REVOLVING DOOR:

Evanov Halifax has made layoffs following a rebrand of its alt-rock station and a subsequent poor fall ratings performance. Casualties included Rock 105.1 (CKHY-FM) morning man Scotty Mars, who had been with the show since 2016; his co-host Ferne Wynnyck, who had been with the station for the past nine months; General Sales Manager Ted Hyland, who just joined Evanov in June; and creative writer Darryl Osborne, who had been with the radio group since 2013.

Ken Singer, Fabmar Communications VP of Broadcast Operations, has retired after five decades in broadcasting. Singer started his broadcast career in 1967 in Saskatoon and has held roles on-air and in sales, in addition to upper management over the years. Singer most recently oversaw the sale of Fabmar’s four radio stations (CJVR-FM and CK750 Melfort, SK, CIXM-FM Whitecourt, AB and CHWK-FM Chilliwack, BC) to the Jim Pattison Broadcast Group.

Peter Hadzipetros, web producer at Global News Toronto, is retiring. Hadzipetros had been with Global since 2011. He was previously with CBC for 29 years, as both a producer and online producer.

Marie-Hélène Labrie is the new senior vice-president of Public Affairs and Communications at Cogeco Inc. Prior to joining Cogeco, she was at Montreal-based cleantech company Enerkem for the last decade, most recently as SVP, Government Affairs and Communications.

Paul Temple is retiring from Pelmorex Weather Networks as senior vice-president of Regulatory and Strategic Affairs after 41 years in the industry. Temple has been with Pelmorex since 1998 and was part of efforts to establish Canada’s public alert system while with the company. Prior to Pelmorex, Temple held various management positions at Rogers Cablesystems over a 21-year-period.  

Jenna Marotta is the new manager of written communications and film publicity at Netflix, based in Los Angeles. Marotta was previously a contributing writer for Backstage and The Hollywood Reporter, among other publications.

Peter Goffin has joined BBC London as an associate producer and reporter. Goffin was previously with The Canadian Press in Toronto and has been a staff reporter with the Toronto Star.

Nathalie Bastien has been elected as the Canada Media Guild’s (CMG) new National Director for Francophone issues. Bastien has been with Radio-Canada’s Ottawa bureau as a producer and news reader since 1988.

Meredith Geddes has joined 102.1 The Edge (CFNY-FM) Toronto full-time as part of the Kolter (Bouchard) & Meredith Show. Geddes had been voice-tracking some dayparts on The Edge and FM96 (CFPL-FM) London, in addition to hosting on CFOX-FM Vancouver. Corus Toronto FM PD Tammy Cole says Geddes presence on other stations in the network is still TBD.

Corus Entertainment has appointed Bruce Shepherd to the newly-created role of director of Local Tempo Sales, the full-service marketing and creative team within the Corus Sales group. Shepherd, who is based in Burnaby, BC, will work with both the National Tempo and Local Sales teams to educate, ideate, and execute news integrations. With Shepherd taking on new responsibilities, Karen Erickson moves into the role of Regional Manager of Local Tempo for BC. Erickson has been with Global BC in various account executive roles since 2000.

Tarah Schwartz, CTV Montreal weekend anchor/reporter, is stepping down to spend more time with her husband and young son. Schwartz has been with CTV since 2001, the last 16 years as an anchor. Her last day will be Dec. 23.

Leslie Roberts is leaving his CJAD Montreal mid-morning talk show slot to pursue travel and wellness writing as the editor of traveltowellness.com. Roberts took over from the retiring Tommy Schnurmacher two years ago. His last day with the station will be Dec. 21.

Maarten Weck has been appointed EVP and managing director of DHX Media subsidiary Copyright Promotions Licensing Group (CPLG). Weck will oversee all of CPLG’s global operations, reporting to Aaron Ames, CEO, DHX Media. CPLG, a third-party licensing agency, manages licensing and merchandising rights for over 40 brands including Nickelodeon, BBC Worldwide, Peanuts, MGM, Paramount, and Sesame Workshop. Weck has worked at CPLG for more than 13 years, most recently as managing director for Northern Europe, the UK, Nordic, CEE and Benelux territories.

RADIO/AUDIO/PODCAST:

Bell, Rogers, Stingray, and CBC are among the Canadian networks opting not to add “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” to holiday playlists this year. The classic duet had become a source of annual debate for the last few years over its predatory overtones. News emerged last week that Star 102 (WDOK-FM) Cleveland had pulled the song from its 24/7 Christmas music format in response to listener complaints. Other stations have since announced they’re following suit. Bell Media told Broadcast Dialogue that the song wasn’t scheduled across the network this year, while Stingray left the decision to play the tune up to individual program directors before deciding to pull it altogether. A spokesperson for Corus Radio said some of its stations are still playing the song in limited rotation. Read more here.

City of Toronto Mayor John Tory proclaimed Dec. 5 Roger Ashby Day. Wednesday marked Ashby’s retirement from CHUM Radio after five decades on Toronto airwaves. Watch highlights of Ashby’s retirement broadcast from Toronto’s Sheraton Grand Central Ballroom here. Bell Media president Randy Lennox announced that Ashby will return with his own curated stream on iHeartRadio Canada in the near future. Details are still to come.

Jon McComb celebrated 35 years with Corus NewsTalk station CKNW-AM Vancouver on Dec. 1. McComb landed at CKNW in 1983 after starting his career at age 17, spinning records at a station in Tucson, AZ where he attended high school. For the last five years, he’s been helming the CKNW morning show with co-host Niki Reitmayer. McComb’s former The World Today co-host Philip Till made a surprise visit to the NW studios to mark the occasion.

The moment that Philip Till surprised ⁦@jonmccomb980⁩ on his 35th anniversary at ⁦@CKNW⁩

“Are you sure he’s not here anymore, Jon?” pic.twitter.com/FOISC9CMWY

— Niki Reitmayer (@Niki_Reitmayer) December 3, 2018

The CRTC has approved new Golden West Broadcasting station 91.5 FM Cochrane, AB, which will replace the Air 106.1 FM (CFIT-FM) Airdrie retransmitter. The station will offer a hybrid Country music format targeting adults aged 25-54, playing songs from the “80’s, 90’s and today.” The station will broadcast 126 hours of local programming each broadcast week, including almost 20 hours of spoken word programming devoted to local news and information, weather, sports, features and farm reports.

The CRTC won’t renew the licence for French-language community station CHOC-FM St-Rémi, Quebec, since it ceased operation in August after filing for bankruptcy. The commission is inviting interested parties to submit applications for new radio stations to serve the community.

The CRTC has denied an application from LS telcom Limited, on behalf of Aujourd’hui l’Espoir, for a new French-language Christian music radio station in Lachute, Quebec that would have used the same frequency as Indigenous community station CKHQ-FM Kanesatake. While the proposed station was committed to devoting 80 per cent of its broadcast week to local programming, it would not have offered news.

CKWR 98.5 FM Kitchener has had its broadcast licence renewed until 2020. The community station, which has a history of noncompliance, was under scrutiny for late implementation of the National Public Alerting System; insufficient Canadian content; and failure to submit annual returns from 2013 to 2017.

JAZZ.FM91 (CJRT-FM) Toronto is facing a third lawsuit. Glenn Knight has filed suit against the non-profit station, claiming damages of $25,000 for breach of contract; aggravated mental distress, and/or punitive damages. Knight worked at the station for six years, most recently in a term position as program director, which ended in August. The suit follows a $420,000 wrongful-dismissal claim by former morning host Garvia Bailey, in addition to separate legal action led by a group set on overhauling the board of the registered charity. SaveJazz.FM is asking the courts to help it obtain the email addresses of approximately 2,200 donor-members so it can lobby them to have new appointees elected to the JAZZ.FM board of directors.

The annual Tree of Hope/l’Arbre de l’espoir radiothon on CBC/Radio-Canada Moncton raised more than $1.8 million on Nov. 30. Funds raised this year will support the the Dr. Léon-Richard Oncology Centre, which receives over 60,000 patient visits each year; satellite units in Edmundston, Campbellton, Bathurst and Caraquet; and the Mgr. Henri-Cormier Lodge, where over 1,800 patients stay for free each year, in addition to cancer research and healthy lifestyle promotion.

The CFOS Sun Times Christmas Fund Broadcast on Dec. 2 from Owen Sound’s Roxy Theatre raised over $19,619, with donations still coming in. It was the event’s 79th year.Tree of Hope radiothon raises almost $2M.

Evanov Toronto stations Z103.5 (CIDC-FM), Jewel 88.5 (CKDX-FM), 103.9 Proud FM (CIRR-FM), and AM530 Multicultural Radio (CIAO-AM) have launched a campaign to Feed The GTA’s Hungry This Christmas. The stations will be gathering donations, packing food and delivering Christmas meals to the doorsteps of over 500 families in need.

C100 (CIOO-FM) Halifax’s annual Toy Drive will broadcast live Dec. 6-7 from local Cineplex locations, collecting new, unwrapped toys and financial donations in support of The Salvation Army. The C100 Toy Drive is a 20-year tradition.

Global News Radio 770 CHQR is hosting its annual Pledge Day radiothon Dec. 7 in support of the Calgary Children’s Foundation. From 5:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., listeners are encouraged to phone in or drop by the 770 CHQR studio to donate funds to local children’s charities. Corus sister station Q107 (CFGQ-FM) is also hosting the Q107 Gift Drive. Until Dec. 21, unwrapped gifts for all ages, especially 12 and up, are being accepted at the Q107 studios or any Bowest Appliance location. Global Calgary will turn its parking lot into a giant TV set on Dec. 12, broadcasting live from 6-9 a.m., collecting gifts and donations for the Magic of Christmas charity which, from its humble beginning 35 years ago, has grown to become a volunteer family of 1,100 Santas and elves who are sent out on Christmas Eve to visit over 500 families, and bring cheer to over 4,500 people in hospitals and other institutions.

Westwood One has commissioned research showing that women prefer hearing female voices in AM/FM radio ads. Four separate studies of 284 radio ads indicated women should have more of a starring role in audio creative. A random sample of the 100 top AM/FM radio advertisers on Oct. 11, 2018 found men voiced 72 per cent of the spots, with just 28 per cent voiced by women. The Advertising Benchmark Index (ABX) confirms the finding with their own 2018 study of 115 AM/FM radio ads. The results showed that both men and women preferred female voices in radio creative. Women responded more favourably to female voices by 14 per cent, while men responded more to the female-voiced radio ads by five per cent.

Apple is out with its Best Podcasts of 2018. Making the Canadian chart were: semi-prose; Home Cooked; TIFF Long Take (TIFF); Escaping NXIVM (CBC); The Big Story (Frequency Podcast Network); Sidenote (ASAPScience); Personal Best (CBC); Missing & Murdered: Finding Cleo (CBC); Chosen Family (Phi Centre); Earth Rangers (Gen-Z Media); Thunder Bay (Canadland); and History of 1995 (Kathy Kenzora). Escaping NXIVM also made the list of Top 25 Most Downloaded Podcasts That Launched This Year, along with ICI Radio-Canada’s Grand écart. Four Canadian entries made the list of Top 25 Most Downloaded Podcasts Ever: The Current from CBC Radio (Highlights), Global News Podcast, Q: The Podcast from CBC Radio, and Radio-Canada’s Aujourd’hui l’histoire.

The Cannabis Show took home the award for Top Cannabis Podcast for the second year in a row at the Canadian Cannabis Awards (CCAs) Nov. 29 in Toronto. Hosted by former Calgary radio personality Chris Foord (Q107/CJAY 92), The Cannabis Show also claimed the honour of Top Cannabis Youtuber. Canadian Cannabis Update, hosted by Michael Pederson (whose day job is managing Calgary’s RED FM) and Legalized from public affairs and research firm Navigator, were runners up in the Top Podcast category.

The Coast, Halifax’s independent alt-weekly, has wrapped its podcasting experiment releasing the 25th episode of its 25 For 25 podcast, celebrating the publication’s 25th anniversary. The year-by-year audio archive delves into the stories that shaped Halifax over the past quarter-century, hosted by editors Jacob Boon and Tara Thorne. Their final guest is CTV Atlantic veteran anchor Steve Murphy who explores topics from the value of local news to whether or not he once took a helicopter to a family reunion.

Benztown has announced it will release the fifth annual Benztown 50 list of the top 50 voiceover artists in the U.S. and Canada. The Benztown 50 list is based on several criteria, including number of radio station affiliates, station size and market. Benztown has partnered with P1 Media Group to compile and analyze industry data to develop the list which will be released to the industry in early Feb. 2019. Voice talent can apply for the Benztown 50 from now through Dec. 21 at benztown.com/50.

SIGN-OFFS:

Bill McGregor, 96, on Nov. 28. McGregor started his career at CFRB Toronto in 1947 as an operator under the tutelage of Bill Baker. In 1950, he moved down the street to be the chief engineer at CKFH, Foster Hewitt’s new station. He later moved over to CBC-TV. Around that time, he met Jack Fitzgibbons, who with his brother Gene, was preparing to startup CKCO-TV Kitchener. Bill joined CKCO in 1953 as Operations Manager, which went to air Mar. 1, 1954. The licensee company was founded as Central Ontario Television Limited – a partnership of Famous Players, K-W Broadcasting (CKCR-Radio) and Carl Pollock, President of Electrohome Limited. In 1962, the company acquired CKKW-AM, and in 1965 re-established CFCA-FM. In 1980, it became CAP Productions Limited and eight years later a division of Electrohome. McGregor was promoted from Operations Manager to GM, then vice-president and general manager, and eventually president and director. In 1993, he became senior vice-president of Electrohome. Active in broadcasting industry matters, McGregor served as president of the Central Canada Broadcasters Association (CCBA), president of the Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB), chairman and director of the CTV Television Network, a director of Electrohome Limited and a director of Rogers Multi-Media Inc. McGregor was named the CAB Broadcaster of the Year in 1971 and received the CCBA Howard Caine Memorial Award in 1977. In 1990, he was inducted into the CAB Broadcast Hall of Fame.

Alan Rutherfurd, 76, on Nov. 27. Originally hailing from Melbourne, Australia, Rutherfurd was a mobile maintenance engineer for CFTO-TV Toronto until the late 1970s. He went on to work in engineering at Global Toronto, which he retired from. Rutherfurd also did work with Olympic Broadcasting Services (OBS), the host broadcaster organization for all Olympic Games.

TV/FILM/VIDEO:

Netflix is raising its subscription rates in Canada, even as the consumer choice streaming landscape gets more crowded. A standard plan, which allows users to watch content on two screens at a time, will jump $3 to $13.99/month. Premium plan subscribers, who can watch up to four streams at a time in ultra HD 4K video, will also pay $3 more at $16.99/month. The basic plan, which doesn’t offer high-definition video and allows just one stream, will rise a dollar to $9.99/month. Netflix says the higher prices will take effect immediately for new subscribers, while existing subscribers can expect an email notification. The last Canadian price hike, of about a $1 per plan per month, was in Aug. 2017. Netflix says the move will help fund original content, in addition to platform improvements.

CTV is boosting its online content with the launch of CTV Movies and CTV Throwback, two new free, ad-supported, digital-only offerings available on CTV.ca and the CTV app. The network says the launch is the first step in CTV’s evolution as a destination for entertainment on digital platforms. CTV Movies will offer uncut movie titles ranging from classic films like 1953’s From Here to Eternity and Martin Scorsese’s Taxi Driver to action titles like 2012 and Men in Black. New film titles will be launched each month. CTV Throwback features television series spanning the last five decades from all 11 seasons of 1970s/80s sitcom The Jeffersons to more recent series like Community and Rescue Me. Current CTV series remain locked to cable subscribers only.

TVA has confirmed that its Dance Revolution series, the new dance competition format created by Quebecor Content and Fair-Play, will be back for a second season in 2019. Since September, near 1.4 million Quebec viewers have tuned in weekly with market share of over 37 per cent during its last few weeks on the air. TVA says Dance Revolution was the uncontested #1 new show in Quebec in 2018. A key element in the show’s enormous popularity is its use of revolutionary technology using 128 cameras, offering 360-degree views.

Crave’s first original series Much Studios Presents: Mike On Much In Conversation With… debuts Friday, Dec. 21 with eight episodes, ranging in length from 30-45 minutes. The series, an adaptation of the Mike On Much podcast, joins Crave’s new “From the Interweb” Collection – also launching Dec. 21 – which features other titles inspired by web series or podcasts like HBO’s Pod Save America, 2 Dope Queens and High Maitenance. Hosted by writer, director, and producer Mike Veerman, Arkells frontman Max Kerman, and JUNO-nominated director and pop culture aficionado Shane Cunningham, each episode of Much Studios Presents: Mike On Much features long-form interviews, candid conversations, and cringe-worthy comedic segments. Celebrity interviews featured include Alessia Cara, Jared Keeso (Letterkenny), Jodie Whittaker (Doctor Who), Leon Bridges, Nile Rodgers, Noel Gallagher, Sting and Shaggy. Preview the first three episodes here.

Taylor Kitsch (True Detective, Waco) is set to star in an eOne/HBO co-production from writers John Barcheski (Sons of Anarchy) and Robert Munic (Ice), with Matt Shakman (Game of Thrones) on board to direct. Kitsch, Shakman, Barcheski and Munic will also executive produce. The untitled drama follows the story of Chris Klug (Kitsch), a drug dealer left in a temporary vegetative state by a bad batch of dope, who discovers someone close to him was trying to take him out.

eOne has struck a two-year, first-look deal with documentary filmmakers Amy Ziering and Kirby Dick. The agreement with their company Chain Camera will see Toronto-headquartered eOne control worldwide rights and serve as the studio on projects stemming from the partnership. The duo’s most recent film, Netflix Original The Bleeding Edge, delves into the multi-billion dollar medical device industry. Their previous effort was award-winning The Hunting Ground which explored sexual assault on college campuses.

Samantha Bee has formed new narrative and documentary television prodco Swimsuit Competition, which Bee says is looking for great ideas from those flying under the radar, or whose work has been underestimated. The company has signed a first-look deal with TBS to develop original content. Kristen Everman, producer of Full Frontal with Samantha Bee’s “Not the White House Correspondents’ Dinner” and The Rundown with Robin Thede, has been named head of development.

Thunderbird Entertainment Group has opened its new production hub in Ottawa. Atomic Cartoons Ottawa will work on high quality animation projects, under the leadership of Chris Wightman. One of the first productions at the new studio will be animated series The Last Kids on Earth, based on the New York Times best-selling book series by Max Brallier, for Netflix. The new production hub will also focus on growing Thunderbird’s factual footprint in Ottawa, where segments of its hit series Heavy Rescue: 401 are already produced. The company went public in November and released its Q1 2019 financial highlights last week, reporting revenue of $14.36 million and net income of $1.46 million with adjusted EBITDA of $4.2 million.

Cardinal executive producer Sarah Dodd has been chosen as the mentoring showrunner who’ll lead the inaugural Scripted Series Lab for The Pacific Screenwriting Program (PSP). The intensive training initiative will provide support and career-advancement opportunities for active and aspiring screenwriters from across B.C. This year’s participants are Petie Chalifoux, Shawn Tolleson, Todd Ireland, Michael Orlando, Kat Sieniuc and Corey Liu. Prior to Cardinal (CTV/Hulu), Dodd was an executive producer and showrunner on Zixx: Level Three (Cartoon Network/YTV), and head writer and producer on The Saddle Club (ABC/YTV). PSP is a collaboration between Netflix, CMPA-BC, the Writer’s Guild of Canada (WGC) and Creative BC.

Telefilm Canada says extensive renovations to repair damage caused by heavy rainfall in August are now complete and its Toronto office has reopened. Since mid-October, Toronto employees had been working both remotely and from temporary offices.

The Comedy Network says it will stream all 11 seasons of The Big Bang Theory, starting Saturday, Dec. 22. In the midst of its 12th and final season, the channel will air the series non-stop through the holidays, wrapping up on Sunday, Jan. 6.

CTV Vancouver, TSN 1040 (CKST-AM), 94.5 Virgin Radio (CFBT-FM), 103.5 QMFM, and BNN Bloomberg Radio (CFTE-AM) kick off the annual Toy Mountain campaign in support of The Salvation Army this week. Beginning Thursday, Dec. 6 at 5:30 a.m. PT through Friday, Dec. 7 at 7 p.m. PT, community members are invited to drop off new, unwrapped toys at Surrey’s Guildford Town Centre. Throughout the two-day campaign, CTV Vancouver personalities including weather specialist Marke Driesschen and community host Krissy Vann will deliver live-on-location updates on CTV Morning Live, CTV News At Noon, CTV News At Five, and CTV News At Six. 103.5 QMFM’s The Nat and Drew Show, 94.5 Virgin Radio’s Jonny, Holly, and Nira, and TSN 1040’s Sekeres & Price will also be on location.

Global News is partnering with the Toronto Fire Fighters’ Toy Drive for the 12th consecutive year, which will once again culminate with the broadcast of Toy Drive Live on Dec. 6 from the CF Shops at Don Mills in North York. The event will feature a live broadcast of Global News at 5:30 with anchor Farah Nasser, joined by fellow anchor Susan Hay and meteorologist Anthony Farnell on location. Members of the public attending Toy Drive Live are encouraged to bring a new unwrapped toy to support the initiative. Donations can also be made by dropping off toys, gift cards and monetary donations to any City of Toronto fire station. Though the demand for toys is great for children of all ages, teens are especially in need.

ONLINE/DIGITAL:

Groupe Média TFO has created a new experience on Google Assistant. The new Boukili Audio app offers a collection of more than 120 audio books, including more than 70 audio books exclusive to Google Assistant, to enable French language learning for children between the ages of 4 and 8. It also offers an interactive game that helps kids put their memory and comprehension skills to the test.

YouTube is bringing its Instagram-like Stories feature to more creators. YouTube Creators with more than 10,000 subscribers can now use the feature. YouTube Stories are available for seven days on the mobile app, and watchable for both subscribers and non-subscribers. YouTube Stories also appear on the “Up Next” sidebar.

GENERAL:

The CRTC proceeding into a proposed code of conduct for Internet Service Providers (ISPs) is meeting with growing opposition. A who’s who of Canadian telecom researchers are the latest to join the list of organizations who say they won’t be participating, given the tight timelines proposed. OpenMedia, the Consumers Association of Canada (National and Manitoba branch), Ageing + Communication + Technologies (ACT), the Forum for Research and Policy in Communication (FRPC), the Consumers Council of Canada, and the Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic have joined the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) in indicating they’ll boycott the proceedings due to both an unreasonably short timeline (28 business days to prepare initial comments), in addition to overlap with the Broadcast and Telecommunications Legislative Review.

VICE Canada called it “a dark day for press freedom” following Friday’s Supreme Court of Canada (SCOC) ruling that VICE reporter Ben Makuch will have to turn over notes of his conversations with an alleged ISIS member to RCMP. The unanimous 9-0 decision upholds an earlier lower court ruling. Back in 2014, Makuch wrote three articles about Farah Mohamed Shirdon, a former Calgary resident, suspected of leaving Canada to join Islamic State fighters in Iraq and Syria. RCMP obtained a production order in 2015, compelling VICE and Makuch to hand over any communications with Shirdon and related data and documents, which both the media outlet and reporter refused. Read the full story here.

CBC English Services EVP Heather Conway, in her last week on the job, has responded to a column by the National Post’s Tristin Hopper entitled “Really want to help print journalism, Ottawa? Stop CBC from undercutting us.” The article took aim at CBC’s aggressive online expansion, decrying that privately-held media companies can’t compete with the public broadcaster’s free model and “bottomless resources.” In her response, Conway writes “This claim is made by private media in every country where there is a public broadcaster. It pretends that if there were no public broadcaster, then people would be forced to pay for their news, and all would be well, for private media companies, who presumably would also get all the digital ad revenue. This has never been true. Anywhere. In the case of newspapers, the revenue from classifieds, flyers and ads disappeared to the Internet decades ago. Today, Google and Facebook alone take 75% of all Internet advertising revenue in Canada. Two global companies. It is not Canada’s public broadcaster that is ‘viciously undercutting print media.’ During this digital transformation, while these digital companies have grown and Canadian newspapers have consolidated, closed or cut to pay debt from acquisitions, we continue to serve Canadians and have moderated the worst effects of the upheaval on their news and their culture.” Read her full reply here.

CBC/Radio-Canada has released its Q2 financials for the period ended Sept. 30. Revenue from ongoing activities decreased by 9.0 per cent for the quarter. The public broadcaster says conventional and specialty TV revenue continues to be impacted by both the ongoing softness of the Canadian advertising market and cord-cutting and cord-shaving trends. In addition, last year’s second quarter revenue included additional revenue received on retransmission royalties. Government funding recognized during the second quarter also decreased by 2.2 per cent. Expenses decreased by 2.5 per cent, mostly driven by lower programming costs. Last year’s second quarter included special programming for Canada 150 events and coverage. In addition, some shifts in the program schedule over the summer months resulted in lower costs that were recognized in Q2.

Vividata and Ipsos have announced that they’re partnering to create a “future-proof” methodology to measure the Canadian media and consumer market. Vividata says through advances in technology and methodology, the new initiative will provide more powerful cross-media analytics capabilities while retaining deep insights into Canadian consumer behaviour and consumption habits through its widely-used Survey of the Canadian Consumer. Ipsos will leverage its experience managing readership studies in over 40 countries, including the UK, Australia and Belgium.

Comscore has announced that its Plan Metrix Multi-Platform powered by Vividata, has launched in Canada. The solution combines internet users’ online behaviour with their offline attitudes and interests, allowing marketers to generate stronger multi-platform media plans, identify advanced audience segments, and reach consumers across platforms for greater ROI. The platform combines digital audience intelligence from Comscore with Vividata’s database of consumer demographics, media usage, lifestyle and attitudinal data across more than 150 categories. The data will be available to subscribing clients through the Comscore user interface, which will allow for segmentation by device, media type, and ad consumption measures.

The Broadcasting Accessibility Fund has approved $615,330 in new grants for innovative projects designed to advance accessibility to broadcasting content for Canadians with disabilities. This round of projects includes a PAVO Digital proposal to develop Artificial Intelligence (AI) post-processing methods to improve Speaker-Independent Voice Recognition. Ryerson University is also being funded to develop a continuing education course focused on inclusive design for broadcast production, with a key focus on live closed captioning and audio description techniques. Find the full list here.

VMedia Inc. says it’s full suite of internet, TV, home phone and home security services are now available in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Prince Edward Island. With its expansion into Atlantic Canada, VMedia becomes the only provider of internet and TV services available across all 10 Canadian provinces.

Bell Let’s Talk is set to pass a pair of major milestones on Bell Let’s Talk Day 2019 Jan. 30. Bell says it’s set to surpass one billion messages of support for mental health and $100 million in total funding, since the first event was held in 2011. With Bell donating five cents to Canadian mental health for each text, social media interaction, mobile and long distance call, the company says its total funding commitment has already surpassed $93 million, including its original $50 million anchor donation.

SUPPLY LINES:

Vector Capital, a leading private equity firm specializing in transformational investments in established technology businesses, has announced closing of the sale of Triton Digital, Inc.  to The E.W. Scripps Company for $150 million. Based in Los Angeles, Triton provides audio publishers with measurement, streaming, ad serving and audience engagement solutions in over 40 countries. Its customer base includes broadcast groups, such as iHeartMedia, Cumulus and Entercom, as well as digital audio pureplay companies like Spotify and Pandora.

Dome Productions produced the Nov. 12 Toronto Raptors-New Orleans Pelicans game in 4K HDR and Dolby Atmos surround sound, among the first games to be produced in both formats and distributed live to North American households. Co-owned by Rogers Media and Bell Media, Dome previously played a vital role in the first live 4K sports telecasts in North America, in Jan. 2016.

Dejero has provided its CellSat blended cellular and Ku-band IP satellite solution to World Racing Group (WRG), the sanctioning body for dirt track racing in the U.S. and Canada. The network blending capabilities of CellSat have allowed WRG to live stream its entire premier racing schedule from more venues and reduce resources, cost, and set-up times. The organization is now livestreaming up to 125 productions a year across North America and says it’s increased its social media profile sharply, with exponential growth in live fan engagement during races. Housed in a 26 ft. mobile production unit that travels up to 45,000 miles per season, CellSat connects to a full production switcher capable of a multi-camera shoot, then back to the main production studio based in North Carolina. A maximum of two people are required on-site, with another manning the desk back at base.

Harmonic has been awarded a U.S. patent for its “Dynamic Allocation of CPU Cycles in Video Stream Processing.” The patent defines innovative technology that dynamically adjusts CPU cycles for cloud-based video processing based on video complexity information. Based in San Jose, CA, Harmonic helps media companies and service providers deliver ultra-high-quality broadcast and OTT video services to consumers globally.

Fall 2018 PPM Ratings: Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary

By David Bray, President, Bray & Partners Communications

The new PPM release from Numeris covers the 13-week period from Aug. 27 to Nov. 25, 2018. Here’s a look at the five Canadian PPM markets:

Toronto: Bragging rights at the top of the ratings heap go to CBC Radio One delivering an 11.8% share for A12+ (up from 10.0%). CHFI-FM grabs the #1 spot with women 25-54 delivering a 15.3% share (up from 12.7%). BOOM-FM holds the #1 spot for males 25-54, posting a 12.4% share (up from 11.7 % in the last 13 week book). Q107 continues to decline in A12+, F25-54, and core demo M25-54. BOOM-FM leads the way for M18-34 with a 10.7% share. For F18-34, CHFI-FM dominates, posting a 20.6%.

Vancouver: CBC Radio Onegrabs the #1 spot for A12+ with a 15.6% share of hours tuned (up from 12.3%). Taking the top spot for F25-54 was QM-FM, posting a 17.9% share (up from 17.7% last time out). CFOX grabs the lead for M25-54 listeners, delivering a 12.5% share (down from 13.0 %).  CFOX is out in front for M18-34 with a 15.9 % share of hrs. tuned (down from 20.8 %). When it comes to females 18-34, Virgin takes top spot posting a 14.4 % share.

Edmonton: 630 CHED is #1 with A12+ posting a 9.1% share of hours tuned (up from 7.0 % last time out). NOW! Radio takes top spot for F25-54, delivering a 21.2% share (up from 22.0 %). NOW tops the list for M25-54 with an 11.0% share (down from 12.5%). For M18-34, NOW leads the way posting a 12.5%. NOW also led with F18-34 delivering a 17.0% (up from 16.9%).

Calgary: Country 105 leads the way for A12+ with a 9.8% (up from 9.7% last time out). Country 105 is popular with women, taking #1 spot for F25-54 delivering a 16.5% share (up from 13.1%).  For M25-54, X92.9 is #1 with an 11.8% (up from 10.8%). X92.9 takes top spot for M18-34 delivering a 10.8%. Country105 is #1 (waaaay out front) for F18-34 posting a 21.7% share.

Montreal:  CHMP 98.5FM is #1 for A12+ (Franco) with a 20.1% share (up from 14.8%).  For A12+ (Anglo), CJAD 800 is #1 with a 28.7% (up from 28.1%). CITE-FM is tops with the women, taking #1 spot for F25-54 (Franco) delivering a 21.0% share (up from 15.7%). For F25-54 (Anglo) The Beat 92.5is #1 with a 29.9% share (up from 27.9). For M25-54 (Franco), CHMP 98.5FM is on top at 19.9% share (up from 15.7%) followed by CHOM-FMwith 14.4%.  For M25-54 (Anglo), CHOM-FM is #1 at 23.7% (down from 25.0%)

See summary charts below: 

Toronto

% Share of Hours Tuned

(Mon.-Sun, 5a-1a)

Vancouver

% Share of Hours Tuned

(Mon.-Sun, 5a-1a)

Edmonton

% Share of Hours Tuned

(Mon.-Sun, 5a-1a)

Calgary

% Share of Hours Tuned

(Mon.-Sun, 5a-1a)

Montreal (Franco)

% Share of Hours Tuned

(Mon.-Sun, 5a-1a)

Montreal (Anglo)

% Share of Hours Tuned

(Mon.-Sun, 5a-1a)

 David Bray is President of Bray & Partners Communications. 

(416) 431-5792
[email protected]
brayandpartners.com
davidbray.ca

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