The Weekly Briefing

REVOLVING DOOR:

Jordan Banks has exited Rogers Communications as President of Rogers Sports & Media (RSM). Colette Watson, RSM’s former SVP of Television & Broadcast Operations and current President of CPAC (Cable Public Affairs Channel), steps into the role. Banks was appointed President of the division in Sept. 2019 after serving as the Managing Director of Facebook and Instagram Canada and previously working as Facebook’s Global Head of Vertical Strategy. Banks is the latest executive to depart as newly-appointed President & CEO Tony Staffieri takes the reins of the company after serving in the role on a temporary basis since mid-November. In addition to Dave Fuller stepping down as President of Rogers Wireless, Sevaun Palvetzian, Chief Communications Officer, and Dan Golberg, SVP of Strategy and Corporate Development, have also left the company. Like Banks, both had been with Rogers for less than three years and were hires under former President & CEO Joe Natale. Read more here.

Curtis Papetti has been promoted to the newly-created position of Manager, National Radio Programming at Bell Media, encompassing Bell’s English-language music stations including Virgin Radio, BOUNCE Radio, Pure Country, and Move Radio. Papetti has been with Bell Media since 2015 and for the last two years has held the role of National Music Coordinator.

Carol Off is stepping away from CBC Radio’s As It Happens after 16 years. She’ll host her final show Feb. 25, before moving on to work on special projects for CBC, including a new summer series. Off’s career with the public broadcaster started in the late ’80s as a freelancer, and then Ottawa arts correspondent for Sunday Morning. She went on to host political debate show CounterSpin and report for The National. Prior to joining As It Happens in 2006, she was an international correspondent covering the Middle East, the Balkans, Afghanistan, the U.S., and the former Soviet Union.

Marc Michaels, Katlynn Millions and Alex Carr are joining a refreshed lineup at Calgary’s JACK 96.9 (CJAQ-FM). Starting Jan. 31, Michaels and Millions will take over JACK 96.9’s afternoon drive show. Up until earlier this month, the pair had been hosting the drive home show on alt-rocker X92.9 (CFEX-FM), formerly programmed by Christian Hall, who since August of last year has been National Content Director for the JACK brand at Rogers Sports & Media. Alex Carr will helm a new midday show on JACK 96.9, starting Feb. 22. Carr has been freelancing his talents to stations including X92.9 and 102.7 The Peak (CJPK-FM) Vancouver, since his release from Toronto’s 102.1 The Edge (CFNY-FM) in January 2020 where he and sister Ruby Carr had a year-long run in mornings. He’ll also host the local edition of JACK Up The ’80s. Read more here.

Nabil Karim is joining Turner Sports as a host and reporter for the network’s NBA and NHL coverage. Up until the end of December, Karim had been with ESPN since 2019 anchoring SportsCenter. Prior to that, the Burnaby, BC native was with TSN, contributing to Sportscentre as well as reporting for the NHL on TSN. 

Lindsay Cooper and Morgan Bowen have joined 98.1 2day FM (CKBD-FM) Lethbridge as co-hosts of the recently-launched Mornings To-Go with Lindsay and Morgan. Cooper also takes on music director duties. Cooper was previously midday host at Country 90.5 (CFCH-FM) North Bay and prior to that hosted mornings at The Moose 93.1 (CHMT-FM) Timmins, ON. Bowen arrives from the Pure Country (CJDC-AM) morning show in Dawson Creek, BC.

Jocelyn Martin has added middays at Country 90.5 (CFCH-FM) North Bay to her duties at Vista Radio. In addition to helming middays on The Moose network, she’ll be heard weekdays on Country 90.5 from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. 

Rob MacNamara has wrapped almost a 14-year run with Hot 101.9 (CHRK-FM) and New Country 103.5 (CKCH-FM) Sydney, NS. Most recently Program Director and host of afternoon drive, MacNamara was the longtime host of the Hot 101.9 morning show, prior to Jan. 2020 when Stingray moved to air the syndicated Morning Hot Tub in the time slot. MacNamara is moving to a position in municipal government.

Paul O’Neil is joining Blackgold Broadcasting as a Senior Account Manager for 93.1 The One (CJLD-FM) Leduc, AB. The 30+-year radio veteran most recently did a brief stint as music director and midday host at Play 107 (CKPW-FM) Edmonton. Prior to that, he served as Corus Entertainment’s Hub Music Director for the network’s Hot AC stations across the country.

Karli Zschogner is joining CBC North as a video journalist, based in Inuvik. The 2018 University of King’s College graduate has most recently been working as a Sustainability Filmmaker with Sustainable Eastern Ontario (SEO). She also has experience as a community journalism trainer with Journalists for Human Rights (JHR).

Rachael D’Amore has left Global News and journalism to join Toronto PR firm Talk Shop as an Account Manager. D’Amore had been a full-time journalist since 2016 when she joined CTV News as a web writer. She signed on with Global as a National Online Journalist in 2019 and for the last eight months had held the role of Supervisor, National Online Breaking News.

Bryan Gabourie has been appointed to the role of SVP, International Sales & Partnerships, at Blue Ant International. He’ll oversee all sales activities from originals, pre-sales, content licensing, co-productions and strategic partnerships in the U.S. market. Based in New York, he’ll report to Solange Attwood, EVP, Blue Ant International. Gabourie has over 15 years experience in global distribution and development and was most recently VP, Global Content Sales & Digital Licensing at A+E where he represented A+E Networks brands and programming for content sales, co-production, channel partnership and format sales and managed multi-territory streaming opportunities. 

Jérôme Levy is the newest independent member appointed to Thunderbird Entertainment Group’s Board of Directors. Levy was most recently Vice Chairman of Archie Comics Publications, the company behind the comic book series as well as Netflix series Riverdale and Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. At Archie, Levy oversaw aspects of TV and film production, publishing, digital, international expansion, licensing and merchandising. Prior to that, he was a Managing Director of Houlihan Lokey’s Technology, Media & Telecom Group, which he joined after its acquisition of MESA, a boutique advisory firm specializing in digital and traditional media transactions, where he was a Co-Founder and Managing Partner. 

Tina Tuli has joined Toronto’s Firstlight Media as Vice-President of Global Marketing. Tuli’s career has included senior marketing positions with Samdesk and Magic Leap. She’ll lead development and implementation of marketing strategies of Firstlight Media’s OTT platform aimed at Tier 1 content providers and distributors. 

Rise, the advocacy group for gender diversity in broadcast media technology has announced Hilary Roschke as Board Chair and Jill Porubovic as Head of Sponsorship for the North American chapter. Roschke has almost 20 years’ experience within the media industry in operational and strategic leadership roles and is currently the Vice-President of Strategic Operations at SDVI. Founder of Jill Porubovic Consulting, LLC, Porubovic draws upon more than 20 years’ of tech and operations leadership experience and is a trusted advisor to companies across the evolving media and entertainment space.

RADIO & PODCAST: 

Mohawk College radio students will be returning to the airwaves this year with a refreshed program and rebranded FM station as the college prepares to welcome back new enrolees this fall. After a pause in admissions in September 2020 and a year-long period of review, Mohawk College is now accepting students into its revised Broadcast – Radio and Creative Content program with the next intake of first-year students to begin classes in September. New courses in the refreshed curriculum include Social Media Marketing, Digital Creative Content, Finding Your Voice and Intro To Programming to both give students the best chance of success in the industry and set them up for freelance work. In addition to the adjustments in the program, changes are also being made to Mohawk College’s FM station, CIOI-FM, and online station, Ignite Radio. Operating as 101.5 The Hawk for the last eight years, CIOI-FM rebranded to INDI 101-5 on Jan. 17, with a focus on student programming and supporting local indie music and alternative rock. The station will feature student programming between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m., weekdays, while community content continues outside of those hours. There’s also a fresh look and sound for online hits station, Ignite Radio, which has been operating at Mohawk since 2012. Read our Q&A with Program Coordinator Sam Cook here.

CBC Podcasts’ winter podcast slate is headlined by two new series, each drawing from the personal experiences of CBC Radio One veteran Anna Maria Tremonti and reporter, host and producer Tamara Khandaker. Tremonti’s latest effort sees the former foreign correspondent and long-running host of The Current, reveal a “dark secret” from her own past in Welcome To Paradise. Described as a deeply personal, six-part memoir, Tremonti confronts her own trauma endured in an abusive marriage. She’ll share her story publicly, for the first time, at the opening night of the Hot Docs Podcast Festival on Jan. 25. Welcome To Paradise makes its debut Feb. 15. Khandaker, who was most recently hosting daily The Globe & Mail podcast, The Decibel, returns to the public broadcaster to co-produce Nothing is Foreign. Launching Feb. 11, Khandaker draws on her own upbringing surrounded by a diverse group of friends that afforded her the opportunity to view herself as a global citizen. Nothing is Foreign will look at world news through that lens. David Rigden, creator of Someone Knows Something, also drops new investigative podcast, The Next Call: The Case of Nadia Atwi, delving into the 2017 disappearance of the Edmonton kindergarten teacher. Read more here.

Corus Radio is partnering with The Peak to air The Peak Daily Minute on Global News Radio stations across the country. Under the partnership, The Peak Daily podcast hosts Brett Chang and Jay Rosenthal will supply segments twice each weekday, delivering need-to-know stories in a minute-long format. Launched last year, The Peak’s daily business-focused e-newsletter has grown from 10,000 to 50,000 subscribers. Sarah Bartnicka recently joined the publication as its first Editor. 

LISTEN: On the latest episode of Broadcast Dialogue – The Podcast, we welcome Julie Adam – President of News & Entertainment at Rogers Sports & Media and first-time author – to talk about her new book, Imperfectly Kind: Why Kindness Is The Must-Have Superpower You Need To Lead. In an industry that doesn’t have a reputation for kindness, Adam acknowledges some of her own career missteps as she ascended the management ladder. We also talk in this episode about some of the people who’ve inspired her along the way, navigating the pandemic, and more. Listen on your favourite podcast app or here:

LISTEN: Shannon King, morning show co-host at Virgin Radio Montreal, is on the Sound Off Podcast. King talks with Matt Cundill about her radio journey that’s included stops in markets like Timmins and Sudbury. She also discusses adapting to Montreal culture and maneuvering through pandemic lockdowns and curfews…for a second time. Listen on your favourite podcast app or here: 

SIGN OFFS:

Adrienne Pan, 43, on Jan. 15, following a lengthy illness. Pan, who grew up in Edmonton, attended high school at the Victoria School of the Arts where her interest in broadcast journalism was first piqued. After graduating from McGill University with a B.A. in Communications and Political Science, she started her broadcasting career in 2001 at A-Channel in Edmonton as a writer and associate producer. In Nov. 2002, she joined Global News, first in Lethbridge as a video journalist and producer, and later in Winnipeg as an anchor and reporter. Her work on a documentary about inner-city Winnipeg community activist Harry Lehotsky, “Saving Grace: The Harry Lehotsky Story”, was recognized with both National and Regional RTDNA awards in 2007. After nearly five years at Global Winnipeg, Pan joined CBC Winnipeg, initially as a lifestyle reporter contributing to Living Winnipeg. She went on to host CBC Manitoba Late Night for two years, before returning to her hometown and CBC Edmonton in 2011. She was a host and producer on the late night and 6 p.m. newscast for seven years, and a fill-in host on radio, before moving into radio full-time in 2018 as the host of Radio Active. Read more here.

Jean-Claude Lord, 78 on Jan. 15, following a massive stroke. Born in Montreal, Lord started his career as an assistant director, scriptwriter, and apprentice to filmmaker Pierre Patry. He would go on to gain a reputation as a pioneer in Quebec film and television. His first feature was Délivrez-nous du mal, released in 1965 and depicting a gay couple, a first for a Québécois film. Films like Bingo (1974) and Eclair au chocolat (1979) followed. Lord’s first English-language film, the low-budget horror Visiting Hours, was released in 1982. Starring William Shatner and Michael Ironside, it garnered a cult following. Lord went on to work on TV series Lance et Compte (which aired in English as He Shoots, He Scores). The hockey drama ran from 1986-89 and went on to be broadcast in France and win a Prix Gemeaux. Lord directed a revival of the series from 2000-08. He was honoured with the Prix Guy-Mauffette by the National Assembly of Quebec in 2017, given to individuals for an outstanding career in the radio and television arts in Quebec.

TV & FILM:

The Canadian Screen Awards have announced this year’s Special Award Recipients across five categories, including longtime Hockey Night in Canada play-by-play announcer Bob Cole, TSN personality Kayla Grey, and CBC TV and radio host Amanda Parris. Cole, who retired after a five-decade sportscasting career in 2019, is receiving a Lifetime Achievement honour. Parris, Grey and Toronto-based writer, editor and producer Kathleen Newman-Bremang are being recognized with Changemaker Awards. Newman-Bremang is currently the Deputy Director, Global at Refinery29 Unbothered, a vertical made for and by Black women. The new Special Award honours those in the Canadian media community using their voice or platform to call out systemic racism and seek structural transformation in media, film, and television organizations that promote values of equity and inclusion. Rassi Nashalik, a retired Inuk media personality who pioneered and hosted Inuktitut daily television newcast, CBC North Igalaaq, is receiving the Gordon Sinclair Award for Broadcast Journalism. Over her 19 years at CBC, she travelled extensively telling northern stories and in 2021 became the first Inuk woman inducted into the CBC News Hall of Fame. Read more here.

Banff World Media Festival (BANFF) is making plans to safely return in-person to the Rockies, June 12-15, for the 2022 edition of the event under specially developed health & safety protocols. BANFF is offering an exclusive past attendee discount until Feb. 25, in addition to a Virtual Pass, which will be available starting Feb. 28 offering online-only delegate access to BANFF session recordings, select content and virtual networking. BANFF 2022 delegates will be required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

HISTORY and Hungry Eyes Media Group have announced four-part docuseries, BLK: An Origin Story, will premiere Feb. 26 at 9 p.m. ET/PT. The limited series, consisting of four one-hour episodes is executive produced by Jen Holness and Sudz Sutherland and takes viewers on a nationwide journey through time to discover the untold story of Black people in Canada and their legacy, dating back to 1608. Each episode transports viewers to a different Canadian location, including Nova Scotia, Ontario, BC, and Quebec, elevating remarkable Black Canadians previously unacknowledged in mainstream social, academic, and cultural circles.

TVO Original Subjects of Desire, which explores harmful beauty stereotypes targeting Black women, premieres on TVO Feb. 1 at 9 p.m. ET, streaming across Canada afterwards on TVO.org, YouTube and TVO streaming services including Roku and Apple TV. Garnering awards and accolades from Hot Docs, SXSW, and TIFF, Subjects of Desire features interviews with singer-songwriters India Arie and Jully Black, as well as former beauty pageant contestants highlighting the small-but-promising gains that have been made to redefine who can be considered beautiful in media and society. The first feature doc from veteran film and TV producer Jennifer Holness, Subjects of Desire is part of TVO’s Black History Month programming, which will also include the drama series Small Axe from Oscar-winning director Steve McQueen, and the documentaries Black Power: A British Story of Resistance, Subnormal: A British Scandal, Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am, Becoming Black, and more. 

One Thousand Years of Slavery – The Untold Story, a docuseries exploring the legacy of slavery and how our shared history can create a better future, is set to premiere on Smithsonian Channel in Canada and the U.S. on Feb. 7 to kick-off Black History Month. The four-part limited series uncovers the truth of a 1,000-year story of slavery around the world, as actors, celebrities and influencers like Debbie Allen, Valerie Jarrett, Lorraine Toussaint, Soledad O’Brien, CCH Pounder, Senator Cory Booker, Marc Morial and Dulé Hill, among others, confront their personal connection to slavery and its legacy. Slated to air every Monday in February, Courtney B. Vance lends his voice as narrator to all four-episodes of the limited series.

Blink Studios, the recently-launched content venture backed by Endeavor Content, has acquired the rights to “Hold My Girl”, the upcoming novel from emerging Canadian author Charlene Carr. Blink will serve as the studio for the television adaption, which marks the company’s first project since launching in November. Producer Michael London and Shannon Gaulding of Groundswell Productions (Snowfall, The Magicians) will executive produce the series together with Carolyn Newman and Virginia Rankin for Blink Studios. The fiction novel centres around two women whose eggs are switched during IVF, only to be revealed over a year later when one of them has been raising the wrong daughter, and the other has been grieving a stillborn child that wasn’t hers. Inspired by the author’s own life – a Black woman who gave birth to a visibly white child via IVF – “Hold My Girl” will be published by Welbeck Publishing in the UK and Harper Collins in Canada, set for release in 2023. Carr currently lives in Nova Scotia. “Hold My Girl” is her first agented novel.

Corus Studios started the year on a high note with more than 250+ hours of new sales in the first quarter to broadcasters in Germany, Poland, France, the UK and additional deals secured for French Canada. French language rights expand with Quebecor Content acquiring seven Corus Studios series including Fire Masters, Junior Chef Showdown, Rock Solid Builds, Island of Bryan, and adds Family Home Overhaul, Making It Home with Kortney and Dave, and Home to Win to their SVOD offerings. Bell Media has picked up $ave My Reno and Scott’s Vacation House Rules for French Canada.

Sparkly Frog Clan Productions is behind a new Indigenous business competition series set to air on APTN. A call for contestants for Season 1 of Bears’ Lair TV is now open, which over the course of nine episodes will see 18 emerging and established Indigenous entrepreneurs compete for $180,000 in prize money to take their enterprise to the next level. The Bears are an expert panel of four core judges plus an additional guest judge each episode, featuring Indigenous business leaders from across the country, including Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business President and CEO Tabatha Bull of Nipissing First Nation in Ontario; Tuccaro Group of Companies President and CEO Dave Tuccaro of the Mikisew Cree Nation in Alberta; Steel River Group President and CEO Trent Fequet from the Innu community of Pakuashipi in Quebec; and Sparkly Frog Clan Productions Executive Producer and Founder Geena Jackson of Sechelt First Nation in BC.

TSN will return as the exclusive Canadian media partner of the Toronto Arrows Rugby Football Club for the 2022 Major League Rugby season. The partnership will see the network deliver the club’s 16 regular season games, as well as potential MLR Championship Series matches, to TSN and TSN Direct subscribers. The Arrows, Canada’s only professional rugby union team, will begin their fourth campaign with a road match against the Seattle Seawolves on Sunday, Feb. 6.

Quebecor and its TVA and CEC Publishing subsidiaries are co-producing Nos Géants, a new series of 45 educational vignettes for TV and the web, in collaboration with the Fondation Lionel-Groulx and the Government of Québec. The series will celebrate significant figures who played important roles in Québec’s history, from New France to present day. Nos Géants is airing weekly on TVA during the Salut Bonjour morning show and will run for three seasons, with 15 episodes per season. In the first season of Nos Géants, Annie-Soleil Proteau, Laurent Turcot, Sophie Faucher, Mario Dumont, Pierre Curzi, France Castel, Pauline Marois, Sophie Thibault, Émile Bilodeau, Marie-Thérèse Fortin, Konrad Sioui, Alice Pascual, Cynthia Wu-Maheux and Sébastien Ricard relay the stories of historical figures like Les filles du Roy, La Bolduc, Samuel de Champlain, Camille Laurin, Gabrielle Roy and Calixa Lavallée. The series will also be used in high school French and history classes.

Cogeco is celebrating 20 years of news on YourTV North Bay this month. Launched in 2002 to fill the void of local television news in North Bay, Cogeco News’ first broadcast was at 6 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 14, 2002. Over the past 20 years, the program has aired over 5,200 episodes, Monday to Friday, showcasing what’s happening in North Bay, in addition to hosting numerous local and national celebrities in-studio from entertainers and athletes to Prime Ministers Stephen Harper and Justin Trudeau. Founded by Cogeco Regional Manager Brian Winkworth, Clarke Heipel is the show’s producer with Greg Estabrooks serving as host since its inception. Read more here.

ONLINE & DIGITAL MEDIA:

Netflix has raised its monthly subscription prices in the U.S. and Canada by $1 to $2, depending on the plan. The standard plan, enabling two simultaneous streams, now costs $16.49 in Canada, up from $14.99. The premium plan, allowing for four simultaneous streams and streaming in ultra HD, goes up $2 to $20.99/month. The basic plan remains unchanged at $9.99/month. The increases are the first for North American subscribers since Oct. 2020. The U.S. and Canada is Netflix’s largest market, boasting 74 million subscribers as of fall 2021.

Bell Media has unveiled noovo.info, the final piece in its Noovo French-language multi-platform news division. Featuring news articles, video reports, columns and features, the site relies on contributions from columnists and experts, including Dr. Alain Vadeboncoeur, Valérie Beaudoin, Camille Lopez, Patrick Déry, Victor Henriquez, Luc Ferrandez and Léa Stréliski. Noovo has also created a digital journalist position dedicated to content creation on TikTok and Instagram, aimed at reaching younger audiences.

fuboTV has secured Canadian rights to the English Premier League for the next three seasons, beginning this summer and running through 2024-25. Streaming live on fuboTV and its linear channel, Fubo Sports Network, the streamer will exclusively carry all 380 Premier League matches each season, in addition to shoulder programming on its growing Canadian platform. EPL rights in Canada are currently held by DAZN. fuboTV recently acquired exclusive Italian Serie A and Coppa Italia rights for Canada. It also streams more than a dozen popular sports and entertainment channels including OneSoccer and Paramount Network. 

NewsGuard, a service providing ratings and credibility scores for thousands of news websites to help audiences distinguish reliable sites from misinformation, has launched in Canada. Following successful launches in the U.S. in 2018 and in the UK, France, Germany and Italy in 2019 (with more than 7,000 websites rated so far), NewsGuard will initially cover news and information sites responsible for 90% of what’s consumed in both English- and French-speaking Canada. Microsoft has a licensing agreement with NewsGuard that allows users of its Edge browser to have access to the NewsGuard plug-in extension for free. Users of Chrome, Firefox, and Safari can subscribe to the NewsGuard browser extension for $2.95 a month here. Those using the new Neeva search engine can see NewsGuard ratings automatically at no charge. Edward Greenspon, President & CEO of the Public Policy Forum, and former Editor-in-Chief of The Globe and Mail, is joining NewsGuard as Senior Advisor for English-speaking Canada and a global advisory board member. Michel Cormier, Former Director of News at Radio-Canada, also joins as Senior Advisor for French-speaking Canada and a global advisory board member.

Harvard Media looks at the power of micro-influencers in a recent blog post. Micro-influencers – those with a following of between 1,000 and 4,999 followers – boast a 5% engagement rate, outperforming every other tier and yielding the highest likelihood of customer buy-in. “As an influencer’s follower count increases and moves into higher, mid-tier, macro, etc. segments, their engagement rate begins to fall off. The opportunity cost here is that when you opt for an influencer with a higher following, you’ll reach a larger audience and increase brand awareness, however, your message to 20,000 followers may not be as impactful as your message to 10,000 followers.”  

REGULATORY, TELECOM & MEDIA:

Corus Entertainment has delivered first quarter results, reporting a consolidated revenue increase of 10% for the quarter, while consolidated segment profit decreased 1%. The company reported net income attributable to shareholders of $76.2 million ($0.37 per share basic) for the quarter and free cash flow of $80.0 million in Q1, compared to $62.4 million in the prior year quarter. The increase is attributed to higher net income from operations of $34.5 million, and a return of capital on a venture investment of $43.5 million, offset by higher payments for program rights and film investments in the current year. Television revenue was up 11% year-over-year in the quarter, while radio revenues increased 3% over the same period in 2020. Advertising in the quarter was up 16% year-over-year. As of Jan. 10, the company reached a new milestone of 725,000+ paying subscribers to its STACKTV, Nick+ and other streaming platforms, up from approximately 675,000 paying subscribers in Oct. 2021. Corus is planning to expand STACKTV to Rogers Ignite TV and Rogers SmartStream platforms, marking the first time STACKTV will be offered as a stand-alone streaming bundle through a traditional distribution partner.

Cogeco has announced financial results for the first quarter of 2022 ended Nov. 30. Revenue increased by 15.3% year-over-year to reach $745.3 million. On a constant currency basis, revenue increased by 18.0%, buoyed by American broadband services revenue which increased by 31.0% in constant currency mostly resulting from the Ohio broadband systems acquisition completed in September and a higher Internet service customer base. Canadian broadband services revenue increased by 8.2% mainly as a result of the DERYtelecom acquisition completed in Dec. 2020. Media revenue decreased by 2.6%, due to radio advertising continuing to be directly impacted by certain segments of the retail industry reducing or cutting advertising activities due to COVID-19. Cogeco also notes that listening hours continue to be negatively impacted by the pandemic with less time spent commuting in cars.

Rogers Sports & Media is continuing to amplify equity-deserving charities and small businesses with the launch of its All IN 2022 initiative. Applications are now being accepted until Feb. 13 at AllInForEquity.ca. In its inaugural All IN campaign last year, which received more than 550 submissions, Rogers Sports & Media created five customized partner campaigns with 17,000 ads airing across its suite of assets resulting in 63 million impressions for its partners. Due to the overwhelming interest from the applicant pool in 2021, Rogers Sports & Media profiled an additional 200 businesses owned by women, LGBTQ2S+, Indigenous, Black, people of colour, and persons with disabilities, and awarded 26 BIPOC scholarships and mentorships across Sportsnet, Cityline, and OMNI Television.

RTDNA Canada has opened nominations for its Lifetime Achievement Awards, presented to individuals who have distinguished themselves through outstanding service and continued excellence during the course of their careers in broadcast and digital journalism. If you know a person who has shown excellence during the course of their career, nominate them by filling out this form. The deadline for nominations is Friday, March 11.

BROADCAST TECH & ENGINEERING:

GeoBroadcast Solutions (GBS) is partnering with Octave Communications in Quebec to bring GBS’s MaxxCasting™ solutions and associated sales, field service and post-sales support to Canadian broadcasters. Octave is a Canadian engineering consulting firm specializing in radio broadcasting, telecommunications and RF analysis measurement software and has worked with GBS on U.S.-based projects. MaxxCasting combines radio and cellular technology and enables FM broadcasters using multiple nodes to enhance their signals by reducing interference between the main and booster transmissions through the use of a cluster of low-to-the-ground, high power, highly-directionalized, synchronized node sites.

NAB Show will present the fourth annual Product of the Year Awards at the 2022 NAB Show. The awards, which recognize the most significant and promising new products and technologies exhibited at NAB Show, will be announced Tuesday, April 26 at an awards ceremony at the Las Vegas Convention Center. The nomination window will be open Feb. 1 through April 1. Product of the Year Award recipients are selected by a panel of industry experts in 15 categories, including AI/Machine Learning ; Asset Management, Automation, Playout ; Audio Production, Processing and Networking ; Camera Support, Control and Accessories ; Cloud Computing and Storage ; Digital Signage & Display Systems ; Graphics, Editing, VXF, Switchers ; Hardware Infrastructure; IT Networking/Infrastructure & Security ; Location/Studio Lighting ; Monitoring and Measuring Tools; Radio; Remote Production ; and Streaming .

SMPTE (Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers) has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Entertainment Technology Center, a think tank and research centre within the School of Cinematic Arts at the University of Southern California (ETC). The memo supports a partnership between the two organizations to collaborate on a SMPTE solution for on-set virtual production (OSVP) — the first in the society’s planned series of Rapid Industry Solutions (RIS) intended to address quickly evolving technologies and their application across the media and entertainment industry. Recognizing that the challenges of OSVP demand a rapid response, SMPTE designed the RIS program to begin delivering results within a year, which it will share with the broader global media and entertainment industry. RIS Advisory Group member companies include Arri, Canon, Celtx, disguise, Dolby, ETC, EBU, Epic Games, ICVR, Lux Machina, Movie Labs, PacketFabric, Perforce, Pixotope, Portrait Displays, RIT, Samsung, Sony, SWR, Unity, RTT, and Whitling Woods International.