REVOLVING DOOR:
Corus Entertainment has announced restructuring of its Original Content leadership team, resulting in two internal promotions and the departure of three studio executives. Starting Feb. 1, Rachel Nelson will assume the dual role of Vice President, Original Programming and Head of Corus Studios, while Mellany Welsh has been appointed Vice President and Head of Nelvana. Those departing the company include Lisa Godfrey, Senior Vice President of Original Programming and Corus Studios, whose role has been eliminated. Godfrey has been with the company for 24 years, including serving as Head of Original Content for Shaw Communications. Pam Westman retires from her role as President of Nelvana after five years, while Jeff Norton, Head of Waterside Studios, will also leave the company Feb. 29. Both Norton and Westman will continue in a consulting capacity to support the transition. Read more here.
Harvard Media has made a series of internal promotions as the company continues its digital-first evolution. Announced earlier this month, the internal promotions are led by John Jordan, who adds Chief Product Officer to his title, in addition to retaining his current role as Chief Digital Officer. Danny Kid has been elevated to the role of Vice President of Local Media, overseeing Harvard’s Cruz branded stations and Regina’s 104.9 The Wolf (CFWF-FM). Zoe Vassos, who has held various promotions and marketing roles over the last 13 years, has been promoted to Director of Experiences, as the company strategically restructures its product teams “for a more impactful market presence.” Kris Mazurak joins the company as the new Director of Local Media & Experience Products, arriving from Stingray Calgary, where he was a Marketing Consultant. Madison Sabourin is promoted to Director of Excelerate and Interactive Products. Sabourin has been with Harvard just nine months and moves up from a Customer Success role. Kim Carson, a longtime Promotions Coordinator at X92.9 (CFEX-FM) Calgary, among other stations, is upped to Director of Audience & Product Marketing. Alex Smith has been promoted to Director of Growth. Read more here.
Jim Haskins, the News Director and Station Manager at Global Edmonton, has retired. Haskins joined Global Edmonton in the fall of 2017 after holding the same role at Global Halifax for five years. Prior to joining Corus Entertainment, Haskins worked in sales and marketing with CBC in Alberta. He’d also served as a Vice President & General Manager with Craig Media, helping launch A-Channel Edmonton and Calgary.
Daniel Perras has retired from CPAC (Cable Public Affairs Channel) after 28 years with the company. Perras had been a Production Coordinator with CPAC since 1996.
🚨🚨🚨 PERSONAL NEWS: Why expose bad guys, if I don’t ever offer any solutions?
Well now I’ve got one.
Hate is a business — and ads fund it.
That’s why I’m incredibly stoked to share I’ve joined @nandoodles and @catthekin as an Investigative Reporter at @CheckMyAdsHQ.
More: pic.twitter.com/tKJvay5nz9
— Rachel Gilmore (@atRachelGilmore) January 30, 2024
Rachel Gilmore is joining Washington, D.C.-based ad tech industry watchdog Check My Ads. Gilmore was among the national online reporters caught up in a round of layoffs at Global News in March of last year.
“Tarzan Dan” Freeman returns to national network radio on Monday, Feb. 5 as the new host of middays on iHeartRadio Canada’s BOUNCE Radio stations. Freeman departs Stingray’s XL103 (CFXL-FM) Calgary and boom 97.3 (CHBM-FM) Toronto. He’d been helming weekends on boom since mid-October and filling in on XL103 since talent layoffs at Corus Radio’s former Q107 (CFGQ-FM) Calgary in late 2022 as it flipped to news/talk. Read more here.
Forman (aka Andrew Gordon) has departed Melody & Forman in the Morning on Halifax’s Hot Country 103.5 (CKHZ-FM). Forman, who also handled APD duties, has been with the station since July 2021. Prior to joining Hot Country, he had served as the midday host and imaging producer at BX93 (now Pure Country, CJBX-FM) London for almost a decade. Forman has moved back to Ontario to be closer to family and is available for voiceover, production and on-air work.
Shaun Alperin has been named Head of Content at Prime Video Canada, assuming the role from Nav Saini, who had held the title for the last two and a half years. Alperin has been with Prime Video and Amazon Studios since 2020, most recently as Principal, Content Acquisition.
Archita Ghosh has joined Montreal’s Rezolution Pictures as its first President. The former co-founder and CFO of animation studio E.D. Films, Ghosh’s mandate is to lead, craft, and execute a strategic plan to elevate Rezolution as a production house. The company says she will also bring her animation savvy to the business, developing Indigenous and culturally-driven animated projects for Rezolution’s slate.
Tara Long has been appointed President of Global Unscripted Television at Blink49 Studios, a Fifth Season backed company. In addition, Ri-Karlo Handy has been tapped as Senior Vice President, Unscripted. Based in Los Angeles, Long will report to CEO John Morayniss, and will lead the charge in shaping the company’s U.S. unscripted television slate. Additionally, she’ll assume responsibility for managing the Global unscripted division including ongoing Canadian operations. Under the new global structure, Toby Dormer, Executive Vice President and Handy will report to Long, while Allison Brough, Vice President will continue to report to Dormer. The new role reunites Long with Morayniss, with whom she collaborated at eOne for over 10 years.
RADIO & PODCAST:
CBC News has undertaken a rebrand of its flagship evening radio newscast as it moves to make the broadcast simultaneously available as an on-demand podcast. Your World Tonight debuts in place of the long-running The World at Six and The World This Weekend. Anchored by Susan Bonner, Monday to Thursday, and Tom Harrington on Fridays, Your World Tonight will air on CBC Radio weekdays at 6 p.m. in all regions (6:30 p.m. in NL). Stephanie Skenderis will helm the weekend version, heard at 6 p.m. ET/7 p.m. AT, and then 6 p.m. local time across the rest of the country. It will be available daily as a podcast as of 6 p.m. ET. Read more here.
CBC has launched seven new podcasts from CBC News, the first in a series of weekly, localized regional shows spotlighting community stories. Organized into two formats, This is… promises to highlight the “people behind the essential, sometimes random, and occasionally infuriating stories shaping your community every week.” This is Vancouver Island will be hosted by CBC Victoria reporter Kathryn Marlow; This is Calgary by CBC Calgary’s Anis Heydari; This is Edmonton by Clare Bonnyman, a digital associate producer with CBC Edmonton’s Radio Active; and This is Ottawa by Ottawa Morning host Robyn Bresnahan. Good Question…, a podcast devoted to answering listener questions about their community, will air across three provinces: Good Question Saskatchewan, anchored by Saskatoon Morning host Leisha Grebinski; Good Question Montreal, hosted by local CBC journalist Ainslie MacLellan; and Good Question P.E.I., helmed by reporter/producer Nicola MacLeod. Read more here.
YouTube Music and Spotify are the top music streaming choices for Canadians in a vast sea of audio options, according to new Media Technology Monitor (MTM) data. Almost four in five anglophones and three out of four French speakers are streaming audio content every month. Usage is driven by a combination of sources led by music streaming services (57% of anglophones vs. 49% francophones), podcasts (40% and 26% respectively) and AM/FM radio streaming (25% anglo vs. 26% franco). When it comes to kids, MTM Jr.’s Audio Odyssey found while streaming services are also the preferred option, a higher percentage are listening to AM/FM radio. MTM found seven in 10 (69%) of anglophone kids are using music streaming services, followed by 63% listening to AM/FM radio, and one in seven consuming podcasts. Among French-speaking youth, three out of four are streaming music, followed by AM/FM radio (59%) and podcasts (7%). Read more here.
SAIT (Southern Alberta Institute of Technology) online radio station Power 103 will mark a legendary event in the school’s history on Feb. 6, by rebranding as KISS 103, marking the date in 1974 when the then-unknown rock band gigged on campus. As the story goes, progressive rock artist Michael Quatro (brother to Suzi) was set to play a SAIT Student Association (SAITSA) event when Columbia Records pulled Quatro, offering KISS as a replacement band. Founded just a year earlier and little known outside New York, SAITSA was instructed not to advertise the show as KISS was attempting to “perfect” their stage presence. Treated more like a rehearsal, a little more than 160 people attended the event. Run by students from SAIT’s Radio, Television & Broadcast News program, KISS 103 will feature KISS tunes all day on Feb. 6, interviews, and other content, culminating in a one-hour KISS concert from 6 – 7 p.m. MT, playing live versions of the band’s hits. Read more here.
SiriusXM Canada will offer full coverage of the 2024 NHL All-Star Weekend on SiriusXM NHL Network Radio (ch. 91), starting Feb. 1. SiriusXM NHL Network Radio will broadcast live from NHL All-Star Thursday with Steve Kouleas, Gord Stellick and Scott Laughlin. Following the Tim Horton’s NHL All-Star Player Draft, the team will provide coverage of the NHL Alumni Man of the Year award, honouring the 1967 Toronto Maple Leafs, along with the Canadian Tire Professional Women’s Hockey League 3-on-3 Showcase, featuring elite players from the PWHL. SiriusXM will wrap up coverage from the 2024 Hyundai NHL Fan Fair with a special edition of The Sunday Brunch with Stellick and Dave McCarthy, ahead of the Rogers NHL All-Star Game, starting at 3 p.m.
Jake Gold, original manager of The Tragically Hip and one of Canada’s most successful artist managers, will be inducted into Canadian Music Week’s Music Industry Hall of Fame, during the 2024 Canadian Live Music Industry Awards, in partnership with the Canadian Live Music Association (CLMA), on June 4. Gold started his career in management in 1981, first with The Purple Hearts, then negotiating and securing a deal with RCA for local new wave act New Regime. He started The Management Trust in 1986 with then-partner Allan Gregg. Later that year, the pair took on a young rock band from Kingston called The Tragically Hip. During their partnership, Gold and Gregg guided The Hip from club level to national icons, selling more records in Canada than any other artist except The Beatles. Along the way, The Management Trust managed the careers of The Watchmen and Big Wreck. In 2003, Gold rose to national fame himself when he was asked to judge Canadian Idol. In 2020, following the passing of The Hip frontman Gord Downie, Gold reunited with the band to direct their legacy, spearheading numerous projects, including an upcoming Amazon documentary series.
LISTEN: Carly Kincaid may use the term “Radio Junkie” to describe herself, but she’s also a voiceover pro you hear on corporate narrations and when you’re put on hold. Her radio career kicked off in the late ‘90s and since then she has rarely veered away from a microphone. In this episode, you’ll hear about Kincaid’s passion for radio and voiceover work, how she built her own recording studio from scratch, and what AI means for radio and voiceover talent.
The Pro Bono Group has released the next spot in its series of PSAs supporting the Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness, titled “Urgency.” Offered free to radio stations across the country, Pro Bono Group says response to the campaign thus far has been tremendous, resulting in thousands of visits to the Alliance website and increased media attention. “We’ve always known that radio works – but we never get tired hearing about it,” the Pro Bono Group’s Mike Occomore told Broadcast Dialogue.
SIGN OFFS:
Nick Vandergragt on Jan. 25. Vandergragt was best known for his run as a late night talk show host on CFRA Ottawa, starting in 2002. He was among those caught up in a round of layoffs at the station in early 2016. Vandergragt had most recently been hosting “The Nick & Joe Show” podcast, alongside conservative commentator Joseph Ben-Ami, discussing politics and current events from a conservative point of view.
Pamela Segger, 50, on Jan. 22, following a prolonged illness. Segger had a career in insurance, managing an investment advisory team at Merrill Lynch, before returning to Nova Scotia from Alberta in 2003 where she co-founded It’s Alive Theatre Co., and started the Phoenix Dance Studio. She went on to study feature film, graduating from UCLA’s Screenwriting program in 2010, going on to co-found Lunenburg Doc Fest in 2013. She served as its Executive Director and lead programmer for the last decade. Segger also served as lead consultant of the LDF Atlantic Canada Delegation, a year-round initiative promoting and creating professional development opportunities for Atlantic Canadian film producers and directors. She additionally was active with DOC Atlantic, helping launch the Documentary Organization of Canada’s Breakthrough Program, which gives BIPOC filmmakers a start in their filmmaking careers. Segger also served on the board of Women in Film and Television-Atlantic (WIFT-AT) and as Program Chair for WIFT-AT’s Women Making Waves conference. She received Screen Nova Scotia’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2023.
John Beattie, 65, on Jan. 11. By the age of 17, Beattie was working in the local CTV newsroom in Ottawa. Among other programs, he was the launch producer for the Sunday Edition with Mike Duffy and by the time he departed the station in 1992, was Executive Producer for the station’s news programming. Beattie went on to join ABC, traveling the world with Peter Jennings as his personal producer, supervising the production, editing and writing for his reports for “World News Tonight” and many ABC News Specials. He returned to Toronto after a decade covering international news stories like the Rwandan genocide, death of Princess Diana, and 9/11, for which he earned three Emmys and eight Peabody awards, among other accolades. After four years as an executive producer with Global News Toronto, Beattie joined the Office of Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty in 2008, taking the lead on the Ontario Olympic project. He moved on in 2012 to found JBT Media Solutions, his own independent consultancy offering reputation management, media and government relations.
TV & FILM:
MEDIAPRO and Canadian Soccer Business (CSB) are headed to court with both sides alleging the other is unable to fulfill their part of their commercial broadcast rights agreement. The dispute leaves OneSoccer, MEDIAPRO Canada’s streaming service devoted to Canadian soccer, without its core programming, including Canadian Premier League (CPL) and Canada Soccer Men’s and Women’s National game broadcasts, which featured live studio pre-, half-time and post-game shows. OneSoccer was available to TELUS Optik TV subscribers, but the streamer had failed to reach carriage agreements with other cable providers. In a statement of its own released Thursday, CSB alleges that MEDIAPRO “failed to meet significant cultural obligations, including defaulting on the majority of its rights fees for 2023 and failure to secure broader audiences for Canada’s National Teams, the Canadian Championship and the Canadian Premier League.” Read more here.
We thank the Government of Canada and @CdnHeritage for their collaboration and their timely and essential contribution to our sector, especially at a time when the industry is gathering momentum and mobilizing its efforts to be viable and competitive.https://t.co/Rr3W0e98cR
— Julie Roy (@JulieRoy3) January 31, 2024
Telefilm is set to benefit from the renewal of $100 million in additional federal funding. The funds will be allocated over two years, beginning in 2024-25, to ensure the crown agency can pursue modernization of its programs and provide better access to a diverse range of creators and producers. Budget 2021 saw $105 million invested over three years in the Crown agency. Canadian Heritage says the renewed support will ensure Telefilm maintains initiatives to improve support for creators from equity-deserving communities and measures to advance environmental sustainability.
The Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS) has announced that the JUNO Awards are making their way back to Vancouver in 2025, from Wednesday, March 26 to Sunday, March 30, culminating with the 54th Annual JUNO Awards broadcast, airing live on CBC and CBC Gem from Rogers Arena. The JUNO Awards were last in Vancouver in 2018 when Michael Bublé hosted the show in his hometown.
The WGC Screenwriting Awards have opened nominations for the 18th annual WGC Showrunner Award; the Sondra Kelly Award, which provides $5,000 to a woman-identifying screenwriter in mid-career for research/development on a self-initiated project; and the Alex Barris Mentorship Award, acknowledging a screenwriter who has made an outstanding commitment to help other screenwriters get ahead in the business. The deadline to apply for all three awards is March 19.
The Directors Guild of Canada (DGC) has released its 2023 DGC Census with 1,100 additional responses included in its data since its first report was published in the fall of 2022. BIPOC representation stood at 25% among new respondents, bringing the overall share of BIPOC members from 18.3% in 2022 to 19.4% in 2023. DGC membership data shows that members identifying as men continue to be the highest-earning in the guild, with an average total income of $85,872 annually, compared to $77,748 for women, $55,409 for members who identify as gender non-conforming and $59,479 for members who identify as non-binary. Guild membership is now composed of 56.4% men and 43.2% women, incrementally closer to gender parity from 2022.
Monkeypaw Productions, in partnership with TIFF and the Universal Filmmakers Project, have opened entry submissions for NO DRAMA, a new initiative aimed at cultivating breakout filmmakers. Up to six writer-directors will be chosen to create short films with the goal of developing them into full-length projects with Monkeypaw and Universal Pictures. From the mind of Jordan Peele, this reimagined installment of the Universal Filmmaker Project invites filmmakers to produce a project that explores horror across cultures, time, environments and society. Selected filmmakers will each receive a $50,000 grant to produce their short, exposure to the major studio production process, access to creative and production executives to develop their professional networks, and the opportunity to screen their projects at TIFF. The submission window closes Feb. 29.
Amazon MGM Studios has acquired worldwide rights to the feature-length Celine Dion documentary, I Am: Celine Dion. From Oscar-nominated filmmaker Irene Taylor, the doc is an intimate exploration inside Dion’s past and present as she reveals her battle with Stiff Person Syndrome (SPS) and the lengths she has gone to continue performing for her fans. The result of more than a year of filming, the documentary was produced by Sony Music Vision, in partnership with Sony Music Entertainment Canada and Vermilion Films. It will be available to stream on Prime Video in more than 240 countries and territories worldwide with a release date TBA.
Blue Ant Studios has secured the Canadian rights to the long-running Japanese unscripted hit Old Enough! from Nippon TV in Japan. Production on the first North American version of the show has begun and is set to air this September on TVO. Canadian comedy star Colin Mochrie will lend his voice to the project as the narrator. The unscripted series follows toddlers independently running errands for the first time under the watchful eye of the show’s safety team. The sought-after format has been a cultural phenomenon in Japan for over 30 years, gaining popularity in English-speaking territories when Netflix streamed Nippon TV’s original series in 2022 in over 190 countries.
New Metric Media has partnered with Quebec’s premiere production company Encore to co-produce an untitled, rom-com mini-series involving a Quebecois family and an Anglo-Ontarian family reluctantly coming together despite their differences for a wedding weekend. The project is based on a concept created by Mark Montefiore, New Metric Founder and CEO. The series is being billed as My Big Fat Greek Wedding meets Bon Cop Bad Cop in a culture clash whodunnit about a young couple from two different provinces whose wedding threatens to divide rather than unite after the gift box of cash money goes missing from their already fractious ceremony.
Nelvana is collaborating with Andrews McMeel Entertainment to develop Trapped in a Video Game, a series of films based on the book series by Dustin Brady. While development is underway on the first movie, Nelvana and Andrews McMeel Entertainment are looking for international partners.
Global has greenlit Canadian legal drama Family Law for a fourth season consisting of 10 new episodes. Produced by SEVEN24 Films and Lark Productions, and created by Canadian author Susin Nielsen, Season 4 starts production in Vancouver this March. Jewel Staite, Victor Garber, Zach Smadu, Genelle Williams and Lauren Holly are all set to return for the new season. The renewal comes ahead of the show’s highly anticipated Season 3 Canadian premiere, set to be announced later this year.
Bell Media says it’s set a new record for ad sales ahead of Super Bowl LVIII, airing live from Las Vegas on Sunday, Feb. 11 on TSN, CTV, and RDS. In advance of the showdown between the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers, Bell Media says its advertising inventory is nearly sold out. FanDuel and Expedia return as sponsors of the broadcast, while advertising partners showcasing creative during the game include PepsiCo, Questrade, Government of Ontario, TD, Kruger Products, L’Oreal, BMW, BMO, Hershey, Boston Pizza, Novo Nordisk, Toyota Dealers, Maple Leaf Foods, Intuit TurboTax, and Fidelity Investments Canada. New partners include Temu, Canadian Kawaski Motors, and King’s Hawaiian.
Infield Fly Productions has announced that groundbreaking three-part series Secret World of Sound, a co-production with Humble Bee Films, in association with Netflix and Sky TV, will premiere on CBC’s The Nature of Things and CBC Gem on Feb. 15. Using cutting edge audio technology, host Anthony Morgan explores the extraordinary ways animals use sound to hunt, mate and survive. The docuseries places sound at centre stage using innovative technology like acoustic cameras and vibrometers to reveal new science. Each episode also includes a behind the scenes look at the technology and techniques used by Secret World of Sound filmmakers.
Love Hurts: The Science of Heartbreak, hosted by Anthony Morgan, takes viewers on a discovery to understand what happens to the human body and mind when experiencing the sorrow and pain of a broken heart. Directed by Karen Cho and produced by Noble Television, in association with CBC’s The Nature of Things, Love Hurts will air Feb. 8 on CBC TV and CBC Gem. The documentary brings together some of the world’s leading experts and researchers in the fields of neuroscience, neurology, psychiatry and evolutionary biology.
Knowledge Network has moved three new documentary projects from B.C. filmmakers into production. They include The Salmon’s Call, a one-hour documentary exploring the spiritual and cultural relationships between wild salmon and Indigenous peoples in B.C., directed by Joy Haskell. Up in the Clouds, Down in the Valley is a feature-length doc directed by Carmen Pollard, inviting viewers into the world of Vancouver-based artist and activist Carmen Papalia, whose work explores vision loss, illness, and healing.
The National Film Board’s Black History Month activities are highlighted by a tribute to acclaimed filmmaker Charles Officer, who passed away in December. The NFB will screen the original version of Officer’s 2010 film Mighty Jerome, the story of the rise, fall and redemption of Harry Jerome, Canada’s most record-setting track and field star, available to stream free at nfb.ca. The NFB website is also spotlighting Focus on Black Filmmakers, a playlist of 29 new and classic titles by Black directors; and Abroad: Africa On Screen, featuring 26 NFB films made across Africa illuminating the continent and its people, arts and culture.
ONLINE & DIGITAL MEDIA:
Village Media is expanding its network of local news sites with the acquisition of Oakville News. Joining the 21 other community news sites in Ontario under the Village Media umbrella, Oakville is one of two new sites joining the Village network in February, along with FlamboroughToday.com. Village Media says it’s anticipating launching up to three additional news sites by the summer of 2024.
Netflix will end its ad-free “basic” plan in Canada this spring. The streaming giant previously announced it would no longer offer the $9.99/month plan to new and returning subscribers, but is now phasing out the tier for users who were grandfathered in. “Basic” subscribers will be offered a choice to downgrade to a $5.99 plan that includes commercials or pay more for an ad-free plan starting at $16.49/month. Prime Video is also set to start airing commercials on its entry-level tier, starting Feb. 5.
Universal Music Group (UMG) is set to pull its music from TikTok on Feb. 1, following a breakdown in talks over payments for use of its songs. In an open letter to the artist and songwriter community, UMG says the social platform attempted to bully it into accepting a deal worth less than its previous agreement that expired Jan. 31, that isn’t reflective of the app’s exponential growth.
MuchMusic documentary 299 Queen Street West failed to make its scheduled streaming debut on Crave last week. Filmmaker Sean Menard told The Canadian Press that major labels, including Universal Music Canada, have taken issue with the documentary for using 10-15 second clips of live performances at the former MuchMusic studios by artists like Avril Lavigne and Noel Gallagher. While the doc did licence some music, Menard maintains that the clips should fall under fair use. The documentary wrapped up a cross-country roadshow in November that featured former MuchMusic personalities.
Collab, CBC/Radio-Canada’s partnership program with public libraries and the National Film Board (NFB), has announced a new partnership to expand the content available on the CBC Corner / L’espace Radio-Canada digital portal. Developed specifically for public libraries, the digital resource brings together and showcases a wide variety of content from the public broadcaster and its partners for the benefit of library patrons across the country, including 100 additional NFB films, animated kids’ movies and classic documentaries.
REGULATORY, TELECOM & MEDIA:
Rogers Sports & Media (RSM) has released its annual Women in Production Action Plan for 2023. In the 2022-23 broadcast year, 51% of key creative, editorial, and decision-making roles in Rogers in-house programming were held by women with RSM maintaining over 50% representation of women in those key roles for the last four reporting years (2020-23), an increase from the 48% reported in its original Action Plan. RSM says while independent production represents a very small portion of its overall programming investment, within those productions, 42% of key creative roles were held by women in the 2022-23 broadcast year, representing a 4% increase from last year and a 15% increase since its first report was published in 2020.
CBC/Radio-Canada President Catherine Tait defended the public broadcaster’s so-called “bonus structure” before the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage this week. “For the record, CBC/Radio-Canada does not award so-called ‘bonuses,’ Tait asserted in her opening statement to the committee. “What we have — like every other Crown Corporation — is ‘at-risk’ or performance pay, which is a key part of the total compensation of our non-union staff, about 1,140 employees…This ‘at-risk’ portion of the overall compensation is held back until the end of the fiscal year and it is calculated based on the individual’s performance (30 per cent) and the Corporation’s performance (70 per cent).” Tait also outlined the challenges of facing a $125 budget shortfall for the next fiscal year that will result in the need to cut approximately 800 positions and $40 million in independent production spending.
— Kristi Gordon (@KGordonGlobalBC) January 31, 2024
Global BC has undertaken a sociological experiment that saw its male and female anchors repeat the same outfit for a week. While the male anchors wearing the same suit over the course of a week elicited zero viewer responses, the female anchors were the source of countless emails about their repeated wardrobe choices. Anchor Sophie Lui acknowledges that most of the comments were more curious than negative.
BROADCAST TECH & ENGINEERING:
NAB Show’s Excellence in Sustainability Awards, celebrating outstanding achievement in media technology and production, recognizing contributions with significant sustainable impact, are back for a second year. The awards will encompass The Sustainability Champion Award; The Sustainability Leadership Award; The Sustainability Product or Service Award; and new categories The Emerging Talent in Sustainability Award; The Green Production Practices Award; The Sustainable Storytelling Award; and The Community and Social Impact Award. Nominees need not be NAB Show exhibitors to participate. The deadline for submissions is March 22.
Castro has been purchased by independently-run app studio and consulting agency, Bluck Apps. Since late 2018, Victoria, BC-based Tiny Capital, founded by Andrew Wilkinson and Chris Sparling, had held a majority stake in the podcast player. Bluck says the subscription app will continue to operate in its current form, however it will move its Aurelian Audio player under the Castro umbrella. The Castro app had been experiencing server issues over the last few months with rumours it would be shut down.
