REVOLVING DOOR:
Sonia Verma has returned to Canada from the Middle East to assume the newly-created role of Editor-in-Chief for Global News. Verma has spent more than a dozen years working and living overseas, mainly in conflict and in humanitarian crises zones. As of Sept. 21, she’ll oversee Global News’ online platform, globalnews.ca. In addition to her work as a lead producer for Al Jazeera World, Verma most recently served as a Deputy Humanitarian Representative in the Middle East and North Africa for Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF). Verma has also worked with The Globe and Mail as a Global Affairs Writer, making history in 2013 as the youngest and first woman member of the Editorial Board in The Globe’s 173-year history.
Laverne Siemens, VP of Engineering at Golden West Broadcasting, is beginning his transition toward retirement, and stepped into the role of Senior Broadcast Technologist. Originally from Saskatchewan, he joined the company as a Junior Technician after graduating from SAIT in 1979. In addition to leading the development and growth of Golden West’s broadcast system across the Prairies, he played a key role in the launch of consulting company, Golden West Sound Design. Alongside his transition, Golden West has named Corney Unger as Director of Technical Operations and Tom Wiebe as Director of Technical Projects. Unger started with Golden West in 1995 and developed a strong department as IT Coordinator, while Wiebe has worked on every Golden West site over the last 21 years and been the driving force behind many large projects and station builds.
My Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) has promoted Rob Mise to VP, Content & Regional Market Manager, while Marg McNab-Tubman has been appointed VP, HR & Administration. Mise, who has been with MBC since 2010, previously held the title of Regional Manager for Peterborough, Cobourg, and Orangeville, a role he’ll be retaining. McNab-Tubman was formerly the company’s Administration Director for the past 15 years.
Rosey Edeh is joining CTV Morning Live Ottawa as a co-anchor, starting Sept. 14. Edeh began her career with CTV Montreal as a sports reporter, before moving to the U.S. to work with CNN’s American Morning and later MSNBC’s Early Today in various roles. Most recently, Edeh worked in both Toronto and Montreal for Global News and ET CANADA.
Paul Karwatsky has resigned from CTV Montreal. Karwatsky had been with the station since 2005, starting out as a reporter right out of Concordia University. He joined Mutsumi Takahashi as 6 p.m. co-anchor in 2012 and eventually became the anchor of the weekday 5 p.m. and late night newscasts. According to a statement on the CTV Montreal website, Karwatsky has his sights set on working in autism awareness, an issue close to his family.
Falen Johnson is the new host of CBC Radio’s Unreserved. Johnson is co-host of CBC Podcast, The Secret Life of Canada, as well as a playwright. She was named one of Maclean’s 20 people to watch in 2020. She succeeds Rosanna Deerchild in the host’s chair, who after seven seasons, has moved on to host a forthcoming podcast for CBC Books.
Jamil Jivani is hosting a new evening talk show for Newstalk 1010 (CFRB-AM) Toronto. Airing weeknights from 10 – 11 p.m. ET, Tonight with Jamil Jivani will focus on the latest news and current events, spanning politics, social change, and other topics. Born and raised in the Toronto area, Jivani is a Yale Law graduate, advocate for Canadians from underrepresented communities, and a special advisor to the Ontario Premier. The show will also be carried on 580 CFRA Ottawa, Newstalk 610 CKTB St. Catherine’s, and AM800 CKLW Windsor.
Henry Przybyszewski will be retiring Sept. 30 from CHEX-TV Peterborough. Przybyszewski has been with the station’s engineering department since 1976.
Adam MacVicar has a new role with Global Calgary as a city hall reporter. MacVicar has been with the station the last two years as a digital journalist. He was previously a VJ with Global Saskatoon.
Josh Pagé is the new senior producer on CBC Radio Calgary morning show Eyeopener. He was most recently producer of CBC’s B.C. Interior afternoon drive show Radio West and a mobile journalist, based in Kelowna.
John Biggs is the new afternoon drive show host at Jewel 92 (CKPC-FM) Brantford. In addition to hosting weekdays from 3 – 7 p.m., he’ll be heard Saturdays from 1 – 3 p.m. on Jewel 105 (CKHY-FM) Halifax. Biggs has had a more than 30-year radio career with stops at London’s Country 107.3 (CJDL-FM), Easy 101.3 (CKOT-FM) Tillsonburg, and C100 (CIOO-FM) and CJCH Halifax, among other stations.
The Facebook Journalism Project and The Canadian Press (CP) have announced the eight journalists selected for the Facebook-Canadian Press News Fellowship, a one-year, $1 million program supporting journalists covering pressing issues in communities across Canada. They include: Emma Tranter (Iqaluit), who will be CP’s first full-time correspondent in the North in 35 years; Danielle Edwards (Halifax), who has previously written for the Globe and Mail, National Post and Investing News Network, and interned with CP in its Ottawa bureau; Jacob Serebrin (Montreal), a freelancer for The Globe and Mail’s Report On Business, Toronto Star and Ottawa Business Journal; Jessica Beauplat (Montreal), who has written for Agence Science-Presse, HuffPost Québec and Voir, in addition to hosting and producing two series for Bell Media, Eyes of the City and L’Ascension TV; Denise Paglinawan (Toronto), who most recently worked for Reuters in Toronto; Maan Alhmidi (Ottawa), who has worked at the Winnipeg Free Press, Globe and Mail and Halifax Chronicle Herald; Fakiha Baig (Edmonton), who has worked with CBC in both Edmonton and Toronto, as well as the radio room program at the Toronto Star; and Brenna Owen (Vancouver), who has been with CP part-time since last fall and worked for the CBC, Globe and Mail and National Observer.
Grace Chin is the new Interim Managing Director of Women in Film and Television Vancouver (WIFT-V). Chin has more than 20 years of experience in the Vancouver arts and non-profit sector, including nine years with the Vancouver Asian Film Festival. She replaces WIFT-V Executive Director Carolyn Combs, who recently departed after eight years to relocate to Toronto to be closer to family.
RADIO & PODCAST:
Play 92 debuted at noon Friday on Harvard Broadcasting’s CHMX-FM Regina. An extension of the company’s ’90s and 2000s Classic Hits format, which launched on CJNW-FM Edmonton in Aug. 2019 (and later rebranded to Play 107 last December), the new format replaces My 92.1 and the Adult Contemporary playlist the station had broadcast for the last nine years. Andy Ross, program director for Harvard’s Regina stations, told Broadcast Dialogue that with a station in the market already playing current hits and another focused on Classic Hits from the 1970s and ’80s, that left an opening to introduce the Play format. Play 92’s on-air lineup includes Mark Johnston in mornings, Jessica Frost in middays, DEVO in afternoon drive, and Gary James on weekends, as well as Harvard personality Shirley McQueen. Read more here.
Rogers Sports & Media debuted a refreshed KiSS 102.3 (CKY-FM) on Tuesday, tweaking the station’s playlist, introducing a new evening show, and announcing that Roz & Mocha from Toronto sister station KiSS 92.5 (CKIS-FM) will now be heard in mornings. Rogers says KiSS 102.3 is evolving to a more contemporary format featuring current artists like Harry Styles, Jonas Brothers, Taylor Swift, and Dua Lipa, in addition to hits from the past 20 years from Beyonce, Black Eyed Peas, Justin Timberlake, Pink, and others. The Roz & Mocha Show will air weekday mornings, while former morning show co-hosts Karly Troschuk and Drew Kozub will be heard in middays and afternoons, respectively. Both of those dayparts were previously voice tracked by other Rogers Sports & Media talent. KiSS 102.3 also adds Sarah Nick to its lineup, who will host evening show “Nick At Night,” from 9 p.m. to midnight. Nick was released just weeks ago by Evanov Radio Group’s Energy 106 (CHWE-FM) to make way for Dave Wheeler’s return to morning radio. Read more here.
Jim Pattison Broadcast Group has launched 101.5 FM Beach Radio (CHQX-FM) in Prince Albert, SK. The classic hits format replaces rocker XFM, the brand the station had carried since late 2016. Pattison also has Beach Radio-branded stations in Melfort, Kelowna, and Vernon.
Frequency Podcast Network has unveiled its fall slate that features seven new titles, including forthcoming podcasts from Fashion Television icon Jeanne Beker, a climate change collaboration with The Narwhal, and a first person account of one man’s 1982 escape from Iran. The new series bring the number of podcasts under the Rogers Sports & Media podcast banner to 26, joining returning shows Black Tea, #CitylineReal on Race, Heaven Bent, and The Gravy Train, among others. Read more about the lineup, here.
Jeff Vidler of Signal Hill Insights explores the question Could Apple Show Broadcasters The Way For Live Radio? in his latest blog post. As Vidler writes, Apple’s latest foray into audio “is a doubling down on the old school notion of human-hosted, human-curated radio.” Read more here.
The SOCAN Foundation has announced the launch of the Black Canadian Music Awards, in partnership with SiriusXM Canada. The awards will recognize and celebrate Black music creators (songwriters, composers, producers, etc.) in all genres. The inaugural awards will be presented virtually in 2020 with winners to be selected by a jury of prominent Black artists and industry leaders, including DJ Agile as the inaugural jury chair. Five winners will be selected to each receive a $5,000 award. Applications are open until Oct. 15. More info here.
Indie Week Canada’s 18th edition is moving to a five-day online conference, Nov. 10-14. Attendees will be able to directly connect with delegates and other industry professionals through various events and sessions. Partners and delegates will have the opportunity to directly contact artists and other industry representatives to facilitate their own private one-on-one meetings. Every Tuesday leading up to the conference, Indie Week will also host free online series, Indie Weekly, focused on current issues in the music industry. More info here.
LISTEN: With Toronto’s G98.7 (CKFG-FM) now in receivership and the licence up for grabs, a group of Black voices from Canadian radio, the music industry, and others are appealing to the CRTC to keep the station Black-owned. On this episode of Broadcast Dialogue – The Podcast, we’re joined by Aubrey Clarke, Nova Nicole, Ian Andre Espinet and Alicia West to talk about Keeping the Black Voice on Canadian Radio.
Momentum Media Networks has introduced Momentum Music Logs, a new service offering that encompasses clock building, sound code strategy, universe optimization, and log scheduling. The team behind Momentum Music Logs includes major market programmers who will work with clients, whether they’re single stations, networked formats or larger groups. Contact [email protected] for details.
SIGN OFFS:
Rick Ouston, 64, on Aug. 31. Ouston started his journalism career with The Vancouver Sun after graduating from Langara College. One of the highlights of his career was bringing four Nazi war criminals to justice through his investigative reporting, covering the cases right through to their war crimes trials in Europe. Ouston later taught journalism at Langara College, and worked as a reporter and assignment editor with CBC and Global TV. He eventually returned to the Sun as a convergence editor. He also authored two books, Finding Family, which documented his search for the mother who left him in an orphanage at birth, and Getting the Goods, a journalism handbook on navigating B.C.’s information systems.
Linda Moore, 66, on July 29. Originally from Regina, Moore initially pursued teaching after graduating from the University of Alberta in 1975. She returned to Regina in 1979 to be closer to family, starting her television production career there with CKCK-TV. She went on to a three-decade career in television, joining CBC Sports, working in both Calgary and Toronto, as a television sports producer. The job afforded her the opportunity to travel the world covering multiple Olympic, Commonwealth, and Pan-Am Games; World Cup Skiing; Formula 1; in addition to the NHL and NBA, among other events.
TV & FILM:
The Directors Guild of Canada (DGC) has announced the 2020 DGC Awards nominations for Television Series, Movies for Television and Mini Series. CTV’s Cardinal leads the nominations with five, including an Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Movies For Television and Mini-Series nod for Nathan Morlando. CBC Gem Original comedy series, Hey Lady!, which stars Jayne Eastwood as a 75-year-old woman who refuses to let herself be put out to pasture, earned four nominations. Netflix supernatural horror series Locke & Key has three nominations. Find the full list of nominees, here.
The Indigenous Screen Office (ISO) has announced its latest round of funding, which will be delivered through two distinct programs serving both Indigenous creators and providing solidarity support for Black creators and People of Colour. The Indigenous Development Grants Program will provide funding for project and professional development for both Indigenous individuals and majority Indigenous-owned companies. The Solidarity Fund will provide development grants for racialized screen creators, including both individuals and companies, with a priority on reaching Black creators. The program was developed in partnership with the Racial Equity Media Collective (REMC) and BIPOC TV & Film.
Rodeo FX has acquired Montreal creative studio BLVD-MTL. BLVD-MTL, which has 50+ employees, delivering mixing, sound design, and content, will join the Rodeo FX group of creative services. That includes its Advertising and Live Action divisions and high-end photography studio, Rodeo Production. Rodeo FX, BLVD-MTL and Rodeo Production will consolidate all of their advertising, content and experiential activities, with a plan to promote its top-tier creative and technological expertise internationally. Recently-nominated for several Emmy Awards, Rodeo FX now has more than 650 employees and contributes to series and films from top Hollywood studios, while its boutique studio, Alchemy24, focuses on Quebec-based films and projects.
Heartland began filming its fourteenth season in Alberta this week. Produced by Dynamo Films and SEVEN24 Films, Season 14 will premiere in Winter 2021 on CBC and CBC Gem. Filming locations for this season include Calgary, High River, Millarville, and Longview, AB.
Thunderbird Entertainment Group has announced the start of production on the upcoming season of CBC comedy Kim’s Convenience in Toronto. The fifth season is set to premiere on CBC-TV and CBC Gem in Winter 2021. As previously announced, CBC has also renewed the series for a sixth season.
CBC and NBCUniversal International Studios have announced additional casting for Lady Dicks (10×60, drama, Cameron Pictures), starring Meredith MacNeill (Baroness von Sketch Show) and Adrienne C. Moore (Orange Is The New Black). The irreverent buddy-cop series, featuring two radically different female detectives in their early 40s, is currently shooting in Ontario. Joining the cast are Tara Strong (Teen Titans), Karen Robinson (Schitt’s Creek), Dean McDermott (Slasher), Al Mukadam (Miss Sloane), Percy Hynes White (The Gifted), Katie Douglas (Mary Kills People), and Ronnie Rowe (Star Trek: Discovery).
Dawn, Her Dad & the Tractor, the first Telefilm-funded feature film to shoot in Nova Scotia since COVID-19 paused the industry, has wrapped after 18 days of shooting in Windsor, Halifax, Chester, and Antigonish. Written and directed by Shelley Thompson, the film is about a trans woman returning home to her small town and reuniting with her estranged father, played by Trailer Park Boys’ alum Robb Wells. Dawn, Her Dad & the Tractor will stream on Crave in 2021.
Sportsnet has acquired exclusive national broadcast rights to the Barclay’s FA Women’s Super League (FA WSL) – the highest league of women’s football in England. Sportsnet will broadcast 50 regular season games, plus the semifinals and finals of the Women’s FA Cup. Several fixtures will be available live each week on SN NOW, with select games also airing on Sportsnet’s TV channels. Comprised of 12 teams, the FA WSL is entering its 10th season, with Chelsea currently holding the league trophy. The broadcast schedule will be updated weekly at sportsnet.ca.
Bell Media is the exclusive television broadcast partner of the NFL, airing across TSN, CTV, CTV2, RDS and TSN Radio this fall. Extensive multi-platform coverage of the 2020 NFL season kicks off with pre-game action Thursday, Sept. 10 at 7 p.m. ET on TSN and CTV2 as Deshaun Watson and the Houston Texans take on Patrick Mahomes and the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs. Throughout the rest of the 2020 season, Thursday Night Football matchups air on TSN and CTV2, with select matchups on CTV in October, in addition to Sunday Night Football on TSN and CTV2, and Monday Night Football on TSN, among other offerings.
CTV has announced its initial list of fall premiere dates that includes the network’s acquisition of the reboot of rapid-fire quiz show Weakest Link, hosted and executive produced by actress Jane Lynch. Airing Mondays at 10 p.m. ET/PT on CTV, beginning Sept. 28, Weakest Link joins new seasons of The Masked Singer (Sept. 13) and JANN (Sept. 21), among other returning shows. JANN’s second season has been extended from six to eight half-hour episodes and features cameos from guest stars like Sarah McLachlan and k.d. Lang, among others.
Global has announced the slate of TV series joining its fall primetime schedule including seven newly-licensed series and 15.5 hours of simulcast. Along with new daytime show The Drew Barrymore Show (Sept. 14), the network adds scripted true crime series Manhunt: Deadly Games (Sept. 21) and comedy One Day at A Time(Oct. 12). In addition, new reality series hosted and executive-produced by comedian and actor Ken Jeong, I Can See Your Voice (Sept. 23), and The Greatest #AtHome Videos (Sept. 25), hosted by The Neighborhood’s Cedric the Entertainer, join the schedule, along with documentary series The FBI Declassified (Oct. 13), and 48 Hours: Suspicion (Sept. 9).
WildBrain Television’s Family Channel fall primetime lineup includes the Canadian premiere of Get Out of My Room, a new, creative reality series featuring siblings who share a bedroom and now get to design and renovate each other’s new spaces; God Friended Me, starring Brandon Michael Hall as an outspoken atheist whose life is turned upside down after he receives a social media friend request from “God”; and Ultimate Tag, hosted by NFL stars JJ, Derek and TJ Watt, pitting amateur athletes against pro Taggers in a high-speed, high-intensity game of arena tag.
TVO turns 50 on Sept. 27. This year marks the 15th season of The Agenda with Steve Paikin, which returned Sept. 8. TVO Original The Life-Sized City also returns for a third season, following urban design expert Mikael Colville-Andersen as he meets citizens driving urban renewal that puts people first. Among the cities featured this season are Hamilton, Barcelona, New Orleans, and Buenos Aires.
Telefilm is accepting entries from Canadian production and distribution companies interested in joining the Virtual Canada Pavilion for the MIPCOM ONLINE + 2020. This year, MIPCOM is offering a hybrid event: MIPCOM RENDEZVOUS CANNES, in which both MIPCOM and MIPJUNIOR will take place physically in Cannes (France) from Oct. 12-14, and MIPCOM Online+, a digital experience taking place in three phases (Warm-up, MIPCOM Week, Follow up +) from Oct. 5 to Nov. 17. Those who register by Sept. 14 will be able to take advantage of the early bird umbrella rate of 250 euros/participant.
BANFF Virtual Edition industry sessions and master classes are now available free of charge On Demand. New content includes Mrs. America and Avenue 5 master classes, as well as a panel discussing how data is influencing creative, marketing and audience behaviour. Featuring over 25 industry panels and master classes, those not yet registered can sign up free, here.
Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF) has announced programming for its 39th edition, showcasing more than 100 feature films and events. The 14-day online-primary festival is available throughout B.C. on the new VIFF Connect streaming platform. It will also feature a select number of in-cinema presentations, including the opening film and world premiere of Loretta Sarah Todd’s Monkey Beach. Starting Sept. 24, a $60 all-access subscription will bring VIFF programming into B.C. homes that will be geo-blocked to the province. Other signature programming, including VIFF Talks, VIFF AMP, Totally Indie Day and VIFF Immersed, will be available across Canada and internationally. Find more, here.
The Canadian Film Centre (CFC) and Netflix have announced the creators and TV series selected for the inaugural TV series portion of the CFC/Netflix Project Development Accelerator. They include: Alter Boys, a half-hour drama from Winnipeg-based creator/writer Jonathan Lawrence and producer Ryan Wilson Cooper; half-hour comedy/drama #RELATIONSHIPGOALS from creators/writers Jennifer Holness (Shoot the Messenger) and Sudz Sutherland (Love, Sex and Eating the Bones). Serialized, sci-fi action/drama The Ageless from screenwriter Faisal Lutchmedial; and hour-long comedy/drama girl from Toronto writer/director Pat Mills.
ONLINE & DIGITAL MEDIA:
Christopher Curtis has left Postmedia and the Montreal Gazette to launch a new crowd-funded journalism project called The Rover with Ricochet Media. Curtis is promising to tell the stories “the government doesn’t want covered” including holding Quebec Premier Francois Legault accountable on policies that make it harder for immigrants to become citizens. His work will be available on the Ricochet website, in addition to a subscription newsletter. Curtis will initially be splitting his time between Montreal and Val d’Or where he’ll be looking into allegations of police misconduct and racism against Indigenous women in the area. Former MP Romeo Saganash and Canadian Association of Journalists (CAJ) Past President Karyn Pugliese will be advisors on the project.
Big news: Award-winning journalist Christopher Curtis has quit his job with Postmedia to launch a groundbreaking new journalism project with Ricochet. Read his op-ed on why he left The Gazette, and the kind of journalism he wants to do now. https://t.co/4vidBxPBtQ #cdnpoli #polqc pic.twitter.com/Mi3Kv2hBJV
— Ricochet (@ricochet_en) September 8, 2020
so.da has announced its seventh Twitter Original branded content series #ShopSmallStories with American Express Canada in support of their Shop Small program. Produced in-house by so.da, the campaign is inspired by the movement to support local Canadian-owned business. In each episode, Canadians see how small business owners run their shops, and learn how they serve their communities with resilience and hard work. The first two episodes of the four-part series are available now on @AmexCanada’s Twitter handle and the Global TV App.
REGULATORY, TELECOM & MEDIA:
The Canadian Association of Journalists (CAJ) and Canadian Journalists for Free Expression (CJFE) are condemning a decision by Ontario Provincial Police to lay charges against award-winning Indigenous journalist, Karl Dockstader. Dockstader, the co-recipient of the 2020 CJF-CBC Indigenous Journalism Fellowship, was arrested and charged with mischief and failure to comply with a court order on Sept. 2 while covering a land dispute between members of Six Nations, the band council, and a development company, on land known as the Haldimand Tract. The arrest bans him from the site under threat of more charges. The arrest marks the third time in recent years police have attempted to lay charges against journalists for covering land conflicts between Indigenous people and the Crown. Dockstader has been reporting on the dispute most of the summer, filing reports for Canadaland, as well as the podcast he co-hosts, One Dish, One Mic, which airs on Newstalk 610 CKTB St. Catharines.
Rogers Communications has reaffirmed its commitment to expand and grow its presence in Quebec, following its failed proposal to acquire Cogeco’s Canadian assets. Rogers says upon successful completion of a Cogeco transaction, it would ensure that Cogeco’s headquarters and management team remain in the province, including the operations of the company’s Quebec-based media assets. Rogers says it would follow a similar approach after the purchase of Fido 16 years ago, with the brand headquartered in the recently renovated downtown Montreal headquarters at Place Bonaventure after a $42M investment in new offices. Following rejection of the unsolicited takeover bid by both the Audet family, who hold a controlling interest in Cogeco and its board of directors, Altice USA and Rogers said they “remain committed to pursuing this transaction and are open to engaging with shareholders and the boards in a constructive dialogue.”
Rogers Communications has purchased family-owned rural broadband provider Cable Cable in Fenelon Falls, ON. Established in 1983, the company provides internet, TV and home phone service to about 6,000 homes and businesses in the Kawartha Lakes Region.
The CRTC has released a report that finds that the vast majority of participating Canadian Internet service providers (ISPs) have met or exceeded the maximum download and upload speeds they advertise. Participation by ISPs in the current study was voluntary and included Bell Aliant, Bell Canada, Bell MTS, Cogeco, Northwestel, Rogers, Shaw, TELUS and Vidéotron. The data was collected from Oct. 1 to Oct. 31, 2019.
The CRTC has issued a call for comments on how to best deal with low-motion programming. Specifically, the commission seeks to determine whether it should amend the existing exemption order relating to still image services to include low-motion programming and the services offering such programming. The deadline for receipt of interventions is Oct. 5.
The CRTC is proposing new deadlines to launch next-generation 911 services, including text messaging. Following the suspension of next-generation 9-1-1 (NG9-1-1)-related deadlines in April due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the commission is initiating a proceeding to establish what those deadlines should be. The deadline for submission of interventions is Oct. 19.
TELUS CEO Darren Entwistle has been named the Gold Winner of the CEO Achiever – Champion of the Year Award in the Eighth Annual 2020 CEO World Awards. The award recognizes Entwistle’s leadership in leveraging TELUS technology and social purpose to support Canadians and the most vulnerable during the COVID-19 pandemic. Entwistle donated his salary for the second quarter of 2020 to fund initiatives aiding the fight against COVID-19, with the Entwistle Family Foundation, matching that donation. Since March, TELUS has committed $150 million in support during the pandemic, including $20 million to purchase medical technology and equipment, as well as food security, outreach to isolated seniors, virtual education programs and mental health initiatives.
FEATURE: Eric Blais’ latest Rethinking Media column explores how unpacking social systems can help your sales process. He poses questions like how well do you know your audience beyond simple demographics? How well do you know your advertisers’ business objectives, styles, challenges and aspirations? And how, when and where does your audience communicate? Read more here.
BROADCAST TECH & ENGINEERING:
NAB Show 2021 has been rescheduled to Oct. 9-13 next year. Originally slated for April 11–14 in Las Vegas, CEO Gordon Smith said in a statement that with continued uncertainty over what the next six months will bring, it appears it will be well into next year before the pandemic is under control in the U.S. “We also have our own concerns around being able to deliver the type of event in April that will not only drive results, but one that can be produced safely for all involved and without significant limitations on the experience,” continued Smith. He added that moving NAB Show to October means alternate 2021 dates are being considered for NAB Show New York, held annually in October. The 2021 Radio Show will co-locate with NAB Show in Las Vegas, as will NAB’s Sales and Management Television Exchange, with the opportunity to add additional partner events.
Dave Charles of Media Results International (MRI) is offering an affordable way for broadcasters to safely work from home during the COVID-19 pandemic. Along with IT/Engineering partner Glenn Prins, they’ve launched MRI Home Studio, offering tech support and setup for stations looking for consistent, high-quality, remote solutions. Read more here.
GB Labs, which offers intelligent storage solutions for the media and entertainment industries, has announced that Side Street Post & VFX Vancouver, supported by GDS Communications, has chosen GB Labs’ SPACE SSD NAS shared storage system to drive Side Street’s DaVinci Resolve Studio systems. With its massive disc performance of 12GB/s, it now enables all of Side Street’s DaVinci Resolve Studio workstations to simultaneously playback 4K DPX streams at full resolution, with no network slow-down or dropped frames. With Vancouver a major market for episodic television and feature film production – a lot of it captured in 4K, 6K or 8K – the grading process requires a very high data rate. A major differentiator with all GB Labs storage systems is that they do not require the user to replace or dispose of their existing storage. Like many other GB Labs users, Side Street was able to make use of its existing SAN by incorporating GB Labs ECHO Bridge as a way of accessing SAN data, or moving files to it for near-line storage.
