REVOLVING DOOR:
Alicia Olson-Keating has been named incoming president & CEO of Numeris. Olson-Keating has been working in the media industry for 37 years – 28 of those in Canada – where she’s held roles as VP Strategic Research at Canadian Broadcast Sales (CBS), Market Development & Research Manager at CHUM, and Senior Research Director, Cross Media at Bell Media. From Bell, she joined Australian public broadcaster ABC in 2015 as Head of Audience Insights. Most recently, she’s been serving as CEO and Managing Director of Nielsen TAM, Australia, where her team is responsible for development, execution and delivery of new currency measurement, Virtual Australia (VOZ), which replaced television measurement as the national standard at the end of 2024. Sue Haas, who has been serving as Interim President & CEO, will continue to lead Numeris through the next few months to ensure a smooth transition. Haas stepped into the interim role in July, following the departure of Neil McEneaney, who had served as president & CEO since 2016. Read more here.
Richard Cormier has departed the National Film Board (NFB) where he’d served as Director General, Programming, Creation, Distribution and Marketing, and Head of Programming since September 2023. Cormier succeeded Julie Roy in the position, arriving from Montreal’s MELS, where he held the title of Vice-President, Digital Creative Services and Executive Producer of Virtual Production.
Rebecca Zandbergen is the new host of CBC Radio’s Ottawa Morning. Zandbergen, who has been with CBC for more than two decades, hosted London Morning for six years, before returning to Ottawa in 2023.
Justin Rydell has been promoted to News Director, CTV Barrie. Rydell has been with CTV Barrie since 2009, first as an ENG/EFP photographer, and then Assignment Producer. Most recently, he’d been overseeing editorial, digital, and brand integrations as Senior Producer.
Alex Seixeiro has moved from sports anchor to afternoon co-anchor at 680 NewsRadio (CFTR-AM), alongside Laura Carney. Seixeiro has worked with Rogers Sports & Media since 2006 across Sportsnet 590 The Fan (CJCL-AM), Sportsnet and CityNews.
Geoff Rohoman has fallen to cuts at 680 NewsRadio (CFTR-AM), upon his return from medical leave. Rohoman, who has been battling colon cancer, was most recently focused on “infotainment” reporting. He’d been with Rogers Sports & Media since 2006, with stops at 1130 NewsRadio (CKWX-AM) Vancouver and Sportsnet 590 The Fan (CJCL-AM).
Zack Bodenstein has joined Sportsnet 590 The Fan (CJCL-AM) as a host. Bodenstein has been filling-in as traffic reporter and content creator on Breakfast Television for the past year and has been an anchor and reporter for 680 NewsRadio since 2017.
Noah Rishaug has joined Global Edmonton. A born and raised Edmontonian, the NAIT grad arrives from CTV News Saskatoon.
Matt Scace has joined The Canadian Press (CP) Prairies bureau in Calgary as a reporter/editor. Scace arrives from the Calgary Herald, where he was a business reporter and digital producer for the past two years.
Catherine Morrison has joined the Parliamentary Bureau at The Canadian Press (CP). Morrison arrives from Postmedia, where she’d been a reporter with the Ottawa Citizen for the past two years. Prior to that, she worked for Postmedia’s papers in Fredericton and Sussex, NB.
Bob Willette has joined Indie88 (CIND-FM) Toronto full-time as an evening and weekend host. Willette, who’d been filling in on the station since November, was most recently the Program Director at Corus Kingston, up until last February when Corus realigned its FM radio leadership team.
Christine Puma is now Manager of Sales and Partnerships with Ontario Northland, responsible for brand partnerships, digital and print advertising in station terminals and shelters, buses and the returning Northlander passenger trains. Previously Corus Entertainment’s Sales Manager for the Barrie/Collingwood radio cluster, Puma has also held positions with CTV/Bell Media Barrie, The Barrie Chamber of Commerce, Toronto Star, Rogers Media and the former Autumn Group Advertising Agency.
Mark Ford has been named Chief Creative Officer at Blink49 Studios. Reporting to Tara Long, President of Global Unscripted Television, Ford will oversee the studio’s unscripted media development and production. Ford is the founder of Creature Films, a prodco known for its documentaries and reality series, with a focus on music and pop culture icons, including Paramount’s Behind the Music, A&E’s Biggie: The Life of Notorious B.I.G., Streets of Compton and L.A. Burning.
Richard Welsh has been elected by SMPTE’s membership to serve as the organization’s new president through Dec. 31, 2026. Welsh is currently SVP of Innovation at Deluxe. He has been on the SMPTE board for more than 10 years, most recently serving a two-year term as SMPTE Executive Vice-President. He has also served as SMPTE’s VP of Education and governor for EMEA, Central/South America. Welsh is also on the board of IBC and the chair/co-founder of volumetric asset management company, Volustor.
RADIO & PODCAST:
Vista Radio has rebranded the three Alberta radio stations it acquired from CAB-K Broadcasting last year. As of last week, Country 96.5 (CKLJ-FM) Olds and Country 106.5 (CKVG-FM) Vegreville became 96.5 FM The Ranch and 106.5 FM The Ranch, respectively. Rock 104.5 (CKJX-FM) Olds has been rebranded as 104.5 The Goat. Darren Scott, Director, Creative Services & Communications, says while the station playlists will remain pretty much identical, the rebrand – particularly on the Country side – is about reflecting the rural lifestyle of the Olds and Vegreville coverage areas. On the Rock side, Scott says The Goat brand is a good fit for the Olds area, joining its Vista counterparts in Lloydminster and Prince George. Read more here.
Rogers Sports & Media’s Country 104.3 (CJQM-FM) Sault Ste. Marie has been rebranded as 104.3 The Fox, The Sault’s Rock Station. Country 104.3 listeners are being redirected to Rogers’ sister station Country 600 (CKAT-AM) North Bay. 104.3 The Fox is playing a Rock format anchored on acts like Tragically Hip, Our Lady Peace, Rush, Headstones, and Billy Talent. Like its Rogers’ Rock counterparts in Ontario, the syndicated The Brock and Dalby Show is being heard in mornings on 104.3 The Fox.
John-Angus MacDonald, founding member and lead guitarist for The Trews, is the latest Canadian rocker to join the lineup at 94.9 The Rock (CKGE-FM) Oshawa as the new host of Generation Next Radio. Heard weeknights at 8 p.m. and weekends at 11 a.m. and 8 p.m., the new music discovery show is an opportunity for new unsigned talent to get their music heard, some of the more than 1,200 acts featured on Generation Next over the last 12 years include The Glorious Sons, Greta Van Fleet, Crown Lands, Stuck on Planet Earth, and Cleopatrick. Beginning Jan. 18, MacDonald takes over the show from guitarist Sean Kelly, known for his work backing Lee Aaron, Coney Hatch and Alan Frew, among other bands. Read more here.
Orbyt Media has announced a sales and syndication partnership with Throwback Nation Radio, offering Canadian radio stations access to the Classic Hits weekend and daily shows on a cash or barter basis. Hosted by Tony Lorino, it features hit music from the ‘80s and ‘90s. The new version of the show will be compliant with music tailored to the needs of Canadian broadcasters.
CBC/Radio-Canada’s Make the Season Kind campaign saw 24 regional CBC stations across the country run charity drives throughout the month of December, including 37 community events, raising $7.8 million for local food banks. Radio-Canada also organized fundraising events, including Le Noël du coeur in Trois-Rivières, contributing an additional $952,000 to local charities. In Quebec, Radio-Canada was also a major partner in the Media Food Drive, which raised $5.1 million.
Curiouscast’s newest podcast, A Most Audacious Heist, premiering Jan. 28, tells the story of master jewel thief Daniel Blanchard. Created in partnership with Blanchard House, the historical true-crime story is written by Emma Jane Kirby and hosted by Seren Jones, taking listeners inside the life of the daring thief, whose ingenious heists and escapes from the law defy belief. A Most Audacious Heist is the second podcast to join Curiouscast as part of a multi-partnership deal with Blanchard House. Their first podcast together, Black and Blue: Behind the Badge, launched in 2023 – a true-crime story centering around the experiences of Black officers – which won a British Podcast Award for Best Factual Podcast. New episodes will be available every Tuesday.
Media Technology Monitor (MTM) has released its annual report on Indigenous Canadians and Their Use of Media and Technology. It finds that 60% of respondents are tuning traditional radio over the course of a typical week. However, YouTube (70%), along with audio streaming services like Spotify (68%) are the biggest sources for audio content. While online video is ubiquitous among Indigenous respondents (95%), more than half (55%) have a paid TV subscription and three in five (61%) tune in to traditional TV in a typical week. 84% of Indigenous respondents have used a social media platform in the past month, led by Facebook (77%), Instagram (56%), TikTok (46%) and Snapchat (41%).
The Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS) has announced the four inductees for the Canadian Music Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, presented by Music Canada. Industry legend Dan Hill, grande dame of Québec song Ginette Reno, rock superstars Glass Tiger, eclectic Celtic singer/songwriter/composer Loreena McKennitt, pop-punk icons Sum 41, and hip-hop pioneer Maestro Fresh Wes will all be honoured for their contributions to Canada’s music history on May 15 at Studio Bell in Calgary. The spring ceremony follows the induction of Maestro Fresh Wes (during The 2024 JUNO Awards Broadcast in Halifax) and Sum 41, who will be inducted to the Canadian Music Hall of Fame live on the 2025 JUNO Awards Broadcast in Vancouver on March 30.
LISTEN: Dani Stover is on the latest Sound Off Podcast discussing her experience hosting “Let’s Talk with Danny Stover,” a pre-recorded radio show that curated content from across Canada. Stover expresses her dislike for live radio and the reliance on text lines for audience engagement. She also criticizes the use of AI and the negative impact of social media. Stover plans to continue writing on Substack and is considering a future podcast.
SIGN OFFS:
Andy Moir, 75, on Dec. 21. Moir began his journalism career in his hometown of Winnipeg, before departing for Toronto, first working in radio on CBC’s long-running “Sunday Morning” radio program and then in television, where he helped found flagship current affairs program, “The Journal.” He joined CBC Halifax in 1990 as Senior Producer and later Executive Producer of television news and CBC Nova Scotia supper hour newscast, “First Edition.” Moir bought an 1870s home in Freeport, NS in 1978. It was his summer refuge for many years, until he and his wife Christine Callaghan, whom he met at CBC Nova Scotia, retired from the public broadcaster and moved to Freeport full-time in 1996. They went on to open a bed and breakfast, enjoying showing the Islands and Digby Neck to hundreds, if not thousands, of guests. In retirement, Moir started monthly volunteer-run newspaper “Passages” in the late 1990s, supervised District of Digby heritage effort “The Elder Project,” was a founder of the Freeport Community Development Association, and lobbied for local causes including improved health care resources and walking trails. He also joined Tradewinds Realty as an agent in 2012.
TV & FILM:
Bell and Corus Entertainment have announced the expansion of a strategic, multi-year agreement for Corus networks to be distributed on Bell Fibe TV and Bell Satellite TV, including Corus lifestyle networks, Flavour Network and Home Network. The agreement builds upon the prior launch of Corus streaming service STACKTV on the Bell Fibe TV app. In the meantime, Bell Media has followed Corus in filing an official complaint with the CRTC against Rogers’ plan to sub its newly-acquired Warner Bros. Discovery channels – Discovery and Investigation Discovery (I.D.) – in place of the previous channels with that branding, and move the rebranded channels up their grid. Read more in our sister publication, CARTT.ca (paywalled).
CAFTCAD (Canadian Alliance for Film and Television Costume Arts in Design) has announced 2025 nominees, ahead of their 6th Annual CAFTCAD Awards on Sunday, March 2 at the Eglinton Grand Theatre in Toronto. Among the multiple nominees are Peter Pan and Wendy, Shogun, Star Trek: Discovery, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, The Boys, and Avatar: The Last Airbender. This year’s Industry Icon Award honourees are Joan Lovett and Anthea Mallinson. Lovett, the visionary behind Lovett Studios, has revolutionized textile breakdown and special effects costume arts in B.C. and across Canada, providing creative services to over 150 productions since 1987, including Batwoman, The Last of Us, Stargate, Snowpiercer and Deadpool. Mallinson, the driving force behind The Dye Dept., played a key role in developing Capilano University’s Costume for Stage & Screen Program. Her work can be seen in productions like The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, (2021 CAFTCAD Award for Excellence in Textiles), Snakes on a Plane, Chronicles of Riddick and Catwoman.
The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences has extended voting and rescheduled some events around the 97th Oscars due to the impact of the Los Angeles-area fires. The Oscars nomination voting period is extended through Friday, Jan. 17, at 5 p.m. PT. The Oscars nominations announcement is rescheduled for Thursday, Jan. 23, at 5:30 a.m. PT. The live announcement will be a virtual event without in-person media coverage. The Oscars Nominees Luncheon will not be held this year, while the Scientific and Technical Awards, scheduled for Tuesday, Feb. 18, will be rescheduled to a later date to be determined. The 97th Oscars will still be held Sunday, March 2 at the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood.
Curling Ontario is partnering with Cogeco’s YourTV during the upcoming Ontario Men’s and Women’s Curling Championships, taking place at the Cobourg Community Centre, Jan. 19-26. The three-year partnership, covers events in 2025, 2027 and 2028. YourTV will be the exclusive broadcaster of the championships, providing live coverage of the games directly to viewers’ televisions. With this partnership, Curling Ontario says it aims to expand the reach of the championship games, promoting the sport and connecting with curling enthusiasts everywhere. Each draw will feature a highlighted game broadcast on YourTV, while additional sheets will be available for streaming on the yourtv.tv website. Full coverage will also be available on the Super Sports Pak through most cable providers in Ontario.
CTV Wild Channel premieres new Canadian original docuseries My Pet Ate What? on Sunday, Jan. 26. The 14-episode series follows Vancouver-based father-son duo, Dr. Eugene Gorodetsky (Dr. G) and Ben Gorodetsky, as they tackle the “off menu” meal choices of B.C. pets. Two new episodes will air every Sunday. The series is produced by Tyson Media Productions (Pets & Pickers) in partnership with Bell Media.
Chris Sharpe, a producer with Black Film Space Manitoba, has announced the premiere of groundbreaking documentary Relationship Remix, premiering Feb. 14 on CBC Gem. Black Film Space Manitoba is dedicated to creating inclusive storytelling opportunities that reflect the diverse voices of the Canadian prairies. Relationship Remix offers a fresh exploration of Canada’s fastest-growing demographic, mixed-race couples, highlighting the importance of embracing diversity in building a more inclusive society. It takes viewers deep into the lives and emotions of five married and dating couples in mixed relationships from Manitoba.
Media Pulse, a Blue Ant Media company and connected TV (CTV) marketplace, and Gusto TV, have announced that Media Pulse now has exclusive streaming access to Gusto TV’s inventory in Canada. With the new partnership, Media Pulse will offer clients direct ad insertion opportunities across the full range of Gusto TV CTV inventory, spanning over 60 original titles, including series like Cook Like A Chef, Bonacini’s Italy and Flour Power.
National Canadian Film Day (CanFilmDay) returns on April 16 with programming spotlight, Something to Believe In, focused on stories that capture the power of art, community, of having a dream, and fighting for what you believe in. An opportunity to gather together to indulge in some of Canada’s best cinema, the spotlight showcases Canadian favourites old and new, including some of the top films from 2024 festivals, including Canada’s 2025 Oscar submission Universal Language (dir. Matthew Rankin); Bergers (Shepherds) (dir. Sophie Deraspe), winner of Best Canadian Feature Film at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival; and Yintah (dir. Jennifer Wickham, Brenda Michell, Michael Toledano), winner of Best Canadian Documentary Award at the 2024 Hot Docs Festival. Browse the full list of films at canfilmday.ca/spotlight.
REGULATORY, TELECOM & MEDIA:
CBC News has unveiled the list of communities it’s set to deploy up to 30 new journalist hires to across the country. Previously announced in November, following CRTC approval of Google’s Online News Act commitment to compensate Canadian news organizations for use of their news content, the new hires are set to go out and report from 22 communities across the country, including six locations in B.C., one location in the North, nine across the Prairies, three in Ontario, and one location each in Quebec, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia. CBC says with the additional roles, it will increase its footprint from 48 to 66 local stations and bureaus across the country. Read more here.
The CRTC has launched its latest consultation looking at market dynamics within the Canadian broadcasting system. The commission says the consultation will explore the dynamics between small, medium and large broadcasters, television service providers and online streaming services with an eye to building a modernized Broadcast Act that ensures a sustainable, fair and competitive system where Canadians can find the services and content they want. One of a series of consultations working toward implementing the Online Streaming Act, Scott Shortliffe, Executive Director, Broadcasting, said this proceeding won’t present a lot of preliminary views as the commission tries to understand the market and how it’s working. Read more here.
Corus Entertainment’s first quarter financial results saw revenue decrease 12% in the quarter ended Nov. 30, as both television and radio revenues fell. The company reported net income attributable to shareholders of $11.9 million ($0.06 income per share basic) for the quarter with its net debt to segment profit ratio at 4.48, up from 3.84 times in the previous quarter. TV revenue fell 11% to $303.6 million, compared with $342.4 million in the same quarter last year – including a 16% dip in advertising revenue – while radio revenue dropped 14% to $23.5 million, from $27.5 million year-over-year. Read more here.
Cogeco financial results for the first quarter ended Nov. 30 saw revenue decrease by 1.4% to $765.0 million. On a constant currency basis, revenue decreased by 1.8% due to a decline in revenue in the American telecommunications segment and media activities, while revenue remained stable in the Canadian telecom segment. President & CEO Frédéric Perron said high-speed internet subscriber growth remains strong in Canada, subscriber metrics are improving in the U.S, and preparation for an upcoming Canadian wireless launch is on track. Media activity revenue decreased by 7.8%. “At Cogeco Media, competitive dynamics in the radio advertising market remain challenging, however, our digital advertising solutions continue to provide a growing contribution to our overall revenue, and we continue to experience strong listener engagement with radio stations remaining at the top of the ratings,” Perron said.
The Commission for Complaints for Telecom-television Services (CCTS) has released its annual report, showing 88% of complaints were lodged against 10 service providers. Reflecting the period from Aug. 1, 2023 to July 31, 2024, the majority of complaints surrounded billing issues, followed by service delivery and contract disputes. Rogers led complaints, accounting for 28% of billing issues and 27% of all complaints, up 103% year-over-year. Complaints against Bell were up 73%, accounting for 17% of complaints to the CCTS, followed by TELUS (14% of all complaints), which experienced a 56% jump in customer issues.
The 2024 Michener Award is now open to submissions until Feb. 21. The Michener Award is presented annually to news organizations, rather than individuals. Entries are judged for their professionalism, their impact on the public, and the degree of arms-length public benefit that is generated. Winners for 2024 Michener Award will be announced at the Michener Awards Ceremony in June at Rideau Hall. Learn more about previous recipients here.
BROADCAST TECH & ENGINEERING:
CES 2025 welcomed over 141,000 attendees from over 150 countries, more than 4,500 exhibitors, including 1,400 startups, and more than 6,000 media attendees to Las Vegas. This year’s event saw over 300 conference sessions presented. They included C Space at ARIA, bringing together thousands of senior-level marketing professionals to explore the intersection of technology, media, and branding, featuring industry innovators from brands like Reddit, NBCUniversal, and Microsoft Advertising about how technology is shaping the future of storytelling, consumer engagement, and brand strategy. The first-ever CES Creator Space, presented by Sony, also gathered storytellers to network, create content, and relax in between visiting exhibitors. It featured discussions on storytelling, content monetization, brand partnerships, rights and ownership.
NAB Show 2025, April 5-9, in Las Vegas is now open to registration. This year’s event will include all-new three day program, Sports Summit: The Future of Sports Rights and Fan Experience, exploring trends and technologies transforming the fan experience and unlocking new revenue streams. It will feature immersive activations including AI-powered personalized broadcasts from Microsoft, AWS F1 simulators, and a Sports Wagering Pavilion.
