RADIO/AUDIO/PODCAST:
Nik Nanos, one of the country’s best-known pollsters, is hosting a new podcast for CTV News, alongside producer Michael Stittle, that will push out episodes three times a week leading up to the federal election. Trend Line promises to provide listeners with insight into “the public mood of Canadian voters” with the 15-minute podcast offering analysis of the latest polling results and tracking numbers. Trend Line is available on CTVNews.ca, iHeartRadio Canada, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, and Google Podcasts. It joins Kevin Newman’s new podcast Attention Control, which debuted Monday, and explores the impact digital media and technology will have on the election. Read more here.
When Life Gives you Parkinson’s, the podcast hosted by Corus National AM Radio director Larry Gifford, has been renewed for a second season. Gifford, who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 2017 at age 45, co-hosts with CKNW Vancouver producer Niki Reitmayer. This season’s guests include Rasheda Ali, daughter of legendary boxer Muhammad Ali; Tim Hague, Season 1 winner of Amazing Race Canada; and Dave Clark, BBC television presenter. This season will also explore Gifford’s life, two years into his diagnosis. Parkinson Canada has signed on as the presenting partner of the second season, with UK charity Spotlight YOPD (Young Onset Parkinson’s Disease) on board as a content and promotional partner. The Michael J. Fox Foundation is also teaming up with Gifford to promote a series of free, educational panels in 2019-20 called Parkinson’s IQ + You. When Life Gives You Parkinson’s was a finalist in two categories at the Canadian Podcast Awards and was named one of the best of 2018 by Apple Podcasts Canada.
Melanie Case, of 95.1 The Peak (CKCB-FM) Collingwood, ON morning show Talk of the Town, is set to star in independent feature film Good Grief It’s Friday. Shooting at various locations around Simcoe County, the film noir is set for release in Spring 2020. Written and directed by Mike Patterson, the film will also feature Matt McLean, morning co-host at 93.1 Fresh Radio (CHAY-FM) Barrie.
“CKGM Rendez-Vous With You 2019, The 60th Anniversary Alumni Reunion” is set to take place Sept. 21 at Montreal’s Sir Winston Churchill Pub. Close to 120 station alumni are expected to attend, crossing all of CKGM’s incarnations, including its brief CHTX and CKIS rebrands in the late 80s and early 90s. CKGM Alumni can contact Marc Denis at maisoui@marcdenis.com for more info or to confirm attendance.
LISTEN: SoundExchange, the Washington, D.C.-based non-profit collective rights management organization, made waves a few weeks ago with the announcement that it’s collaborating with SourceAudio and Podcastmusic.com to make label and publisher-owned music available to the podcast industry. On the latest episode of Broadcast Dialogue – The Podcast, Richard Conlon, SoundExchange’s Chief Corporate Development Officer, in his first-ever podcast interview, on the future of music licensing for the podcast space.
SIGN-OFFS:
Kerry Stratton, 66, on Aug. 27. Growing up in Belleville, ON, Stratton’s interest in pursuing conducting was spurred by hearing Leonard Bernstein on the radio. He went on to hold posts with the Prince George Symphony Orchestra, the Georgian Bay Symphony, North York Symphony (which developed into Toronto Philharmonia), and the Toronto Concert Orchestra. Stratton was known to listeners of The New Classical FM (CFMZ-FM) Toronto as the host of programs The Oasis and Conductor’s Choice. After a 2018 ALS diagnosis, Stratton stepped down from hosting The Oasis last November, but continued to host a Sunday afternoon show.
Pierre Nadeau, 82, on Sept. 3, of Parkinson’s. Born in Montreal, Nadeau grew up dreaming of a career in radio. He got his start at CJBR Rimouski and went on to work with CBC Montreal. In 1957, after getting married, Nadeau left the public broadcaster for a year to work as a reporter with the Office de Radiodiffusion-Télévision Française (ORTF) in Paris. He returned to Radio-Canada in 1962 and was hired as host of television program “Camera.” Nadeau went on to serve as Paris correspondent for several years, returning again to Montreal in 1968 where he hosted radio shows “Le monde maintenant”, “Le téléjournal”, and television program “Le 60.” He eventually made the move to TVA in the early 1980s where he hosted and produced several variety shows, including L’Événement magazine, before he returned to Radio-Canada. In 2001, he published his autobiography. He went public with his Parkinson’s diagnosis in 2008. Among his many accolades were six Gemini Awards. In 1992, he was knighted by the National Order of Quebec and was named an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2009.
TV/FILM/VIDEO:
Global’s fall schedule is headlined by the final season of Modern Family and sophomore season of Single Parents on Sept. 25. A new Thursday, two-hour, comedy block features returning series Superstore and The Good Place, alongside new comedies The Unicorn, starring Walton Goggins (Justified) as a single dad, and Carol’s Second Act, starring Patricia Heaton and Ashley Tisdale. Michelle and Robert King’s new series Evil debuts Sept. 26, starring Mike Colter (Luke Cage), puts science and religion to the test when extraordinary occurrences appear. Tiffany Haddish is also set to host a revival of Kids Say the Darndest Things, premiering Oct. 6.
Entertainment Tonight Canada is kicking off Season 15 with a new creative look for the show, including a refreshed set and graphics, and a multi-platform marketing campaign featuring host Cheryl Hickey and entertainment reporters Roz Weston, Sangita Patel, Carlos Bustamante, and correspondent Keshia Chanté. Hickey will cap off premiere week on Sunday Sept. 8 with an exclusive half-hour red carpet special from the Canadian Country Music Association (CCMA) Awards in Calgary, co-hosted by The Morning Show’s Jeff McArthur. On Monday, Sept, 16, ET Canada has a 30-minute special with YouTube star Lilly Singh, taking them behind the scenes of her new late night series A Little Late with Lilly Singh, set to air weeknights on Global at 12:35 am ET/PT. ET Canada will also preview Global’s upcoming Fall lineup in its annual half-hour Global Fall TV Preview, Sept. 18 at 7:30 p.m. ET/ 7 p.m. PT.
ETALK launches its 18th season with extensive coverage of all things TIFF, beginning Thursday, Sept. 5 at 7 p.m. ET/PT on CTV, CTV.ca, and the CTV app. The entertainment magazine is also expanding its digital coverage with ETALK’s Twitter feed featuring red carpet interviews, while weekday Instagram and Facebook social series The Drop will broadcast from opening weekend. Etalk.ca will also have extended interviews, daily fashion roundups, and more.
The Kelly Clarkson Show debuts Monday, Sept. 9 at 4 p.m. ET on Citytv. The hour-long talk show will feature remarkable stories, celebrity guests, and live musical performances. Clarkson, who just released her eighth studio album, will kick off every show with a cover of one of her favourite songs.
Family Jr. has premiered brand new animated series Rev & Roll. Created by mom and dad duo, Scott and Julie Stewart (Kate and Mim-Mim), the show follows 8-year-old Rev, and his best friend Rumble – a powerful truck with a puppy personality – as they go on wild adventures in their town of Fender Bend. Rev & Roll is airing daily at 8 a.m. ET and will also be available on Family Jr. OnDemand and the Family Channel App.
Muse Entertainment, Back Alley Films and Cineflix Studios have announced that production is underway on Season 2 of CBC original drama Coroner (8×60). Starring Serinda Swan (Inhumans, Ballers) as coroner Dr. Jenny Cooper, Season 2 is scheduled to debut on CBC and the free CBC Gem streaming service in Winter 2020 and expected to return to the UK, Australia, France, Spain, Germany, Africa, Poland, Latin America and Brazil in 2020. Inspired by the best-selling series of books by M.R. Hall and created for television by Morwyn Brebner (Saving Hope, Rookie Blue), the series is currently being filmed in various locations in Toronto. Season 1 of the series premiered as the highest-rated new drama series on CBC in more than four years and delivered average audiences of more than one million views. Coroner also premiered as the highest-ever rated series launch in the UK for Universal TV in Jan. 2019.
BNN Bloomberg celebrated its 20th anniversary with a special edition of Market Call, looking back at the channel’s evolution from its initial launch in 1999 as Report on Business Television to its collaboration with Bloomberg LP in 2018 and subsequent re-launch as BNN Bloomberg. Coinciding with the milestone, BNN Bloomberg announced the launch of new digital financial data on BNNBloomberg.ca and the BNN Bloomberg app. BNN Bloomberg’s website and app now feature a new “Stock Scorecard” on each stock profile, adding metrics like market capitalization, one-year total return, and much more. Along with the new data, BNN Bloomberg has also launched free real-time data for all TSX Venture exchange stocks, as well as listings from the NEO Exchange (currently presented in real time) and Western Canadian Select (WCS), the benchmark energy price for Canada’s heavy oil industry.
Bell Media is the Canadian home of 2019 NFL coverage, available on TSN, CTV, CTV2, RDS, and TSN Radio stations across the country. With the NFL celebrating its historic 100th season, the schedule includes Thursday Night Football on TSN and CTV2, Sunday 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. ET game windows across multiple stations and networks each week, Sunday Night Football on TSN and CTV2, Monday Night Football on TSN, NFL Playoffs and the Super Bowl LIV broadcast from Hard Rock Stadium in Miami.
TSN is the new home of Gridiron Nation presented by Krown Produce, a weekly college football recap focused on Canadians in NCAA and USPORTS football. Previously airing on CHCH-TV, the show was previously known as Krown Countdown U. Hosted by veteran sports broadcaster Jim Mullin, who also serves as president of Football Canada, the show features commentary from Gord Randall and Mike Hogan, who doubles as the play-by-play voice of the Toronto Argonauts. It made its TSN debut last Wednesday.
Canada Media Fund (CMF) and the Danish Film Institute have announced the third round renewal of their incentive for the codevelopment of digital media projects between Canadian and Danish producers. The Canada-Denmark Co-Development Incentive for Digital Media Projects budget is set at $300,000 CDN, with each partner investing half of the total amount. The incentive supports the codevelopment of new digital content that is innovative, explores new ways of telling stories, experiments with new formats and platforms and new ways of engaging audiences. The project must involve at least one Danish producer eligible under the DFI’s criteria, and one Canadian producer eligible under the CMF’s criteria. The deadline to apply is Dec. 12. Click here to access the guidelines.
Telefilm Canada is currently accepting entries from Canadian production and distribution companies wishing to join the Canada Pavilion and attend MIPCOM 2019, Oct. 14-17, the international market dedicated to financing, co-production, acquisitions and sales of audiovisual content on all platforms. Preceded by MIPJUNIOR, Oct. 12-13, MIPCOM annually attracts more than 13,000 industry professionals from 100 countries. The extended deadline to register for the Canada Pavilion is Sept. 5. More info here.
The Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF), running Sept. 26 – Oct. 11, has announced this year’s special presentations, headlined by a DGC Masterclass with director Atom Egoyan, Sept 27. Documentary filmmaker Michael Apted, best known for Up, the groundbreaking series of documentary films that have followed the lives of a group of British children since 1964, is also slated to give a Creator Talk on Sept. 29. Find the full lineup of speakers, here.
GENERAL:
The CRTC has launched a review of device financing plans to consider whether plans with terms longer than 24 months are compliant with the Wireless Code. The review follows a move by Bell Canada, Iristel, Rogers, and Telus to offer such plans. In particular, in cases where the device financing plan term is longer than the wireless service plan term, the commission is concerned with customers having to pay the remaining balance of their device financing plan immediately if they wish to change to a different service plan or service provider. The CRTC is seeking comments by Oct. 15.
The CRTC has ordered Bell not to suspend its roaming agreement with Videotron until the commission has reached a final decision on the issue. Bell Mobility maintains that too many Videtron customers are permanently roaming on its network and threatened to cut Videotron off if the situation wasn’t remedied within 30 days. The commission has concluded that “Considering that the Commission will make a definitive ruling on the service, the Commission is of the view that in the interim, consumer interests must prevail over Bell’s desire to implement its tariff as quickly as possible.”
CBC has released Q1 financial highlights for the quarter ended June 30. The public broadcaster reported revenue increases of 0.6% for the quarter, as subscription revenue growth on its digital platforms exceeded subscriber revenue declines on conventional discretionary channels. TV advertising revenue was slightly lower in the quarter. Ongoing expenses decreased by 0.6% this quarter, primarily due to changes in programming content and scheduling. Government funding for the quarter decreased by 2.6%, consistent with anticipated operating needs.
The News Photographers Association of Canada (NPAC) has expressed concern over a recent incident where CBC reporter Carolyn Dunn was initially denied entry into the U.S. to cover a colleague’s vacation leave in Washington, D.C. Dunn tweeted on Aug. 25 that she’d been refused entry based on Sections 212 (a) (7) (A) (i) (I) and advised by U.S. Customs and Border Protection that she would require a non-immigrant visa. In a release, NPAC vice-president Ryan McLeod called the incident “a disturbing trend.” “The members of the Canadian press have always had a mostly cordial relationship across borders. It doesn’t matter if it’s television/print/web, freelance or staff; citizens of Canada should not and do not require visas to enter the United States. While Ms. Carolyn Dunn was eventually allowed to board a flight into the United States, it speaks volumes about the current climate,” said McLeod.
Connect to Innovate funding of $889,523 has been announced to bring new or improved high-speed internet access to the New Brunswick communities of Rollingdam, Bonny River, Jemseg, McDonald Corner, Upper Hainesville and Davidson Lake. Of the $889,523 investment, $664,893 will come from the Connect to Innovate program; $67,300 from the Government of New Brunswick; and $157,330 from Bell Canada.
The Jack Webster Foundation has added scholarships for Indigenous journalism students, presented by the B.C. Teachers’ Federation (BCTF), to its Student Journalism Awards program. $2,000 will be paid towards tuition, with up to two scholarships to be awarded this fall. Applications are now being accepted until Sept. 29. The new scholarship program joins the foundation’s existing awards which are open to all B.C. students enrolled in their final year of a journalism program. One $2,000 award is available to a worthy recipient from each of the following journalism programs in British Columbia: the British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT), Kwantlen Polytechnic University, Langara College, Thompson Rivers University, and the University of British Columbia (UBC). Find more info here.
The Jim Pattison Broadcast Group (JPBG) has opened its 2019 Prairie Equity Scholarship competition aimed at broadcast students in the prairie provinces from underrepresented groups. The Equity Scholarship was instituted in 2009 to address the shortage of broadcasters from four groups; Aboriginal Peoples, Persons with Disabilities, Members of Visible Minorities, and Women. JPBG believes that by supporting the career development of these groups, the industry will access an untapped pool of potentially talented employees, encourage diverse viewpoints and backgrounds, enhance relationships with local communities, and broaden the advertiser and audience base. This year, two $2,000 awards will be made to residents of Alberta, Saskatchewan or Manitoba who, in 2019, are attending or planning to attend a recognized Broadcast program at a post-secondary institution in one of those provinces. The deadline for applications is Oct. 4th with the award to be announced in November.
SUPPLY LINES:
Arvato Systems is supplying APTN with its Broadcast Management solution, which encompasses rights management, content planning and a solution for marketing broadcasting times. The Broadcast Management Suite includes channel management solution Avatega, used for linear and non-linear rights management and all operative processes related to program scheduling. Content monetization workflows are managed by S4AdSales, which also handles inventory optimization and yield management processes thanks to the integration of optimization engine S4AdOpt. The global IT specialist will be one of 1,700 exhibitors at IBC Amsterdam, Sept. 13-17.
TVU Networks will introduce the completely cloud-based TVU Talkshow at IBC 2019, the first all-in-one solution for multi-camera production that enables audience participation with video. TVU Talkshow supports bi-directional audience participation, enabling fans to engage with an event or hosted show in real-time. An unlimited number of participants can video call in using the TVU Talkshow app on their mobile phone with its integrated caller management system enabling producers to pre-screen callers. TVU Talkshow also supports IFB management to ensure seamless communication from hosts interacting with callers to producers, production crew and camera operators coordinating with each other. The solution is entirely cloud-based, eliminating the need for wiring and features a centralized GUI that can be operated from a web browser. TVU Talkshow can simultaneously deliver live content to multiple destinations, such as Facebook Live or YouTube Live, a CDN or web page, over 3,000 major TV stations globally on TVU Grid, as well as traditional SDI output through a TVU receiver. The open platform can also enable third party services by integrating them through TVU Open API. Integration with cloud-based Singular.live IP graphics platform, provides advanced real-time graphics overlay capabilities. Examples of recent TVU Talkshow use include Sky Sports’ live talk show, Football Social, streamed on Youtube and Facebook. Fox Noire, a new streaming channel focused on the African-American experience in Los Angeles, is also an early user.
HUBER+SUHNER has introduced a new Direct GPS-over-Fiber (GPSoF) solution, the first- of-its-kind to facilitate a fiber optic connection made directly onto an antenna, eliminating the need for a separate power line. Power-over-Fiber eliminates power constraints by making use of available fiber optic backbones to deliver the required power to the antenna, eliminating the need for external power sources at the remote end, while at the same time, adding the benefits of fiber optics into a conventional radio frequency link.
Dejero is unveiling its new EnGo 260 HEVC mobile transmitter at the upcoming IBC 2019 show in Amsterdam. The 5G-ready EnGo 260 promises enhanced picture quality and user experience, weighing 30% less. It also features an 85% larger screen improving visibility and accessibility. Its internal rechargeable battery has also been upgraded providing 120 minutes of use, compatible with and recharged by standard gold mount and v-mount ENG batteries. A professional-grade mini XLR interface for IFB has also been added to enable communication from the director to on-air talent or camera operator—while live or ready for live.
Media Technology Expo, begins Sept. 24 at Fremont Studios in Seattle and concludes Sept. 26 at the Leftbank Annex in Portland, Oregon. MTE2019 is a free event produced by Advanced Broadcast Solutions, a division of Key Code Media, for video professionals and filmmakers in the Pacific Northwest. The free, one-day event will feature educational sessions, networking opportunities and an exhibit hall. Among the presenters will be Newtek’s Ely Stacy on Moving to an IP future; Avid Application Specialist Corey Tedrow on Web-based solutions for Editorial and exploring ways teams can collaborate remotely; and Scott Freeman of Invintus Media on Live Streaming Best Practices. Learn more here.
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.
