The Weekly Briefing

SIGN-OFFS:

Stuart McLean, 68, Feb. 15, after battling melanoma. The humorist, best-selling author, journalist and long-running host of The Vinyl Cafe was born in Montreal to Australian immigrant parents. McLean’s radio career began in the 1970s when he started with CBC as a researcher on Cross Country Checkup. In 1978, he started producing documentaries for CBC Radio program Sunday Morning and from 1982 until 1984, also acted as the show’s executive producer. During the 1980s and 90s he was a frequent guest and fill-in host on Morningside with Peter Gzowski. McLean created The Vinyl Cafe in 1994 as a summer replacement show and by 1997, it was airing every Sunday. Featuring a mix of storytelling, essays and musical performances, stories from The Vinyl Cafe were spun-off into a series of books, which won the Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour three times. The show also became a touring production, visiting communities in both Canada and the U.S. McLean announced in December he was suspending the program to focus on treatment for melanoma, which he was diagnosed with in late 2015. McLean was an officer of the Order of Canada and a professor emeritus at Ryerson University in Toronto. CBC says a public tribute will be announced at a later date.

Rudy Hartman, 99, Feb. 9 in Victoria, after respiratory complications. Hartman’s radio career started in the 1930’s at CJAT-AM in Trail, BC.  After enlisting in WWII, he worked with the BBC and Canadian Forces radio stations in Europe during the war. When WWII ended, he returned to radio at CJVI-AM Victoria, moving on to manage Victoria’s first FM station, CFMS-FM. He later helped launch CKLG-FM Vancouver as program director and host of Symphony Hall. Hartman’s career continued into the 1980s at CHQM-FM and multicultural station CJVB-AM, where he was also PD.

Charles Mudrack, 82, Feb. 1 at Royal Jubilee Hospital in Victoria. Mudrack started working at CJDC in Dawson Creek in the early 1960s as a young sports announcer and also voiced “Hospital Bulletins” over each supper hour. In some phoneless, rural communities, the bulletins were the hospital’s only means of communication with patients’ relatives. The bulletins would involve messages like “Ralph, your wife is ready for discharge and can be picked up tomorrow.” Charles or “Chuck” as he was often known on-air moved on to CKDA Victoria by 1963, before ending his radio career at CFAX Victoria in the mid-1970s. He later retired from the provincial postal branch.

RADIO/AUDIO/PODCAST:

Canada’s National Campus and Community Radio Association (NCRA/ANREC) has joined a growing consortium of radio broadcasters working toward launching the Radioplayer Canada app and desktop streaming player technology. Announced last fall, the free app promises to give listeners access to live and past radio broadcasts from more than 400 stations across the country through Radioplayer Canada’s browser-player and on connected devices through the iOS or Android app. Campus and community stations join Bayshore Broadcasting, Blackburn Radio, Blackgold Radio, Byrnes Communications, CAB-K Broadcasting, Central Ontario Broadcasting, Clear Sky Radio, Cogeco Media, Corus Entertainment, Durham Radio, Fabmar Communications, Golden West Broadcasting, Harvard Broadcasting, Larche Communications, Newcap Radio, Jim Pattison Broadcast Group, Rogers Media, Rawlco Radio, RNC Media, Saskatoon Media Group, Vista Radio, and Westman Communications Group, among others.

The Canadian Broadcast Standards Council (CBSC) has ruled that paid spots voiced by a radio host on BLVD 102.1 (CFEL-FM) Quebec City were sufficiently distinct from news and programming content, so the station did not violate any broadcast code. During the Sept. 6, 2016 broadcast of talk show Arthur le midi, radio host André Arthur did two “live” advertisements for a local restaurant. The host prefaced the first spot with [translation] “before going to the real commercial break, we’re going to do a fake commercial break”; he then proceeded to talk about the limited time offer of a roast beef dinner at the restaurant. That spot was followed by a customary commercial break of pre-recorded ads. Arthur did a similar promotion at the end of his program, only that time did not premise it with the “fake commercial” comment. Following a listener complaint, the CBSC’s French-Language Panel found the station had achieved an appropriate distinction from regular content, adding that the topics covered on the show that day were completely unrelated to the restaurant.

The 14th annual Country 105 (CKRY-FM) Caring for Kids Radiothon in Calgary raised over $1.78 million for the Alberta Children’s Hospital, bringing the event’s 14-year total to over $22.7 million. Country music star and former nurse Paul Brandt co-hosted with the Country 105 FM announcers and sang for everyone in hospital.

The annual IWK Radiothon, involving 10 Bell Media-owned stations in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, raised $272,935 on Feb. 2. Participating stations included C100 (CIOO-FM) and 101.3 Virgin Radio (CJCH-FM) in Halifax; Big Dog 100.9 FM (CKTO-FM) and Cat Country 99.5 FM (CKTY-FM) in Truro; FOX 105 FM (CFXY-FM), Capital 106.9 FM (CIBX-FM) and KHJ 1260 AM (CKHJ-AM) in Fredericton; MAX 104.9 FM (CKBC-FM) in Bathurst, K93 FM (CIKX-FM) in Grand Falls and CJ104 FM (CJCJ-FM) in Woodstock. Funds raised support the most urgent priority needs of the IWK Health Centre, including up-to-date equipment.

Last week’s Corus Radiothon in London, ON raised $80,510 for the Children’s Health Foundation at the London Health Sciences Centre. Stories of hope and perseverance were shared during the Feb. 9 broadcast, aired on AM980 (CFPL-AM), FM96 (CFPL-FM), Country 104 (CKDK-FM) and 103.1 Fresh Radio (CFHK-FM).

Vancouver’s Woman Of Worth Awards have been re-named The Tammy Moyer Woman Of Worth Awards, in memory of the late CKWX News 1130 morning anchor. Moyer passed away last year after fighting pancreatic cancer. The awards will be held on March 25 at the Delta Grand Villa Ballroom.  

Frequent JAZZ FM (CJRT-FM) Toronto on-air personality and former morning show host Heather Bambrick is nominated for Vocal Jazz Album of the Year for You’ll Never Know at the Junos. Heather has been with JAZZ FM since 2001 and is currently the host of Jazzology and Sunday Afternoon Jazz. She has twice been awarded the National Jazz Awards’ Broadcaster of the Year.

Vancouver’s Roundhouse Radio (CIRH-FM) and Quantum Properties are giving one lucky listener a brand new, luxury one bedroom condo for one year, rent free. Appealing to those caught up in the city’s housing crisis, the Free House from Roundhouse contest runs until March 31, with the winner to be announced April 3 on the Janice and Cory Show.

TV/FILM/VIDEO:

Bell Media’s MuchFACT (A Foundation to Assist Canadian Talent) has reached a significant milestone, surpassing $100 million in total contributions to projects by Canadian artists. The announcement was made as MuchFACT confirmed 20 more fund recipients at its Feb. 9 music committee meeting where $484,215 was awarded to Canadian musicians. MuchFACT’s $100 million contribution to Canada’s music industry represents nearly 9,000 projects since the foundation’s launch in 1984. Some of its more prominent funding projects include videos for Carly Rae Jepsen’s Call Me Maybe, Lovers In A Dangerous Time by Barenaked Ladies and Sprawl II by Arcade Fire.  

Vice Studio Media and Rogers Media have announced the start of production on a Viceland TV series based on the 2002 headbanger movie Fubar and its 2010 sequel Fubar 2. Eight, half-hour episodes have been ordered, reteaming director Michael Dowse and stars David Lawrence and Paul Spence in their original roles as Terry and Dean. The series is set to debut later this year.

Groupe Média TFO has announced the English version of its series Le Rêve de Champlain (Champlain’s Dream) will now be available to households across Western Europe. The distribution of the Gemini-award-winning series, which is based on explorer Samuel Champlain, marks the first expansion beyond North America for the Ontario-based public broadcaster. The three-year content deal will see the series introduced on RAI 3 in Italy, TV Catalunya in Spain and Groupe AB’s Toute l’histoire channel in France. The international distribution agreement comes on the heels of two significant content partnerships in the U.S.; one with PBS Learning Media and the other with Louisiana Public Broadcasting.

TSN has announced its expanded MLS ON TSN broadcast schedule for the 2017 regular season. Headlined by 75 games featuring Canadian teams, the roster features every Vancouver Whitecaps FC and Toronto FC match, 12 Montreal Impact matches, as well as English-language coverage of the 2017 MLS All-Star Game and the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs, culminating with the 2017 MLS Cup. Highlighting the schedule are Friday night MLS matchups on TSN, while CTV will deliver a slate of seven marquee matchups on Saturday afternoons, beginning March 18. The 2017 MLS ON TSN season kicks off with a doubleheader on Saturday, March 4.

Super Channel and international entertainment provider GINX eSportsTV have inked a deal to launch the first 24-hour eSports channel in Canada. The new channel will target gaming enthusiasts and players and feature live eSports events, news and gaming lifestyle programming. The channel will be part of Super Channel’s four multiplexed channels and will launch across Canada in the spring/summer of 2017, available to all Super Channel subscribers as part of their existing package.

Slice has revealed The Real Housewives of Toronto, the latest series to join The Real Housewives franchise. Set to premiere March 7, the series is being produced by Lark Productions, in association with Corus Entertainment. The newest housewives include French-Canadian actress Gregoriane (Grego) Minot, model and former television host Joan Kelley Walker (Red Carpet Diary), socialite Kara Alloway, curvy jet-setter Roxy Earle, iFinance Canada Inc. CEO Ann Kaplan Mulholland and JOGA (Yoga for Jocks) CEO Jana Webb.

The FXNOW Canada app is now available on fourth-generation Apple TV. The app boasts all-new episodes, available next day, post broadcast, of FX/FXX series. Delivering an HD stream, the user experience is designed much like the FXNOW Canada app and uses iCloud to sync viewing progress across all iOS devices.

Smart-television maker Vizio Inc. has agreed to pay $2.2 million US to the Federal Trade Commission and State of New Jersey after settling allegations its TVs collected information on the viewing habits of 11 million users, without their consent. The FTC says Vizio used automatic content recognition, or ACR, to collect a selection of pixels on a second-by-second basis. It then matched those to a database of TV, movie and commercial content. Customers unwittingly opted in when signing up for the company’s “Smart Interactivity” program, which offers program suggestions based on viewing habits. The company says the ACR feature is not turned on in Canada.

CTV has greenlit a new 10-episode, one hour detective series for the networks 2017/18 programming slate. The untitled, ensemble drama series is from Ilana Frank, the producer behind Saving Hope. Casting for the series is currently underway with production set to begin this spring. The new drama centres on two female detectives working the major crimes unit, while navigating the realities of their very real and relatable personal lives.

OUTtv has licensed exclusive Canadian broadcast rights from BBC Worldwide North America for The Collection, an eight-episode drama series set in the world of haute couture. The series, written and created by award-winning showrunner Oliver Goldstick (Pretty Little Liars, Ugly Betty), features Tom Riley (Da Vinci’s Demons, Kill Your Friends), Mamie Gummer (The Good Wife), Richard Coyle (Crossbones, Life of Crime) and Alix Poisson (Disparue, 3xManon, Parents mode d’emploi). The series will have its Canadian broadcast premiere on OUTtv this Spring, but is already available on OUTtv’s streaming service, OUTtvGO.

Lionsgate reported revenue of $752 million for the third quarter of fiscal 2017, ended Dec. 31. The quarter’s reported results included 23 days of operations following Lionsgate’s acquisition of Starz. Revenue grew 12 per cent from the prior-year quarter driven by solid gains in Television Production and the Starz acquisition. Segment profits at Motion Pictures increased 55 per cent as reductions in direct operating expenses, distribution and marketing costs offset the decline in revenue from the prior year quarter. Television Production segment profits increased 117 per cent due to strong revenue and lower distribution and marketing costs. Net loss attributable to Lionsgate shareholders for the quarter of $31 million or basic net loss per common share of $0.19 compared to net income attributable to Lionsgate shareholders of $41 million or basic EPS of $0.27 during the prior year quarter. Adjusted net income attributable to Lionsgate shareholders of $34 million or adjusted basic EPS of $0.21 for the quarter compared to $55 million or adjusted basic EPS of $0.37 year-over-year.

ONLINE CHANNELS:

A joint report from the Radio Advertising Bureau and Borrell & Associates projects digital revenue for radio will increase 22 per cent this year to a record $753 million. The report says small-market stations are in line to see the highest growth in digital sales, between 36 and 83 per cent. According to the report, which tracks 10,597 local online operations in the U.S. and Canada, including 3,210 radio stations, overall digital ad growth averaged 12 per cent in 2015 for radio stations.

CNW and Cision are monitoring how engaged Canadians are in the Canada 150 anniversary. The two companies have initiated a comprehensive share of voice study tracking mentions of the search term “Canada 150.” Initial findings show Canada 150 conversations spiked right around New Year’s Eve with the official campaign kick-off. Since then, Canada 150 has been mentioned more than 100,000 times online with thousands of mentions per day. Over the course of its study, CNW and Cision will also monitor how Canadians respond to a variety of campaigns, messages and events.

GENERAL:

Alan Burns and Associates, in partnership with Strategic Solutions Research, are releasing results of a new national study of women’s media consumption starting this week. What Women Want 2017 looks at trends in women’s attitudes toward and perceptions of radio over the last five years. The Burns/Strategic Solutions study will be released in four parts in a series of weekly webinars beginning today (Feb. 16). Register for the free 30-minute webinars by clicking here.

Bell’s acquisition of MTS (Manitoba Telecom Services) has received final regulatory approvals from Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) and the Competition Bureau, with the transaction set to close on March 17. Bell expects to realize cost savings of $100 million annually from the MTS integration through reduced wireless roaming and network sharing, volume purchasing advantages and other operational efficiencies. To enact the deal, BCE Inc. had to reach agreement with the Competition Bureau to sell six retail stores, 24,700 subscribers and 40 MHz of spectrum to Xplornet, based on the bureau’s finding the merger would result in the removal of a strong regional competitor that was effective in constraining the pricing of Bell, Rogers and TELUS products. The divestiture to Xplornet will establish a new entrant in the Manitoba mobile wireless market. Bell will also provide Xplornet with key services including expedited access to Bell’s towers in Manitoba for five years. Additionally, Bell has committed to selling a significant number of its MTS subscribers and approximately one-third of its MTS dealer locations to TELUS.

Chinese multinational Huawei Technologies has chosen Polytechnique Montréal to establish its Research Chair in Future Wireless Technologies. Members of the Future Wireless Chair will explore topics including the Internet of Things (IoT), 5G networks, interconnectivity, microwave sciences and radiofrequency. The new chair will receive $5 million over five years, more than half of which will come from Huawei, with the remainder invested by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC). The FuWiC Chair will be held by internationally known professor Ke Wu, recognized for his research and achievements in the fields of radiofrequency, microwave and millimetre-wave engineering.

The 2017 Edelman Trust Barometer has found trust in traditional media has fallen five points to 57 per cent, the steepest decline since 2012, followed by social media (41 percent), which dropped three points. By contrast, online-only media (51 percent) received the biggest bump in trust at five points. Trust in media is at all-time low in 17 countries, while trust levels in government dropped in 14 markets and is the least trusted institution in half of the 28 countries surveyed. While trust in CEOs is at an all-time low (25 per cent), Canadian businesses are still the most trusted in the world aside from those in Sweden.

Standardbred Canada is calling for Canadian entries for the 2017 International Media Awards competition, a component of the World Trotting Conference to be held in Charlottetown, PEI this August. Competition will be held in nine categories including best television program or documentary (broadcast or online), best social media and best video or film advertisement. The entry deadline is March 10.

The Canadian Cable Systems Alliance has opened nominations for Tuned-in Canada: The CCSA Awards 2017. Nominations are being accepted until March 3 in the categories of best community channel programming, best on-camera community channel personality, best customer service story and best community building story. Following a shortlisting process, Canadians will be able to vote for their local favorite. The winners will be announced May 12.

SUPPLY LINES:

UK-based specialty insurer Beazley is expanding its range of products available in Canada. Beazley will now offer television and film producers errors and omissions (E&O) coverage, as well as media liability coverage. It will be made available through new offices in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver, following its acquisition of Creechurch Underwriters. E&O coverage offers production companies protection against libel and slander, breach of confidentiality, intellectual property infringement and other claims.

Dejero Labs has received a $14 million investment from Toronto-based Wellington Financial. Through its cloud-based LIVE+ platform, Dejero offers the ability to broadcast quality, live video from almost anywhere in the world, without the need for a satellite or microwave truck. The Waterloo-based company’s customers include ABC, CBC, CBS, CTV/Bell Media, Fox, NBC, and Rogers Media. Dejero says it’s next move is a new connectivity solution that will enable news crews and production companies to access their broadcast centre or studio and transfer large files from their vehicle while on location or in transit. The company is also partnering with Aeryon Labs to use drones to distribute real-time video.