RADIO/AUDIO/PODCAST:
Bell Media has rolled out a rebrand of 13 of its iHeartRadio Canada stations. It’s billing “Pure Country” as the first-ever national country music radio brand encompassing stations from Northern B.C. to Nova Scotia including Pure Country 94 (CKKL-FM) Ottawa; 103.5 (CKHJ-FM) Fredericton; 99.5 Truro, NS (CKTY-FM); 93 (CJBX-FM) London; 106 Orillia (CICX-FM); 96.7 (CHVR-FM) Pembroke; 105 (CKQM-FM) Peterborough; 91.7 (CICS-FM) Sudbury; 890 (CJDC-FM) Dawson Creek; (CJFW-FM) Terrace, BC; 101 (CKXA-FM) Brandon, MB; 92.7 (CHBD-FM) Regina and 99 (CKLC-FM) Kingston. The stations will be anchored by local morning and drive home shows, but will feature syndicated midday, evening and weekend programming. Shannon Ella , previously with BX93 London and KHJ Fredericton, will host middays across the network. Syndicated Nashville-based offering The Bobby Bones Daily Show will air evenings, with Bones’ Country Top 30 Countdown also airing on weekends. Sophie Moroz and Jeff Hopper, co-hosts of The Morning Pickup on the Pure Country Ottawa station, will host the iHeartRadio Pure Country Countdown, Saturday and Sundays. A Bell Media spokesperson said there are no staff reductions as a result of the rebrand, with midday on-air announcers at affected stations to be reassigned. Twelve of the 13 rebranded stations were already country format with the exception of Kingston, which was formerly modern rock station 98.9 The Drive. The Drive had been running without announcers since January when most of its staff were laid off or moved over to sister station 98.3 Fly FM (CFLY-FM). Its new on-air lineup, starting June 24, will feature Gord St. Denis and Chelsea Lacroix (previously both on-air at Corus Ottawa) on mornings; Trinette Atkinson (who also serves as music director and is former PD at Larche Communications’ Sudbury stations) on afternoons; and program director Brittany Thompson, who is also a weekend personality CFLY-FM, on evenings. Read more here.
CBC has plans to roll out a new national business show originating out of Calgary this fall. The Cost of Living, hosted by Paul Haavardsrud, will debut on CBC Radio One on Saturday, Sept. 7 at 11:30 a.m. (noon NT). The weekly 30-minute show will cover business and economic stories and how they affect the day-to-day lives of Canadians. Susan Marjetti, executive director of CBC Radio and Audio, said the show is part of the public broadcaster’s commitment to better reflect a wider range of experiences and perspectives from across the country.
CBC’s Upfront presentation on Wednesday included the unveiling of plans to launch the new CBC LISTEN app this fall as the one-stop destination for all CBC Music, CBC Podcasts and CBC Radio content. Listeners will be able to tap in to local and national CBC Radio One and CBC Music shows, live or on-demand, for free, and gain access to more than 175 curated music playlists featuring new releases from Canadian artists. The public broadcaster also revealed its slate of new and returning original podcasts for the upcoming year. They include: Chosen Family (June 19, Season 2) with Montreal comedians and queer BFFs Thomas LeBlanc and Tranna Wintour exploring the intersection of art, community and sexuality; Uncover: The Cat Lady Case (July 9, Season 4), the investigative series looks into the cold case of seniors who went missing from the Muskokas without a trace; Uncover: Sharmini (Sept. 10, Season 5), the investigative series follows reporter Michelle Shephard as she revisits a 20-year-old unsolved murder; Hunting Warhead (Fall), an exploration of the dark web with a task force that includes journalists and police officers; The Story Store (Fall), a collaboration between CBC Podcasts and CBC Kids, The Story Store is open for business, taking orders from real kids across Canada and turning their suggestions into fun-filled adventures; Asking For It (Winter), Kaitlin Prest (The Shadows) helms this fiction series that centres around one woman’s tumultuous journey through three relationships; Someone Knows Something: Izzett (Winter, Season 6), host David Ridgen investigates the 1995 disappearance of Don Izzett, who was discharged from the military for being gay, embarked on a road trip – and never made it home. There will also be new seasons of Tai Asks Why, The Secret Life of Canada, and PlayMe.
SIGN-OFFS:
Jocelyne Blouin, 68, on May 27, of cancer. Blouin started her career as a meteorologist with the Meteorological Service of Canada (MSC) in 1974 in Edmonton, also contributing to local Radio-Canada broadcasts. She was transferred to Montreal with MSC in 1976 and was offered a part-time position as a weather presenter with Radio-Canada television two years later. She committed herself full-time to television in 1980. After 33 years with the public broadcaster, Blouin retired from Le Telejournal in June 2011. It’s estimated she delivered over 15,000 weather forecasts over the course of her career. In 2016, Blouin and fellow meteorologist Jean-Charles Beaubois launched the Blisly app which predicts how the weather might affect your health, including asthma, allergies, and migraines.
Sarika Sehgal, 42. Sehgal, who had a career that took her from CICI-TV Sudbury to the network anchor desks at CBC Newsworld and CTV News Channel, had left journalism behind in the last 10 years to become the founder and director of the Khel Centre for Creativity & Inner Peace, a creative and spiritual retreat near Erin, ON. After graduating from Humber College, Sehgal had a meteoric rise starting as producer on a national morning show in Toronto before stints at CTV News Sudbury and A-Channel in Edmonton. Within a year, she joined CTV Calgary (CFCN) to co-produce and anchor the station’s noon-hour newscasts. She then landed in Hamilton to executive producer and co-anchor for CH News. In 2003, Sehgal returned to Toronto to co-anchorToronto Tonight on Toronto 1 (CKXT-TV). Following the show’s cancellation in 2005, she joined CBC Newsworld as host of one-hour current affairs and news program CBC News: Today, also taking turns hosting CBC News: Tonight and CBC News: Around the World. She left the public broadcaster in Aug. 2007 to travel the world on a soul-searching journey that would take her to 15 countries. She joined CTV News Channel in late 2011. In a manifesto Sehgal wrote for the Khel website, she explained her decision to walk away from television saying “Like so many North Americans, my entire identity and ego were tied to my work. And that happened for nearly 20 years.” Read more here. A memorial will take place June 7 at 2 p.m. at the Bellfountain Village Church in Caledon, ON.
Gord Kidder, 74, on May 22. A graduate of Mohawk College, Kidder had a long broadcast sales career that included 17 years with CHUM Radio, and seven years with CFRB-AM Toronto. He became a partner in Muskoka Information Radio in 2011, serving the South Muskoka Region. A resident of Port Sydney, ON Kidder was named for an uncle who was killed while a PoW at Stalag Luft III during WWII. He was in the Czech Republic to take part in 75th anniversary ceremonies around The Great Escape, in honour of his uncle, when he suffered a cerebral hemorrhage and fell into a coma. He never regained consciousness. Nearly $100,000 was raised to airlift Kidder back to Canada that included matched donation pledges from Gary Slaight, president and CEO of Slaight Communications, and former CHUM Group chairman Jim Waters. Read more here.
Garfield Ogilvie, 61, on Jan. 31, in Las Vegas from pancreatic cancer. Ogilvie started his broadcast sales career at OZ FM in St. John’s, NL, in 1980. He moved on to CJSB Ottawa in 1982 and then Urban Outdoor Trans Ad in Toronto where he was director of Eastern Canadian sales. He forayed back into radio in 1995, becoming the general sales manager of the CHUM Radio Group in Kitchener (CKWW and CFCA), and later spent several years as vice-president of business development with the Radio Marketing Bureau. In 2000, Ogilvie joined Clear Channel Outdoor as vice-president of national sales, based in Toronto. That was the start of 10 years with Clear Channel that would see him move to Chicago, Minneapolis, Las Vegas, and Dallas-Forth Worth with the company. For the last eight years, he’d been director of sales and marketing for PGA Tour facility TPC Summerlin in Las Vegas. A celebration of life will take place in Toronto on June 22. Those interested in service details are asked to reach out directly to Garfield’s son Mitchell, via email at mitchogilvie@gmail.com.
TV/FILM/VIDEO:
Sportsnet has released its NBA Finals broadcast schedule, following the Toronto Raptors’ victory Saturday night which sees the team head to finals for the first time in franchise history. Sportsnet will air Games 1, 3, 5, and 7 vs. the Golden State Warriors on TV, exclusively on Sportsnet and Sportsnet ONE, and online via Sportsnet NOW. Games 2, 4, and 6 will air on radio on Sportsnet 590 The FAN and 680 NEWS. Sportsnet’s coverage tips off this Thursday, May 30 at 8:30 p.m. ET / 5:30 p.m. PT with Game 1 on Sportsnet, Sportsnet ONE, and Sportsnet NOW. Matt Devlin will handle TV play-by-play, alongside game analyst Leo Rautins. On radio, Eric Smith has the call with analysis from Paul Jones. Brad Fay, Alvin Williams and Sherman Hamilton will provide analysis courtside, in addition to NBA insiders Michael Grange and Arden Zwelling. Tim & Sid will have interviews and analysis at 6 p.m. ET / 3 p.m. PT to tee up pre-game action on Sportsnet, while Tim Micallef and Sid Seixeiro will join fans live from Jurassic Park at Maple Leafs Square for Games 1, 5 and 7. Sportsnet’s Raptors and NBA podcast Free Association with Donnovan Bennett and JD Bunkis will also produce new episodes throughout the finals. Find the full schedule here.
Sherry White is the recipient of the 6th annual Nell Shipman Award, presented annually by the Toronto ACTRA Women’s Committee (TAWC) to honour a female-identifying producer, writer, showrunner, mentor or programmer who has advanced gender equity in front of and behind the camera in the Canadian film and television industry. White recently directed an episode of upcoming Global drama series Nurses after showrunning and directing Season 2 of Little Dog for CBC. She’s previously been an executive producer on ABC drama Ten Days in the Valley, a writer and executive producer on Seasons 2 and 3 of Netflix/Discovery’s period drama Frontier, and wrote award-winning feature film Maudie, among other credits.
Corner Gas Animated returns to The Comedy Network on Canada Day. Season 2 will debut July 1 with two back-to-back episodes beginning at 8 p.m. ET/PT. The new 11-episode, half-hour season includes cameo appearances from Michael J. Fox, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Chris Hadfield, Russell Peters and Jann Arden.
The Canadian Media Producers Association (CMPA) has issued a new report on the economic benefits generated by Canadian feature film Indian Horse. Shot over 33 days in and around Sudbury and Peterborough, the critically-acclaimed film generated $15.3 million in economic activity, contributed $10.2 million to the national GDP and created 126 full time jobs. Additionally, each dollar of federal tax credit invested in the film generated $49.33 in economic activity and contributed $32.83 to the GDP. In addition to utilizing federal and provincial tax incentives, the film also received funding from the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation (NOHFC). The production directly benefited 172 Northern Ontario businesses while engaging a number of local crew members, actors and extras, many from nearby Indigenous communities. Economic analysis for the study was carried out by MNP LLP for the CMPA with financial support from Telefilm Canada. The full study is available here.
ONLINE/DIGITAL:
GENERAL:
Hockey broadcaster Jim Hughson and writer and NHL communications executive Frank Brown have been named as this year’s Hockey Hall of Fame NHL Media Award recipients. Hughson will receive the Foster Hewitt Memorial Award, while Brown will be honoured with the Elmer Ferguson Memorial Award for excellence in hockey journalism. Hughson began broadcasting hockey games in the South Peace Hockey League at CKNL Radio in his hometown of Fort St John, B.C. Stops at CKIQ Kelowna and CKNW Vancouver would follow, before Hughson made the move to Toronto in the early 1980s to call play-by-play for the Toronto Maple Leafs on CBC TV. Read more here.
Jason Botchford, the popular Vancouver hockey writer and contributor to TSN 1040 (CKST-AM) radio who passed away last month at age 48, will be remembered at a tribute event at Vancouver’s Commodore Ballroom on June 20. The event will be presented by The Athletic and hosted by TSN 1040’s Mike Halford and Jason Brough. All proceeds raised will go to the Botchford Family Fund. Details here.
The Western Association of Broadcasters Conference 85th annual conference gets underway at the historic Fairmont Banff Springs from June 5-6. This year’s keynote speakers are four-time Olympic champion Hayley Wickenheiser and Brad Wall, former Premier of Saskatchewan. Rounding out the conference lineup is featured speaker Paul Jacobs of Jacobs Media and Dr. Peter Popplewell with Canopy Growth Corporation, in addition to a town hall with Numeris and an industry update from Radio Connects. The event will conclude with the President’s Dinner and Awards Gala where Bob Ridley and Boyd Kozak will be inducted into the 2019 WAB Hall of Fame. Read more here.
SUPPLY LINES:
Not A Subscriber? – Subscribe Now – Free!
Broadcast Dialogue has been required reading in the Canadian broadcast media for 25 years. When you subscribe, you join a community of connected professionals from media and broadcast related sectors from across the country.
The Weekly Briefing from Broadcast Dialogue is delivered exclusively to subscribers by email every Thursday. It’s your link to critical industry news, timely people moves, and excellent career advancement opportunities.
Let’s get started right now.
