REVOLVING DOOR:
Jamie Orchard, who had been with Global Montreal for 23 years, anchored her last newscast on the station Aug. 20. Part of ongoing restructuring in Corus’ media division, the senior anchor joins what CUPE says amounted to 10% of permanent Global Montreal staff laid off last month. CUPE local president Anne Leclair called Orchard “a model for ethical journalism. We are also losing an important voice and key connection between our newsroom and Montreal’s English-speaking community.”
I’m very sad to let you know that tonight will be my final broadcast on @Global_Montreal. Like many of my colleagues, and many of you, I have fallen victim to pandemic layoffs. Very grateful to have been given the chance to say goodbye tonight. Please tune in at 5:30 or 6:30. xox
— Jamie Orchard (@secondactsis) August 20, 2020
Avery Haines has been named Host and Managing Editor of CTV’s W5 as the program returns to the network for its 55th season this fall. Haines has been with W5 since 2017 and claimed this year’s Canadian Screen Award for Best Host or Interviewer, News or Information for Mexican cartel investigation “The Narco Riviera.” Molly Thomas, who has been a host and national correspondent with CTV since 2018, also joins the show this season as Investigative Correspondent.
Dave Wheeler is returning to morning radio after being benched the last two years following controversial on-air remarks about transgender people as former host of 92 CITI FM’s Wheeler in the Morning. Evanov Radio Group’s Energy 106 (CHWE-FM) Winnipeg has announced that Wheeler is joining the station’s morning show, alongside existing morning host Tyler Carr and new co-host Jasmin Laine, starting Monday, Aug. 31. The CHR/Top 40 format is a departure for Wheeler, who had carved out an edgy on-air persona over the last decade during his time at Active Rock stations 106.1 The Goat (CKLM-FM) Lloydminster, and Power 97 (CJKR-FM) Winnipeg, in addition to Classic Rock-based 92 CITI. Read more here.
Sarah Nick has been released from her co-hosting role with the Energy 106 morning show. She posted an emotional thank you video to Facebook for her friends and fans on Thursday, saying she’s not certain what’s next but is staying optimistic. The NAIT Radio & TV grad had been with the station since 2016.
Lars Wunsche has been appointed Evanov Communications Inc.’s (ECI) new Executive Vice-President of Sales, effective Aug. 31. The move sees Wunsche’s radio journey come full circle. He made his start in radio in 1992 as a sales rep at Evanov’s Dance 108/Energy 108 (CING-FM) Burlington, hired at the time by station General Manager Bill Evanov. He went on to hold roles as Director of National Sales for Corus Radio, Director of Sales for Corus Radio Toronto and most recently Regional Director of Corus Radio, overseeing eight major markets and 18 radio stations. Wunsche will oversee all Evanov sales – national, local and digital – for all ECI properties across the country.
Leslie Stein and Scooter Shantz, heard in mornings on Stingray’s Z95.3 (CKZZ-FM) up until this past March, have joined the Pulse FM (CISF-FM) Surrey morning show. Their former producer Jaclyn Tatay also joins the station in afternoon drive. Leslie and Scooter take over from South Fraser Broadcasting program director Rudy Parachoniak, who stepped in as morning show host this past February.
Mike McCormack, former head of the Toronto Police Association, has joined Toronto’s Newstalk 1010 (CFRB-AM) as crime specialist, providing insight into crime and punishment issues. McCormack, who retired from his union role Aug. 1, comes from a family of police officers and has a colourful history with the media including an insubordination conviction for improperly accessing late Toronto Star reporter John Duncanson’s records in the police database.
John Knox is the new brand manager and afternoon host at Bell Media’s CJ104 (CJCJ-FM) Woodstock, NB. Knox returns to his hometown after several years in Alberta where he was most recently in radio at Rogers’ Fort McMurray stations as programming and promotions director of Country 93.3 (CJOK-FM) and 97.9 Rock (CKYX-FM).
Barry Davis, host of weekday afternoon show The Spin on Sauga 960 AM (CKNT-AM) Mississauga, has announced he’ll be moving into boat and ATV sales with Bass Pro Shops full-time. While The Spin wraps this week, he’ll be resuming his Toronto Blue Jays podcast, Out Of The Park, as well as reviving music podcast, Sessions, in September. Davis’ The Spin co-host Michelle Sturino has also announced she’s stepping away from sports broadcasting, due in part to limited opportunities for women in the field.
Big news to share on the next phase of my career! It’s not what many of you are expecting! pic.twitter.com/849ELOau4z
— Barry Davis (@BarryDavis_) August 24, 2020
Joel Bradley has been appointed Head of Production at Thunderbird Entertainment kids and family division, Atomic Cartoons. Bradley will be responsible for day-to-day operations and strategic management of Thunderbird’s animation studios in Vancouver, L.A., and Ottawa, managing a team of approximately 700 creative and production staff. Prior to his promotion, Bradley held various roles at Pixar Canada before joining Atomic as a supervising producer in 2013. Colin Beadle has also been named VP, Human Resources for all Thunderbird divisions. Beadle will oversee recruitment, onboarding, retention and training, for more than 1,000 crew members, in addition to his previous duties as Director of Human Resources for Atomic Cartoons. Both positions are based in Vancouver, reporting to CEO Jennifer Twiner McCarron.
Michelle Abbott has been named CFO at Boat Rocker Media. She’s been in the role on an interim basis since May 2019. Abbott succeeds Shannon Valliant who assumed the newly-created position in Nov. 2017.
Andrew Kaplan has been appointed by Liquid Media Group Ltd. to the board of Waterproof Studios Inc., in which Liquid holds a 49% interest. Kaplan, a mergers and acquisitions strategist, plans to lead a strategic review of the Vancouver studio to maximize capabilities and longterm value for Liquid shareholders. Waterproof specializes in computer-generated production, VFX and animation for the gaming industry, traditional film and TV studios, distributors, broadcasters and other streaming service providers, working on projects like Microsoft’s Gears of War and Warner Bros. Mortal Combat 11. Kaplan replaces Liquid President Charles Brezer on the Waterproof board.
Jessica Brinder is joining Genius Brands in the newly-created role of VP of International Distribution role. She’ll be based in Toronto and report to CEO and chair Andy Heyward. Brinder previously served as VP of Business Development at Kickstart Entertainment, and before that was Senior Sales Manager of Global Distribution at Nelvana.
Angela Heck has been promoted to the newly-created role of Managing Director of the Whistler Film Festival. Heck joined the organization last July as Director of Industry Programming. She’s the founder of Winnipeg-based production company Fringe Filmworks and is also a former National Screen Institute Director of Digital and Strategic Initiatives.
Eternity Martis has left Xtra Magazine after four years there as a journalist and senior editor. She’ll be continuing to freelance and will teach new Ryerson School of Journalism (RSJ) course Reporting Race: The Black Community in the Media this fall, that was added to the curriculum following a petition initiated by students. CBC Ottawa journalist David McKie and Sportsnet feature writer David Singh also join RSJ as new instructors.
Éric Gaulin has been appointed President and CEO of telecommunications network infrastructure provider, Telecon, as well as a member of the company’s Board of Directors. He’ll take up his new position Sept. 14. Gaulin was previously a member of Pomerleau’s executive management team and held the position of EVP for the Building Canada Division, overseeing all construction operations for Atlantic, Ontario and Western Canada.
Kerry Cokelekoglu is joining Momentum Media Marketing (Broadcast Dialogue’s publisher and parent company) as Director, Digital Marketing. Based in Vancouver, Cokelekoglu has previously worked with XGen, DFO Global Performance Commerce, and Make Noise Marketing. She’ll be responsible for creating and executing digital marketing and lead generation campaigns predominantly for the company’s line of services as well as client campaigns.
RADIO & PODCAST NEWS:
G98.7’s receivership has prompted a petition to keep the Toronto station Black-owned. So far, the petition has more than 3,300 signatures and numerous letters of political support from Ontario Premier Doug Ford and Toronto Mayor John Tory, among others. The only Black-owned station in the GTA, it predominantly serves the city’s Caribbean-African community. With Aug. 28 the deadline for final offers, receivers make a decision Sept. 11, pending CRTC approval. Those behind the petition, which include former employees and allies of the Black community, say they are concerned potential Black ownership groups may get outbid for the frequency by larger media organizations with deeper pockets.
Rosanna Deerchild will host a new CBC Books podcast based on graphic novel anthology, This Place, which explores 150 years of Canadian history through Indigenous stories. The former host of Unreserved on CBC Radio One, Deerchild will be joined by Indigenous creators David A. Robertson, Richard Van Camp, Katherena Vermette, and Brandon Mitchell. The podcast is set to debut in 2021.
Larry Gifford, Corus’ National Director of Talk Radio, will be hosting a monthly podcast for the Michael J. Fox Foundation. Diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease at 45, Gifford sits on the Foundation’s Patient Council, an advisory group of individuals living with Parkinson’s who guide and counsel MJFF’s programmatic strategy. He’s also host of Curiouscast podcast When Life Gives You Parkinson’s. Earlier this year, Gifford hosted a limited series podcast for the foundation on navigating the disease during COVID-19. He takes over from Patient Council member Dave Iverson, a broadcast journalist and producer for PBS and NPR, who launched the MJFF podcast more than 10 years ago. The first episode of the relaunched effort aired in July.
International Podcast Day has unveiled its lineup of programming set for Sept. 29-30. Featuring speakers from around the globe, among those announced so far are Danielle Desir of travel and finance podcast, The Thought Card, on how to organize a podcast tour; a look at podcasting in countries like Japan, Latin America and Zambia; as well as the 15th Annual People’s Choice Podcast Awards.
LISTEN: On the latest Broadcast Dialogue – The Podcast, Jeff Vidler of Signal Hill Insights and music and radio blogger Sean Ross of Ross on Radio discuss pandemic radio tuning on both sides of the border, explore the question ‘are middays the new mornings?’, and talk about Apple Music’s expanded live radio offerings and what that means for terrestrial and satellite radio, as well as the rest of the streaming landscape.
LISTEN: Tom Webster, Senior VP at Edison Research, is Matt Cundill’s guest on the latest Sound Off Podcast talking about the evolution of radio listening, podcasting, and everything else audio.
93.5 Moose FM (CFZN-FM) Haliburton, ON held its annual Radiothon for the Haliburton Highlands Health Services, Aug. 12-13. Morning Show host Rick Lowes manned the mic from 6 a.m. – 6 p.m. both days, raising $42,324.
The 14th annual Corus Caring Hearts Virtual Radiothon on Aug. 20 saw $120,119 raised for the Cornwall Hospital Foundation. Funds raised during the 13-hour broadcast on boom 101.9 (CJSS-FM) and 104.5 Fresh Radio (CFLG-FM) went towards protective equipment toward front line staff and patients. The virtual event included drive-thru donation locations in Cornwall, Lancaster, St. Andrews West and Ingleside.
FILM & TV:
SOCAN, on behalf of SODRAC members and clients, is finally able to collect for the reproduction of music on CBC television broadcasts. The Supreme Court of Canada has determined that “broadcast incidental copies” – or music embedded in audio-visual content made by broadcasters – has reproduction rights value, upholding a previous Copyright Board of Canada ruling ensuring associated royalties. After almost 10 years of litigation, CBC will have to pay rights holders $1.5-million for 2008-12 licenses, while a final amount for the period from 2012-18 has yet to be determined. SOCAN says now that a definitive value has been set, it will begin negotiations with additional Canadian broadcasters that require a license to use broadcast incidental copyright music. SOCAN had already reached television reproduction agreements with Québec-based broadcasters and several English-language Bell and Corus channels.
CBC and ACTRA have agreed to extend the current Radio and Television Agreements for a one-year period from July 1, 2020, to June 30, 2021. The extension includes an increase to minimum fees of 1.5% for Canadian performers. With the current CBC Radio and Television Agreements having expired June 30, 2020, the 1.5% increase to minimum fees will be retroactive to July 1, 2020.
Game Theory Films is establishing a new distribution fund, aligning major industry partners to make financial and in-kind contributions in support of Black, Indigenous and People of Colour feature filmmakers. Funding will be allocated on a quarterly basis by a committee made up of contributors to the initiative and members from those filmmaker communities with a goal of supporting eight projects in the first two years. The Toronto-based boutique feature film distributor will offer recoupable Minimum Guarantees, committing $100K for the Canadian distribution rights of feature films and also allocating an additional $100K in non-recoupable in-kind services for filmmakers. The MGs will be funded by Woods Entertainment, JoBro Productions, Comweb Foundation and William F. White. Canadian streamer Crave has come onboard as a partner to support the first title selected by the committee with a broadcast and SVOD license. William F. White will also contribute in-kind services along with VFX studio MARZ, URBAN POST, and Entertainment Partners who will provide accounting, scheduling and budgeting software and training as well as tax credit expertise. Pitch submissions will open Aug. 31 on the Game Theory Films website.
Telefilm Canada is supporting calls for the creation of a Black Screen Office and has committed to investing $100,000 annually. The pledge was made Monday during a meeting with filmmakers from the Black community who have called for the creation of a dedicated bureau. “Telefilm supports the formation of an institution to expand the reach of stories and works by Black filmmakers,” said Christa Dickenson, Executive Director, in a release. “The creation of a Black Screen Office will be a concrete step in helping address the imbalances that exist within Canada’s film industry and will work towards dismantling the systemic racism that exists.” In July, Telefilm released its Equity and Representation Action Plan, building on ongoing conversations with the industry.
Telefilm Canada has announced the 20 English-language feature films it will be supporting under the $7 million Production Program for English-language projects with budgets of $2.5 million and below. Fifty per cent of the projects selected are directed and written by women. Find the full list of funded films, here.
OUTtv has commissioned five new shows, including a pilot for Group Sext, a show filmed within the confines of lockdown through Zoom. The reality show, produced by GoButton Media and hosted by drag queen Crystal (RuPaul’s Drag Race UK), sees one Masterdater assess texts, videos and picture messages, whittling 10 sexters down to one for a video call. The entire show was cast, shot and edited during lockdown through a combination of mulit-level video conferencing, self-shooting and sext messaging. With Crystal hosting from the UK, the cast joined in from across Canada and the U.S., while production staff were in lockdown all over Ontario, and editing taking place across three different provinces. Additional series include Thom Fitzgerald’s Cam Boy (8 x 30’), a scripted series from Emotion Pictures; Cannonball (6 x 10 Digital Series), a comedy series produced by Kiss Off Entertainment and Corner Piece Creative that follows two private investigators as they take on wild and wacky cases; comedy series The Browns (3 x 30’), created and directed by John Mark, produced by Producers Entertainment Group and featuring RuPaul’s Drag Race alum Tammie Brown; and Knock Knock Ghost (6 x 60’), which returns to OUTtv for a third season.
Sportsnet’s second round 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs coverage is underway. Across the network’s streaming and television broadcasts, Chris Cuthbert and game analyst Louie DeBrusk deliver play-by-play commentary from Edmonton’s Rogers Place. From Toronto, Hockey Hall of Famer Jim Hughson and analyst Craig Simpson have the play-by-play call from Scotiabank Arena. From the Hockey Central Studio, hosts Ron MacLean and David Amber anchor pre-, intermission, and post-game commentary with Sportsnet’s NHL Insiders and analysts: Elliotte Friedman, Kelly Hrudey, Brian Burke, Cassie Campbell-Pascall, Kevin Bieksa and Anthony Stewart. Rinkside, reporters Kyle Bukauskas, Caroline Cameron, Shawn McKenzie and Christine Simpson share reporting duties in Toronto, while Scott Oake, Dan Murphy and Harnarayan Singh deliver updates from the Edmonton hub. In Punjabi, on OMNI Television, Singh, Randip Janda, Harpreet Pandher and Gurpreet Sian deliver select Vancouver Canucks and Saturday night games on Hockey Night in Canada: Punjabi Edition.
The Canadian Paralympic Committee (CPC) has launched its 10-episode Paralympic Super Series Rewind show. Streaming in English and French for 10 days – from Aug. 24 to Sept. 2 – the timeframe in which the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games were originally scheduled, Super Series Rewind showcases top medal performances from the summer Games held throughout the 2000s. Hosted by Benoit Huot, with guest hosts Stephanie Dixon in English and Philippe Gagnon in French, the series is available on the CPC Facebook page. English episodes will also be available via CBC Gem, cbcsports.ca and the CBC Sports App, while French episodes can be viewed on the Radio-Canada Sports Facebook page and radio-canada.ca/sports.
Corus specialty channels YTV, TELETOON, and Treehouse have revealed their fall schedules. New YTV programming includes Nelvana animated series Ollie’s Pack (Sept. 5), while live-action series Tyler Perry’s Young Dylan makes its debut on the network Sept. 11. On TELETOON, Yabba Dabba Dinosaurs premieres Sept. 5 with new episodes every weekend at 9 a.m. The Flintstones universe extension sees Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm explore the open wilderness outside of the Town of Bedrock known as The Crags. The Looney Tunes reboot debuts Oct. 11, echoing the high production value and process of the original Looney Tunes theatrical shorts. New programming on Treehouse includes animated series The Dog & Pony Show (Sept. 5), produced by redknot, a joint venture between Nelvana and Discovery Inc., and The Not-Too-Late Show with Elmo. The Sesame Street spin-off, airing new episodes Sundays at 6:30 p.m., sees Elmo host his own late-night talk show featuring guests like Jimmy Fallon, Kacey Musgraves, Jonas Brothers, Lil Nas X, and Blake Lively.
Discovery’s free fall preview kicks off Sept. 10, anchored by the Season 9 debut of Highway Thru Hell (Sept. 14). The freeview includes the series premieres of Street Outlaws: No Prep Kings (Sept. 17), All On The Line (Sept. 22), Dodgeball: Thunderdome (Sept. 23), and Mysteries of the Deep (Sept. 30); plus new seasons of Diesel Brothers (Sept. 17), and Texas Metal (Sept. 17). The freeview is available through Oct. 22 via participating television service providers, including but not limited to Bell, Bell Aliant, Bell MTS, Cogeco, Eastlink, SaskTel, and participating members of the CCSA.
ONLINE & DIGITAL MEDIA:
Amazon Prime Video has expanded its feature film offerings in Canada after closing a significant multi-year deal with Sony Pictures Entertainment for exclusive first window streaming rights to the studio’s recently released and upcoming theatrical movies. Following initial releases like Tom Hanks’ A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood; Jumanji: The Next Level; The Grudge; Bad Boys For Life; and Zombieland: Double Tap, Prime members will be able to enjoy free streaming access to Sony Pictures Entertainment films for just under two years. Titles are also available to rent or buy. Thanks to quarantine measures, Amazon Prime has been gaining on Netflix’s dominant lead in the streaming landscape. While Amazon doesn’t disclose information on how many subscribers it has in Canada, Kantar’s most recent Entertainment On Demand report found that Prime Video subscriptions accounted for 23% of SVOD subscriptions in Q2, up from 14% the previous quarter. It’s estimated Prime now has over 150 million subscribers worldwide. Netflix added 10 million subscribers in Q2 and now boasts more than 190 million global subscriptions. Read more here.
Encore+, the YouTube channel showcasing iconic Canadian content from seasons past, has reached the 100K subscriber milestone with 25 million views. Launched in Nov. 2017 in partnership with YouTube Canada and Canadian film and television producers, distributors, broadcasters, unions, guilds and industry associations, Encore+ features over 2,000 Canadian feature films, documentaries and television shows in English and French, including Mr. Dressup, teen drama Ready or Not, and episodes of Due South, Degrassi Junior High, Wayne & Shuster, and more.
CBC Gem’s September lineup includes the debut of short doc, Pandemic Elementary. The first CBC Creative Relief Fund project to be launched, it follows a B.C. family trying out a radical version of homeschooling in the midst of the pandemic. Feature documentary Wheeler’s Everest begins streaming Sept. 4, a journey with Jeff Wheeler, great-grandson of famous Canadian climber Oliver Wheeler, highlighting the man behind the discovery of the ‘doorway’ to Everest in 1921. Radio-Canada Original series, C’est Comme Ca Que Je T’aime (Happily Married) also makes its English-language world premiere, with weekly episodes available to stream, starting Sept. 16. Canadian feature films Room, Indian Horse, and Murmur round out new September releases to the platform.
The Canadian Association of Community Television Users and Stations (CACTUS) and the Fédération des télévisions communautaires autonomes du Québec has launched an online Community Media Portal featuring content produced by community TV stations from across the country. The site features programming in six languages, including Cree and Dene, and is searchable by topics like education, health, politics, and human rights, as well as region.
REGULATORY, TELECOM & MEDIA:
The Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB) has commissioned a newly-released report that predicts as many as 50 private radio stations could go dark over the next four to six months and another 100 to 150 in the next 18 months. The report, by Communications Management Inc., projects that over the next three years local television and radio broadcasters will face a collective revenue shortfall of $1.06 billion. In addition to as many as 2,000 job losses in radio, the number of private conventional television stations in Canada could shrink from 95 to just 50 to 60. The report says AM, independent, and stations in smaller markets are the most vulnerable. Citing the impact of foreign-owned, digital giants on advertising, the report says COVID-19 has compounded a slow erosion of broadcast revenues. The CAB filed an application in early July asking the CRTC for emergency regulatory relief for the broadcast year ending Aug. 31, 2020. Read more here.
Media Technology Monitor (MTM) has released its News in the Time of COVID report, looking at news consumption and the sources used by Canadians to stay informed. Key findings include: that news consumption increased with nearly 50% more Canadians reporting watching local TV news during the pandemic than they did in Fall 2019. There was also a 27% increase in the viewing of Canadian TV news specialty channels. MTM found that TV remains the primary source to stay informed with nearly half of online Canadians citing TV news as their primary source for news, more than two times that of news websites and apps. 81% of those surveyed primarily use a traditional broadcaster (TV, online or radio) such as CBC, CTV, or Global News for pandemic updates. Social media is the second most cited source for COVID-19 updates with nearly a quarter of online Canadians getting news from sites like Facebook, Twitter, or Reddit.
Rise, which advocates for gender diversity within the broadcast technology sector, has called for entries for its annual Rise Awards. Submissions and nominations are encouraged from across the global broadcast industry to showcase talent whether in a manufacturer, service provider, engineer or broadcaster role. Nominations close Sept. 21 with winners to be announced in November. Rise is seeking nominations across the following categories:
- Engineer – This award recognizes a high achiever, problem solver and team player who represents the very best of the broadcasting profession. (Sponsored by OWNZONES)
- Product Innovation – This award will recognize the importance of revolution and invention for the Broadcasting sector today, and for the future fulfilling either a product development and/or product management role. (Sponsored by Clear-Com)
- Woman of the Year – This award is open to any inspiring and extraordinary woman across the sector, at any level, for making a significant difference in her field or to the industry. (Sponsored by Zixi)
- Rising Star – This award will recognize those that can demonstrate exceptional and ongoing achievements that have made a significant contribution to their business (must have worked in the industry for less than four years). (Sponsored by Editshare)
- Business – This award is open to any woman in the following roles – CEO, Managing Director, COO, Owner and anyone whose role means that they are running a business in the broadcast industry (either manufacturer, broadcaster or service provider).
- Sales – This award is open to any woman in a sales role in the broadcast industry working for either a manufacturer, service provider, broadcaster, media publisher, or tradeshow
- Marketing – This award is open to any woman working in a marketing role in the industry either in-house, or for an agency/freelance, who has excelled in their role
- Technical Operations – This award is for a technical operations team member who has gone above and beyond the requirements of their day-to-day role to make a difference. (Sponsored by Ross Video)
BROADCAST TECH & ENGINEERING:
Dell Technologies is helping Vancouver Film School (VFS) transition to remote learning for 1,500 students. VFS was in the process of deploying hundreds of Dell Precision 5820 workstations and displays for its on-campus teaching labs when it had to quickly pivot to a remote learning environment. The VFS IT department’s primary obstacle was how to offer students access to the latest technology to create content in 6k, 4k and AR/VR. VFS deployed 900 Dell Precision workstations with NVIDIA Quadro RTX 5000 GPUs in their labs in a week and a half. By week two, it had combined the workstations with Teradici PCoIP remote protocol solutions, giving most students remote access to their workstations and virtual access to the curriculum. Loaner PCs and monitors were shipped to students who lacked the technology to complete their coursework from home. VFS students can now use creative applications like Maxon Redshift, Autodesk Arnold, Unreal Engine, Unity and Avid Media Composer from home. Combined with NVIDIA Quadro RTX 5000 GPUs that provide accelerated ray tracing and AI, the Precision 5820 workstations cut render times by 60% and have allowed students to easily apply special effects techniques.
Matrix has announced its Media Ad Sales Summit Candid Conversation Series, a spin-off of its annual Matrix Media Ad Sales Summit. The Summit brings together media industry executives to discuss and advance how media advertising is bought and sold. In lieu of an in-person event this coming January, the company has decided to shift the content and discussions that would have been presented to a virtual platform, making each topic available in a monthly webinar that kicks off Sept. 22 at 2 p.m. ET. Each monthly conversation will be 30-40 minutes, with the opening “Addressable Advertising,” to be moderated by Matrix CRO Brenda Hetrick with panelists Kim Kelleher (President, Advertising Sales & Partnerships, AMC Networks), Gina Mingioni (SVP Strategy & Operations, Comcast), and Kelly Abcarian (General Manager, Nielsen Advanced Video Advertising Group). Learn more, here.
TVU Networks has added an audio mixing panel as a feature to its cloud-based TVU Producer multi-camera, cloud production solution. TVU Producer allows video producers to remotely produce multi-camera live events with zero latency, even when using smartphones as production cameras. Its Audio Mixer Panel feature adds audio mixing capabilities allowing operators to have full control of all audio signals from their home. With TVU’s patented time synchronization technology, the solution provides zero latency execution of production commands, as well as audio/video synchronization, while crews operate remotely and safely from their own locations. TVU Producer can accept any standard IP video sources (HTTP, HLS, RTMP, RTP, RTSP, UDP, etc.), as well SDI signal via any IP encoder, or TVU transmitter. It can use any mobile device as a camera via the TVU Anywhere app. Integrated within TVU Producer is TVU Partyline, which enables production personnel, talent and tools to collaborate remotely in real time as though they were in the same physical location while producing live and pre-recorded programming.
Dielectric’s latest case study dives into an eight-station Master FM installation in Lima, Peru, undertaken in 2018, and the unique design that came out of the challenges presented without any of the stations in the chain suffering traditional loss and group delay characteristics. Read more here.
IP Oktoberfest 2020 has issued a call for presentations. Running Sept. 29–Oct. 1, the virtual event will highlight progress made toward an all-IP ecosystem that supports today’s real-world media productions. Live presentations throughout the event will demonstrate how the SMPTE ST 2110 suite of standards and the AMWA NMOS technology stack are improving media workflows for large and small deployments. The newly-proposed IPMX set of open standards and specifications will also be a featured topic. The call for presentations is open to end users, industry associations, solutions providers, and technology developers. All submissions should support the AIMS roadmap. The deadline for proposals is Aug. 31.
