, hip-hop, and Latin.

Vista Radio has dumped its JuiceFM branding on CJOC-FM Lethbridge after just a year. Classic Hits 94.1 CJOC is back on the air with a company press release saying “the city has spoken.” “The city sampled, swished it around in their mouths, and while some liked the flavour… the majority of listeners did not enjoy the taste of JuiceFM. It wasn’t just because of the music. It wasn’t at all because of the announcers. It was because JuiceFM could never truly replace the original CJOC, a station that was uniquely Lethbridge,” said Peter Deys, CJOC General Manager.

Spotify’s Q2 2020 earnings call revealed that the streaming platform now has 299 million monthly active users, up 29% year-over-year. Paid subscribers reached 138 million and are expected to go up to between 140 and 145 million in the next quarter. About 21% of Spotify’s audience is listening to the platform’s expanded roster of podcasts which now boasts 1.5 million shows. Average revenue per user (ARPU) for the second quarter stood at 4.41 euros, down 9% year-over-year. Revenue rose 13% to 1.89 billion euros for the three months ended June 30, missing analyst estimates of 1.93 billion.

Google Play Music will be shut down permanently in December as the platform is merged with YouTube Music. Starting in late August, users will no longer be able to purchase and pre-order music or upload and download music from Google Play Music through Music Manager, but will be able to migrate or download any purchased songs. YouTube Music is also rolling out new features, including a redesigned user interface, a new Explore tab, and improved Google Home and Nest smart speaker integrations.

eMarketer’s latest forecast predicts that U.S. podcast ad spend will reach $782.0 million by the end of 2020, up 10.4% from last year, giving it a 21.0% share of the U.S. digital radio ad market.  It says just 4.0% of that will be programmatic, increasing to 6.0% next year. Podcast ad spend is predicted to jump nearly 45% to $1.13 billion next year, $1.1 billion in 2021 and $1.3 billion in 2022.     

LISTEN: On the latest episode of the Sound Off Podcast, Alan Cross talks about ongoing podcast copyright violations, the impact of the pandemic on the music industry, the durability of the Ongoing History of New Music, and the radio show’s transition to one of the most downloaded podcasts. Listen on your favourite podcast app or here:

SIGN OFFS:

Peter Ray (Rakobowchuk), 71, on Aug. 2, of cancer. After attending Loyola College, Ray started his radio career in 1970 working at commercial stations in Northern Ontario, Hamilton and a stint as news director at CFOX Montreal, before joining the CKO (Canadian All-News Radio) network in Calgary and Vancouver. He moved on to Broadcast News (BN) in 1979 and would go on to work for the wire service for the next 40 years (through its transition to the Canadian Press), with posts in Ottawa, Toronto, and Montreal. His distinctive sign off was arguably one of the most recognizable associated with the wire service. Read more here. 

Tim Dancy, 68, on Aug. 1, of cancer. Dancy, who holds the distinction of being the first TV play-by-play voice of the Edmonton Oilers, started his broadcasting career in 1974 at CJGX Yorkton. That was followed by stints at CKCK Regina, CKRD Red Deer and CBC Edmonton. In 1979, he joined CITV-TV Edmonton as Sports Director and Oilers play-by-play host. Dancy called the first goal in Oilers franchise history and Wayne Gretzky’s 50 goals in 39 games, among other historic moments. He continued in that role until 1983 when he moved on to do play-by-play for the Saskatchewan Roughriders on CKRM Regina. He returned to Edmonton in the late 1980s and went on to a three-decade career with QCTV, and later Shaw TV, as a reporter, host and producer, covering sports and entertainment, among other local stories. Read Global Edmonton’s tribute, here.

Robert (Bob) Simpson, on July 10, of cancer. Simpson spent five decades in broadcasting, starting at CJDV Drumheller, AB, CJOC Lethbridge, CHAB Moose Jaw, CKRM/CJME Regina, CISV Morden, MB, CJVR Melfort, CKST Langley/Vancouver, CKDA Victoria, Central Island Broadcasting in Nanaimo, CIVL Abbotsford, CFSI Salt Spring Island, CKAY Nanaimo and finally CHLY Nanaimo. Over the years, he held every position from announcer to farm director, programmer, sales, general manager, and consultant. Most recently, he’d been hosting weekly show “Bobby Be Cool” featuring rock n’ roll music of the 50s & 60s on community station, CHLY 101.7 FM Nanaimo. He retired in May of 2017.

TV & FILM:

Sportsnet says Canadian sports fans returned in droves last weekend for the long-awaited debut of the Stanley Cup Qualifiers and NBA, with the network reaching 10.7 million viewers on Saturday and Sunday. Beginning Saturday at Noon ET, Sportsnet aired more than 33 hours of live coverage across its TV channels, CBC, Citytv, the Sportsnet Radio Network and via SN NOW and NHL LIVE. Scoring a 19% audience share, Sportsnet coverage garnered a combined average minute audience of 821,000 viewers on Saturday and Sunday, according to audience data released by Rogers. Overall, 9.58 million Canadians watched all or some of the NHL on Sportsnet broadcasts. Saturday night’s Toronto Raptors’ performance over the L.A. Lakers, reached 2.59 million fans with an average minute audience of 890,000, making it the second most-watched regular season Raptors broadcast ever on Sportsnet.

The 2020 Leo Awards have been announced by the Motion Picture Arts & Sciences Foundation of BC. Among the multiple award winners were sci-fi thriller Volition, which earned three awards for Sound, Screenwriting and Best Lead Performance – Male for Adrian Glynn McMorran. Best Lead Performance – Female was won by Carmen Moore for Rustic Oracle. In the Dramatic Series category, Van Helsing claimed five awards, including Direction, Screenwriting, Cinematography, and Guest Performance Male and Female for Richard Harmon and Jessica McLeod. Documentary series Punk picked up four awards: Best Program in the category, Direction, Picture Editing, and Sound. Rust Valley Restorers earned five awards in the Reality category, including Best Program. Find the complete list of winners, here.

Schitt’s Creek has been awarded Outstanding Comedy Series at the GLAAD Media Awards. The 31st Annual Awards were announced during a livestream on GLAAD’s Facebook page and YouTube channel on July 30, with show stars Dan Levy, Karen Robinson and Noah Reid virtually accepting the honour. 

The 47th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards for Children’s, Lifestyle & Animation have been handed out with Sinking Ship Entertainment coming away with four awards. Dino Dana won for Outstanding Special Effects Costume, Makeup and Hairstyling, recognizing costume designer Christine Toye; Liz Roelands, key hair & makeup; and Karlee Morse, Special Effects makeup artist, while Bill Cobbs won Outstanding Limited Performance in a Daytime Program. Sinking Ship also won Outstanding Children’s or Family Viewing Program for AppleTV+ series Ghostwriter, while Odd Squad won Outstanding Sound Editing for a Live Action Program, recognizing editors James Robinson, Bill Turchinetz, John Smith; Sound Effects Designer P. Jason MacNeill; Foley Engineer Ryan Lukasik; Foley Artist Jason Charbonneau; and Foley Mixer Brandon Bak. Thunderbird Entertainment’s The Last Kids on Earth claimed the award for Outstanding Special Class Animated Program.

New Metric Media and The Feldman Agency are partnering to launch Tourbo, an entertainment venture with a focus on developing premium proprietary projects and licensing popular brands that currently exist as screen-based I.P., podcasts and online content to produce live touring entertainment for the stage. The company says the Tourbo business model will be based on multiple revenue streams, including ticket sales, VIP upsells, merchandise online and in-venue. New Metric and The Feldman Agency have previously worked together to bring comedy experience Letterkenny Live! to audiences. Tourbo says it will be announcing a Call For Submissions shortly. 

CBC will premiere six-part docuseries Enslaved on CBC TV and CBC Gem on Oct. 18 and on documentary Channel Oct. 17. Led by Samuel L. Jackson, Enslaved sheds new light on 400 years of human trafficking from Africa to the New World. Based on a DNA test identifying his ancestral tribe, the series traces Jackson’s personal journey from the U.S. to Gabon for his induction into the Benga tribe. A Canada/UK co-production, between Toronto-based Associated Producers and London-based Cornelia Street Productions, in association with CBC and documentary Channel, the series will also premiere in the U.S. on EPIX Sept. 14. 

The Fabienne Colas Foundation has announced new support for the Being Black in Canada program from presenting sponsor Netflix, in collaboration with National Bank, and the support of Canada Media Fund. The 2020 program will expand to include 20 new participants from Montreal, Toronto and Halifax. Over the following two years, the program will further expand to include Ottawa, Calgary and Vancouver and support a total of 70 new filmmakers and 55 alumni in 2021 and 2022. Being Black in Canada is Canada’s largest mentorship, training, and creation program entirely dedicated to Black filmmakers. Program participants benefit from mentorship and training across multiple areas of film production including screenwriting, directing, editing and post-production. They’ll also be provided with the opportunity to create individual documentary shorts. In 2019, the program included 15 filmmakers, ages 18-30, with their documentary shorts premiering at last year’s Montreal International Black Film Festival, Toronto Black Film Festival and Halifax Black Film Festival.

Canada Media Fund (CMF) has announced a new immersive talent development and co-production fund for UK and Canadian artists, filmmakers and creators, set to launch in November. The first exchange program dedicated to immersive storytelling between the UK and Canada, it will have a total co-production fund of CAD $510,000 on offer. Now open for applications until Sept. 17, the program aims to foster international collaboration on pioneering forms of immersive storytelling by bringing together those from theatre, performing and visual arts, games, TV, film, and other forms of digital and interactive media. Click here to apply. The year-long program is supported by a newly-formed international collaboration between StoryFutures Academy (run by the National Film and Television School and Royal Holloway, University of London), Arts Council England, CMF, The Canadian Film Centre (CFC) Media Lab, and the Canada Council for the Arts.

TELUS has announced that Optik TV customers in B.C. and Alberta with four or more theme packs now have the flexibility to choose Amazon Prime as a benefit in their Optik TV package, courtesy of TELUS. Optik TV customers who add Amazon Prime to their TV package will also have unlimited access to ad-free listening of over two million songs on Amazon Music Prime, as well as Prime Reading, Twitch Prime, and Amazon Photos, among other offers.

Bell has launched Bell Streamer, the new all-in-one 4K HDR streaming device powered by Android TV. The super compact (6.5cm x 6.5cm) Bell Streamer is now available to TV customers in Ontario and Québec, with one-stop access to Alt TV, Crave, CTV, Fibe TV, Netflix, Prime Video, YouTube, DAZN, hayu, CBC Gem, ICI TOU.TV, Tubi and more. Bell Streamer also features Google Play for access to thousands of apps, a remote control with one-button access to Google Assistant, and the ability to cast videos and other content from mobile devices to your TV with Chromecast built in. The 4K HDR Bell Streamer is included at no cost with new Alt TV Premium subscriptions on a 6-month term, or can be purchased separately online.

Thinktv has compiled last month’s Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) Advanced TV Week presentations from Bell Media, Corus Entertainment, Rogers Sports & Media, CBC/Radio-Canada and Quebecor, showcasing the latest advanced TV products and advertiser opportunities. Check out videos and presentation decks from:

• Bell Media: Crave: Brand Storytelling in 2020 and Beyond, Justin Stockman, VP Brand Partnerships & Client Strategy
• Corus Entertainment: OTT Ad Inventory, Phillip Kleim, Head of Digital Sales
• Rogers Sports & Media: Advancing the Big Screen Experience, Rose Hutchinson, Director of Advanced Advertising Sales Solutions
• CBC & Radio-Canada: GEM & TOU.TV, Heather Gordon, Director, Digital Sales
• Quebecor: The Reboot of Star Académie, Jerome Leys, Senior Director, Media Solutions

REGULATORY, TELECOM & MEDIA:

The Canadian Association of Journalists (CAJ) and CWA Canada are demanding that Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) retract a threat to lay charges against CBC London reporter Colin Butler for harassment while performing his reporting duties. The threats were made after Butler repeatedly contacted Ontario nurse Kristal Pitter, who also works as a long term care facility inspector, after she posted a series of COVID-19 conspiracies to social media. The CAJ points out that news organizations are legally required to provide subjects with a fair opportunity to respond to any allegations. The association says this is especially important in the case of a public sector employee who has been accused of spreading misinformation related to her duties.

CAJ has launched a new 2020 mentorship program for early career journalists. Association members can apply to spend one hour every week for six weeks with one of 16 journalist mentors working in radio, television, digital and print across the country. They include CBC Ottawa’s Adrian Harewood; Andree Lau, who recently left HuffPost to assume the role of Managing Editor of Digital News for CBC; Arif Noorani, executive producer of CBC Podcasts; Emma Gilchrist, editor-in-chief at The Narwhal; Francine Compton, executive producer, APTN News; CTV senior anchor Lisa LaFlamme; past CAJ president Karyn Pugliese; Global News journalist Mike De Souza, and Omayra Issa, a multi-platform, bilingual reporter with CBC Saskatchewan, among others. Learn more here.

LISTEN: new Canadian Association of Journalists (CAJ) President Brent Jolly joins Broadcast Dialogue – The Podcast to talk about inheriting the presidency of the organization in a turbulent time for media, compounded by pandemic-related layoffs, and as journalism finds its credibility under attack. Listen on your favourite podcast app or here:

TELUS Q2 2020 results show consolidated operating revenue of $3.7 billion, an increase of 3.6% year-over-year. Adjusted EBITDA was down 2.9%, reflecting financial impacts arising from COVID-19, primarily lower wireless roaming revenue, partly offset by growth in wireline data service margins resulting from business acquisitions, expanded services and subscriber base growth. For the quarter, net income of $315 million decreased by 39% over the same period last year and Basic earnings per share (EPS) of $0.23 decreased by 47%. In the quarter, TELUS added 151,000 new wireless, internet, TV and security customers, down 55,000 over the same quarter a year ago, while residential voice losses of 10,000 remained stable, resulting in total net additions of 141,000. The net additions included 61,000 mobile phones, 33,000 mobile connected devices, as well as 37,000 internet, 8,000 TV and 12,000 security customers.

TELUS says the vast majority of its team members will continue to work from home until at least the New Year, so staff can manage the logistics and responsibilities of their professional and personal lives through the back-to-school period and fall/early winter timeframe. 95% of TELUS team members have been working remotely since the pandemic began, including 99% of domestic call centre team members. President and CEO Darren Entwistle says the policy will be revisited towards the end of December to determine what changes might be made to the company work location model at that time. The company also continues to offer virtual installations and repairs for customers who require a technician, with in-home support only provided for emergency services.

BROADCAST TECH & ENGINEERING:

BFMTV, a 24-hour rolling news and weather channel, based in France, is the first to use Live Vertical – a new smartphone user experience developed in collaboration with French start-up Wildmoka and Altice France. The Live Vertical solution automatically converts the horizontal frames of standard TV streams to a vertical format better suited to smartphone screens, regardless of device, brand or model. Wildmoka says the innovation overcomes the mismatch between the fact that most smartphone users naturally hold their devices in a vertical position, whereas TV content continues to be broadcast for a horizontal screen. 

Nautel “Transmission Talk Tuesday” online roundtable sessions continue in August with discussions on project planning, backups/STL and “life on the road.” Hosted by Nautel’s Jeff Welton, the weekly events bring in featured guests to discuss a range of topics related to Radio transmission. Sessions will be held Aug. 11, 18 and 25. Register here.

Bob Orban hosts “Maintaining Audio Quality in the Broadcast Facility” on Aug. 27, discussing how to achieve excellent on-air and on-line quality audio. The live session will be followed by a Q&A. Find details in Broadcast Dialogue’s EVENTS section.