REVOLVING DOOR:
Bryan Ford has been promoted to the role of Director of Sales, Non-Metro Markets at Pattison Media, effective March 1. Ford steps into the role vacated by Katie O’Connor, who was appointed Chief Revenue Officer and Director of Sales, Metro Markets in January as Mike Jean gets set to retire in April after more than 25 years with the company. Ford began his broadcasting career as a news reporter and anchor in Prince Albert, SK, prior to moving into radio sales. He relocated to the Okanagan Valley in 2016 as Sales Manager in Vernon and was appointed GSM for the Okanagan division in 2017. Read more here.
MK Bowyer has been released by 102.1 The Edge (CFNY-FM) Toronto where she’s been on-air since 2022, most recently in middays. Bowyer had been with Corus Radio since 2021 – her second stint with the network after hosting afternoon drive on 104.3 Fresh Radio Kingston from 2014-18 – initially filling in on middays at CFOX Vancouver. Prior to rejoining Corus, she was the afternoon drive host and music director at Harvard Broadcasting’s X100.7 (CKEX-FM) Red Deer.
Nikki Balch has stepped away from radio and Toronto’s KiSS 92.5 (CKIS-FM) to take on a new role as a Creative Director. Balch has been in the industry for two decades and has made stops in Moncton, Halifax, Ottawa and notably Montreal, where she was heard in mornings on The Beat 92.5 (CKBT-FM) from 2016-21. She’s been with KiSS since 2023.
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Sam McDaid moves into the afternoon time slot on KiSS 92.5 (CKIS-FM) Toronto. McDaid has been with Rogers Sports & Media since 2024. She’ll also continue to host Rogers’ Country network shows Country Nights With Sam McDaid and The Non-Stop Country Mixtape.
Christine Cardoso is the new host of The Afternoon Express on Zoomer Radio (CFMZ-FM) Toronto, weekdays from 2 – 6 p.m. Cardoso was most recently heard reading morning news and serving as a fill-in host on 98.1 CHFI Toronto.
Ryan Mennie is the new morning show host on 98.1 The Ranch (CKBD-FM) Lethbridge. A 30-year radio veteran, Mennie returns to Vista Radio after stepping away four years ago to join Lethbridge Polytechnic as Project Facilitator. He previously served as Program Director and morning show host at the station from 2019-21 in its 2day FM era.
Corbet Rutzer has landed at BC Housing as Senior Communications Advisor, Social Media & Digital Marketing. Rutzer was previously at Rogers Sports & Media, up until a round of restructuring in October 2024, where he had an eight-year run, including serving as Content Director for the JACK FM stations in Calgary and Vancouver, and SONiC 104.9 (CKKS-FM) Vancouver.
Jill Croteau has left Global Calgary to join United Way of Calgary and Area as Director of Communications and Content. Croteau had been with Global for 24 years and Managing Editor for the last three.
Giulia Demasi has joined TPX (The Podcast Exchange) as an Account Executive. She arrives from Rogers Sports & Media where she started as a Sales Coordinator in 2013. She’d been a National Account Manager there since 2019.
Reaon Ford is stepping into the role of Creative Production Manager at JAR Podcast Solutions. Ford, who is best known for his 16-year run as an anchor on 1130 NewsRadio (CKWX-AM) Vancouver, has been a Senior Producer with the agency since 2022.
Marshall Lewy’s appointment as Head of Audible Content, North America, has been announced. Lewy was formerly Chief Content Officer at Wondery for eight years. He joined Wondery after Audible’s narrative audio team was integrated into the division in August of last year.
RADIO & PODCAST:
Bell Media has invested in the QCode podcast network and the Daylight Media Company, home to scripted audio series and fiction podcasts from talent like Demi Moore, Rami Malek, Olivia Wilde and Chris Pine. The investment was made through Bell Ventures, Bell’s Corporate Venture Capital arm. It will see the companies collaborate on original content development, as well as marketing and distribution initiatives. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The Ambies, honouring excellence in podcasting, were handed out this week with CBC Podcasts’ Sea of Lies (Uncover) claiming the award for Best True Crime Podcast, while The Con: Kaitlyn’s Baby won for Best Documentary Podcast. Find the full list of winners here.
JAR Podcast Solutions is expanding its Youtube-first video practice, building a specialist team for brands that want their podcasts to perform as video, not just appear as video. CEO Roger Nairn said in a company announcement this week that the result of the rush to video “has been a giant compromise: a flood of barely competent video podcasts that fail on Youtube and fall flat as audio, delivering little meaningful audience growth.” Nairn says instead of rushing to offer video, JAR has taken its time, investing in “testing formats, studying platform behaviour, and building real video capability before selling it. The expansion marks a public shift toward work JAR has already been doing behind the scenes.”
TSN weekday sports talk show, Overdrive, is celebrating its 10th anniversary this week. The network has released a list of Top 10 favourite moments, compiled by hosts Bryan Hayes, Jamie “Noodles” McLennan, and Jeff “The O-Dog” O’Neill. Overdrive is live weekdays from 4 – 6 p.m. ET on TSN, TSN Radio 1050 (CHUM-AM) Toronto, TSN.ca, the TSN app, and the TSN YouTube channel, as well as iHeart.com and the iHeartRadio Canada app, where the Overdrive podcast is also available.
University of Ottawa students will vote March 2-6 on whether to financially support campus station CHUO 89.1 FM. The station’s board of directors made the decision to cease operations due to lack of funds in December, with the station’s last live broadcast on Dec. 15. It’s continued to air pre-recorded content and re-runs to fulfill the conditions of its licence through the end of March. If the referendum is successful in establishing a $3 student fee, the station will be in a position to operate again.
LISTEN: CPAC President & CEO Christa Dickenson is on Broadcast Dialogue – The Podcast sounding the alarm that the Cable Public Affairs Channel is running on fumes. The CRTC announced in November, it would put off making decisions on requests from CPAC, TV5, and Canal M to increase their mandatory per-subscriber monthly wholesale fees until the commission completes a larger policy review. Dickenson says that’s left CPAC in a critical position of uncertainty, at a time when Canadians’ interest in democracy has never been greater.
LISTEN: Buzz Knight is on the Sound Off Podcast discussing the evolution of his podcasting journey and growing audio network. Buzz traces the roots of his Takin’ a Walk podcast, from its original in-person, outdoor concept—where he literally walked and talked with guests—through the practical challenges of weather and audio quality, to its current virtual format with a strong focus on music-centered storytelling. Leveraging his radio experience both on-air and in programming, he explains how classic broadcast skills—crafting narrative, building anticipation, and smart promotion—translate directly into podcasting.
TV & FILM:
CBC/Radio-Canada says more than 30.5 million viewers tuned in to its coverage of the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 from Feb. 6-22, across its English and French television networks and broadcast partners TSN, Sportsnet and RDS. The average daily audience share for the duration of the games on CBC-TV was 25%, an 11-point increase compared to Beijing 2022, according to data provided by the public broadcaster. Time spent streaming Olympic content on CBC Gem increased 632% from Beijing 2022, with audiences consuming over 89 million streams on CBC/Radio-Canada’s digital platforms. The Top 10 most-watched Milano Cortina moments were led by the Men’s Gold Medal Hockey game that saw 8.7 million viewers watch the overtime goal by Team U.S.A. Read more here.
Paul Sun-Hyung Lee will be presented with ACTRA Toronto’s 2026 Award of Excellence at the 24th ACTRA Awards in Toronto on May 11. His notable roles include General Iroh in Netflix’s Avatar: The Last Airbender; Captain Carson Teva in The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett and Ahsoka; Albert Choi in Murdoch Mysteries; and the gruff-yet-lovable Appa in the Kim’s Convenience (a role he also originated in the theatre production). ACTRA Toronto’s Award of Excellence recognizes a distinguished ACTRA Toronto performer whose outstanding career achievements as a performer are matched by a significant volunteer contribution to the industry and ongoing work of ACTRA Toronto to improve the lives of its members.
The Union of British Columbia Performers/Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists (UBCP/ACTRA) and the Canadian Media Producers Association – BC Producers Branch (CMPA-BC) have successfully renegotiated the British Columbia Master Animation Agreement (BCMAA) for a three-year term, effective March 20. The agreement includes the establishment of a new Limited New Media Pilot Project, which aims to build and maintain audiences through short-form animation projects intended for video-sharing platforms or on brand websites and apps. It also includes protections for performers around the use of AI, improved language governing self-tape auditions, and yearly pay increases of five per cent in year one, four per cent in year two, and 3.5 per cent in year three. Read more here.
The 55th Annual JUNO Awards Broadcast will feature a breakout performance from five-time JUNO nominee Cameron Whitcomb, alongside Sarah McLachlan and Allison Russell, honouring Joni Mitchell with the Lifetime Achievement Award Tribute Performance, presented by the National Music Centre. The broadcast will air live across Canada on Sunday, March 29 at 8 p.m. ET on CBC TV and CBC Gem and globally on CBC Music’s YouTube channel.
Crave is expanding the Drag Race universe in Canada with all-new Crave Original series, Canada’s Drag Race: All Stars. Brooke Lynn Hytes serves as host and resident judge, alongside Priyanka and Jimbo, forming the first all-drag judging panel in Drag Race history. The six-episode, one-hour spin-off welcomes back queens with unfinished business to compete for the chance to be crowned “Canada’s Ultimate All-Star,” and win a cash prize of $100,000. This marks Crave’s fourth original series collaboration with Blue Ant Studios and World of Wonder. Canada’s Drag Race: All Stars is set to premiere on Crave later this year and will air day-and-date on WOW Presents Plus globally.
Corus Entertainment’s Home Network is bringing back Season 3 of Renovation Resort (8×60 – MEM), featuring legendary duo Scott McGillivray and Bryan Baeumler, while Kortney Wilson and Kenny Brain return in all-new series Life is Messy (8×60 – Scott Brothers Entertainment). Rounding out the programming lineup are new and returning international acquisition series, including Rachael Ray’s Rebuild, and George Clarke’s Flipping Fast. All series will be available to stream on STACKTV.
Blue Ant Studios has wrapped principal photography on Season 3 of the Canadian adaptation of Nippon TV format Old Enough! (6 x 30) and is now in post-production. With filming complete, the new season of the TVOkids Original will bring another round of adventures to audiences in Fall 2026, which follows Canadian kids, ages three to six, as they take on everyday challenges. Seasons 1 and 2 of the Canadian adaptation will air in April in Japan on CS Nippon, the satellite subsidiary of Nippon TV. Under a larger strategic partnership between the two companies, they’re producing Majority Rules, a new social strategy experiment that sees participants live together in an isolated environment with limited amenities. Blue Ant Studios and Nippon TV are soft launching the format at London Screenings and partnering to bring it to the North American market.
TVO is the first window broadcaster for the Queer Elders Project (working title), an exploration of aging within the 2SLGBTQ+ community, which has completed year-long production across Canada and the U.S. and is now in post-production. Produced by Gay Agenda, with Knowledge Network taking a second window, the film is directed by Maya Bastian (Tigress) and produced by Hannah Donegan (The Loneliest Race), with Michelle Mama (Summer Qamp) serving as executive producer. Filmed over four seasons in Charlottesville, Virginia; Fargo, North Dakota; and Toronto and Thunder Bay, the doc will premiere on TVO in spring 2027 following a 2026 festival run.
Experience a legendary chapter of Canadian comedy. For the first time ever, SCTV will be available to stream starting March 3, only on Prime Video.
Photo courtesy of The Second City, Inc. pic.twitter.com/j73jf7Nq3E
— Prime Video Canada 🇨🇦 (@PrimeVideoCA) February 23, 2026
Prime Video has acquired all six seasons of classic sketch comedy series SCTV for Canada. They’ll be available on the streamer, starting March 3.
ONLINE & DIGITAL MEDIA:
Media Technology Monitor (MTM) has released its Fall 2025 Sneak Peek Report, which highlights that Canadians are increasingly using a second device every time they watch video. The report – which looks at evolving media consumptions trends in Canada – affirms that multi-tasking has become a standard part of the viewing experience. Nearly one-quarter of online Canadians are using a second screen almost every time they watch video, 61% daily. MTM also asserts that short-form vertical video has officially hit the mainstream with 72% of online Canadians now consuming short-form content on platforms like YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok. Read more here.
REGULATORY, TELECOM & MEDIA:
The Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB) held its 100th Anniversary Annual General Meeting last week, marking the occasion with the release of Broadcasting in Canada, a new report painting a bleak portrait of the pressures confronting private radio and TV broadcasters. The report, compiled by media consulting firm Communic@tions Management Inc., notes the profound shift that’s seen private radio’s share of ear fall from 74.8% in 2005 to 33.8% in 2024. Private television’s share of the TV market fell from 63.1% to 38% over the same period. At the same time, the report highlights the concurrent advertising shift away from traditional mediums to digital platforms. Read more here.
The Jack Webster Foundation is inviting nominations for the 2026 Bruce Hutchinson Lifetime Achievement Award, Bill Good Award and Shelley Fralic Award. Nominations are being accepted until May 10 and will be kept and considered for three years.
BROADCAST TECH & ENGINEERING:
Shopsense AI and Bell Media have announced another expansion of their content-to-commerce partnership, as viewers’ time spent exploring Bell digital storefronts exceeded more than 12,000 hours over the past year. First announced in December 2024, Shopsense’s deal with Bell is the Silicon Valley tech company’s first expansion outside of the U.S. and first integration of its Commerce OS into Canadian entertainment programming. It made its debut on CTV’s The Good Stuff with Mary Berg and ETALK, enabling viewers to shop host- and celebrity-inspired fashion and home décor. Over the past year, that’s been expanded across daytime, scripted, reality, and live event programming, and extended to TSN last September, with the TSN Shop allowing viewers to scan an on-screen QR code to browse and buy merchandise, including wardrobe worn by network personalities. Bell Media says it plans to expand shoppable experiences across a wider range of formats this year, most notably to viewers in Quebec. Read more here.
