REVOLVING DOOR:

JR Country (CJJR-FM) Vancouver morning show duo Clay & Karen have officially announced their retirement from the station, with their last day on-air to be Friday, April 22. Clay St. Thomas has been hosting the morning show for 25 years, alongside Karen Daniels for 22 of those years. Graeme Gordon joined the show more recently in 2017. St. Thomas, who prior to joining JR Country, hosted at CKZZ-FM Vancouver, 89X (CIMX-FM) Windsor, and CKRA-FM and 92.5 KING FM (CKNG-FM) Edmonton, among other stations, says while he’s leaving JR Country, he will be seeking a new opportunity elsewhere. Read more here.

CTV Vancouver has formally unveiled its new lineup after parting ways with CTV News At Six co-anchor Scott Roberts earlier this month. Mi-Jung Lee, who had been anchoring CTV News At Six alongside Roberts since the fall of 2018, will be joined by longtime CTV weather specialist Ann Luu, who also supplies weather across CTV Vancouver News at Noon, 5, 6 & 11:30. The move to a single anchor follows the lead of other markets like Calgary and Edmonton where the 5 p.m. cast is co-anchored, while the 6 p.m. cast is led by a veteran journalist. 

Scott Hurst, the former anchor of CTV News At Five, moves into another role with Bell Media as an anchor/reporter for CP24 in Toronto. As previously reported, CTV News At Noon and CTV News At Five are now co-hosted by Nafeesa Karim and Andrew Johnson. Karim moves into the new role from weekends, while Johnson arrives from CTV Vancouver Island where he co-anchored the 6 p.m. newscast and was Managing Editor. Read more here.

Kevin Charach and Tahmina Aziz are both leaving CHEK-TV Victoria to join CTV Vancouver. Originally from Richmond, Charach has worked at CHEK since 2016, reporting, shooting, editing, hosting, writing and producing news and sports. Aziz has been at CHEK for the past year, working as a multi-platform journalist and backfill anchor. Prior to CHEK, she was a VJ at CBC Windsor and an Associate Producer at CBC News Network in Toronto.

Mackenzie Read is returning to Vancouver Island to join CHEK-TV Victoria. Read, who has been a videojournalist and producer with CTV Regina for the past two years, was formerly a reporter with Pattison Media’s stations in Courtenay, prior to heading to Ontario to work with Vista Radio in 2016 and later Harvard Media in Regina.

Lara Howsam has been promoted to Manager of News and Television Operations at Global Saskatoon. Howsam has been with the network for 12 years, starting as an Associate Producer with Global National in Vancouver. She’s held the role of Assignment Editor in the Saskatoon newsroom for the last year.

Chanine Carr has returned to Kelowna after filling-in as Regional Program Director for Bell Media in Winnipeg for the last 13 months on a maternity leave contract. Carr, who has been with Bell for the last 14 years, now assumes the role of Program Director and afternoon host on Move 101.5 (CILK-FM) Kelowna.

Chelsea Bird returns from maternity leave on March 28 as co-host of the 630 CHED Edmonton morning show, alongside Daryl McIntyre. Bird has been host of the morning show since Sept. 2019, but went on mat leave the same day McIntyre took up the new co-hosting role.

Alexander Wright is the new Community Events reporter for 99.3 County FM (CKPE-FM) Prince Edward County. Funded by the Community Radio Fund of Canada and the Local Journalism Initiative, Wright will be a regular face at local council meetings and community events, reporting to the station’s News Department. Previously on track for a career in law after being called to the bar in 2019, Wright found that the researching process triggered an interest in journalism. 

Michelle da Silva is leaving Xtra Magazine to join the Globe and Mail as Audience Editor for Report on Business. da Silva, who has also held roles with NOW and The Georgia Straight, had been Xtra’s Audience Engagement Editor for the last year and a half, and prior to that, Community Manager.

James Cowan has been named Managing Director of Picture Shop Vancouver (formerly Finalé Post), part of Streamland Media. Cowan has spent over 20 years in the region’s post production market, most recently serving as General Manager of Company 3 Vancouver and prior to that, held the same role at Deluxe Entertainment Services Group. He’ll be based at the Picture Shop facility on Columbia Street in Vancouver, which is also home to Ghost VFX, Streamland Media’s visual effects division. 

Richard Kraemer and Josh Yagjian have joined Riedel Communications as regional sales representatives for North America. Kraemer, who is based in Toronto, will oversee sales in Canada, while Boston-based Yagjian will help cover accounts in the U.S. Northeast. Kraemer comes to Riedel from Genesis Integration in Toronto, where he served as an account manager. He’s also worked with Canon, Hitachi, and JVC. Yagjian comes to Riedel from Canon U.S.A., where he served as an account manager for the company’s broadcast customers, covering the entire Eastern Seaboard.

RADIO & PODCAST:

Infinite Dial, the longest-running survey of consumer digital behaviour in the U.S., finds that the casual podcast audience eroded slightly as younger listeners went back to school and work. Presented by Tom Webster, SVP, Edison Research, live from Podcast Movement in Los Angeles on Wednesday morning, the 24th annual survey also found that the presence of physical radios in the home continues to decline. 39% of Americans no longer have a home radio, up from 32% in 2020. Infinite Dial found 209 million or 73% of Americans had listened to some form of online audio in the last month, up from 68% in 2021, with significant growth in older demos. AM/FM radio continues to be the default choice in-car with 73% of the population, down from 81% in 2020. Use of owned digital music made gains, up at 53% from 48% the previous two years, followed by the CD player, which still claims 35% of in-car audio listening. Monthly podcast listening was down from 56% in 2021 to 50% with those 12-34, and fell from 26 to 22% with listeners 55+. Read more here.

Rawlco Radio, in partnership with the Saskatchewan branch of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress (UCC) and the Canada-Ukraine Foundation (CUF), held a 12-hour Saskatchewan Day of Caring for Ukraine on March 3 that saw more than $1,020,125 raised. The money will provide immediate aid to purchase food packages, medicine and shelter for agencies helping refugees and those still in Ukraine. From 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., the radiothon heard stories from those hiding in bunkers or helping the displaced, to people back in Saskatchewan supporting friends and family.

Stingray is among 18 Quebec companies uniting in response to the refugee crisis in Ukraine. The conglomerate, which includes Alimentation Couche-Tard, National Bank of Canada, Bombardier, Broccolini, Group HELIOS, Intelcom, JPMA Global, KPMG, and Novacap, among others, will sponsor up to 1,000 families affected by the crisis, offering them jobs and means of support until the situation stabilizes. Eric Boyko, President, Co-Founder and CEO of Stingray is himself of Ukrainian descent. 

Global News and Corus Radio, in partnership with Feed Ontario, are turning a day of jokes and pranks into one that puts food on the table with April Foods Day. The annual initiative, which raises funds for local food banks, started in Toronto in 2016 and for the first time will expand outside the GTA this year. Beginning March 28, people can donate online or text FOOD to 45678, with the text-to-donate line remaining open throughout the month of April. Over 20 Corus stations are participating in the initiative this year, including: Global News Toronto, Global News Kingston, Q107, 102.1 the Edge, and 640 in Toronto; 93.1 Fresh Radio and 101.1 Big FM in Barrie; The Peak 95.1 Collingwood; 900 CHML, Energy 95.3, and Y108 Hamilton; 980 CFPL and FM96 London, 103.1 Fresh Radio St. Thomas, Country 104 Woodstock, 104.3 Fresh Radio, 96.3 Big FM Kingston; 1460 CJOY and Magic 106.1 Guelph; Jump! 106.9 and boom 99.7 Ottawa; and 107.5 Dave Rocks and 91.5 The Beat Kitchener.

DJ Ricochet, who formerly hosted the Made in Toronto Takeover on Flow 93.5 (CFXJ-FM) Toronto, prior to the station’s format flip to Today Radio in February, is reviving the show on community radio station, Vibe 105.5 (CHRY-FM). Paul “Mastermind” Parhar, who is now Vibe 105.5’s Program Director & Content Manager, announced the revival of the local artist spotlight on Twitter. The former Flow 93.5 host and Assistant PD helped launch the concept in 2017. 

The Podcast Academy announced the winners of The Ambies, its second annual awards for excellence in audio, in L.A. on Tuesday night. 9/12, a collaboration between Amazon Music, Pineapple Street Studios and Wondery, was named Podcast of the Year. The documentary series, hosted by Dan Taberski, is about the world after September 11th and those who woke up on 9/12 having to navigate a radically different reality. The series also picked up awards for Best Reporting and Best Original Score. Find the full list of winners here.

Greater Hood Productions is a new production company launched by producer Vince Buda (Brown Girl Begins, Crown and Anchor, The New Normal) and actor, writer and musician Matt Wells (Crown and Anchor, MuchMusic, Schitt’s Creek). Its initial slate of original content includes the podcast Good Things with Matt Wells, travel/motivational docuseries Moving On, and an untitled feature film based on best-selling basketball memoir, Chasing A Dream by Carl English. Good Things with Matt Wells revisits his passion from his past career as a host and interviewer for Bravo, MTV, MuchMusic and MuchMore. Among other things, the podcast explores lessons learned from professional and personal setbacks with guests like Olympian Clara Hughes, NDP leader Jagmeet Singh, and director Sharon Lewis, among others.

Apple Podcasts is introducing viewable Follower metrics, beginning next month, in Apple Podcasts Connect. Available to all creators from the Analytics tab, they’ll be able to view followers per show, the number of new followers netted over the last week, month, 60 days, and all time. They can also see Time Listened as a percent of those following and not following the show. The Trends menu will additionally feature a graph of followers over time and those gained or lost on a specific day or during a specified range. Creators can sign up for the program on the Account page in Apple Podcasts Connect.

IFPI (International Federation of the Phonographic Industry) has released its Global Music Report 2022, which finds that globally, the recorded music market grew by 18.5% in 2021, driven by a 21.9% increase in paid subscription streaming, supported by a 16.1% gain in physical formats and a 4% gain in performance rights revenue. Total global revenue for 2021 was US$25.9 billion. Canada’s music market grew by 12.6% last year to US$583.6 million, making it the eighth largest market in the world. Canada’s growth was driven by an 18% increase in streaming, including a 15.6% increase in paid subscription streaming, and 29.1% and 28.2% gains in ad-supported audio streaming and ad-supported video streaming, respectively. Physical format revenue increased by 11.4% in 2021, to a total of US$66.3 million, the seventh highest ranking in the world. 

The GRAMMY Channel returns to SiriusXM to celebrate the 64th Annual GRAMMY Awards. In collaboration with the Recording Academy, the channel will feature artists, music and albums from across the GRAMMY Awards’ fields and categories, including nominees Billie Eilish, Doja Cat, H.E.R., Jon Batiste, Justin Bieber, and Olivia Rodrigo, leading up to the live broadcast April 3 at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT. The limited-edition channel runs through April 6 on SiriusXM channel 105.

LISTEN: Canadian Music Week (CMW) makes its in-person comeback June 11-16 in Toronto as the gathering that brings together music, business and broadcast, marks its 40th anniversary this year, albeit with a pared down format as live music and non-essential travel just begin to return after a devastating two years. We’re joined on Broadcast Dialogue – The Podcast by CMW President Neill Dixon and CEO Danya Dixon to talk about what attendees can expect from the Festival, Music Summit and Radio Active conference, as well as leveraging pandemic lessons for the future. Listen on your favourite podcast app or here:

LISTEN: On the latest Sound Off Podcast, veteran broadcaster Jim Lang – best known for his work with Toronto stations Sportsnet 590 The Fan and AM 640 – joins Matt Cundill to talk about the stand-out moments of his sports career, including the aftermath of Superbowl 42, living in Montreal while the Canadiens were on a Stanley Cup run, and the privilege of becoming the radio voice of the Toronto Argonauts. Lang currently hosts his own morning show on 105.9 The Region. Listen on your favourite podcast app or here:

SIGN OFFS:

Lawrence Dane, 84, on March 21, after a long battle with pancreatic cancer. Growing up in Ottawa, Dane initially took acting lessons to overcome shyness. His acting career started in 1959, soon amassing film and television credits on shows like R.C.M.P., The Wayne and Shuster Hour, Festival, The Virginian, Mod Squad, Mannix, and Mission: Impossible. Among his recurring roles were Mayor Dane on E.N.G., Judge Appleby on Street Legal, Reg Hunter on The Red Green Show, and Jack Kinney on Queer As Folk. He was perhaps best known for appearing as one of the doctors in “Deliverance” (1972) and as Michael Ironside’s evil business partner in David Cronenberg’s “Scanners” (1981). Dane also wrote and directed 1984 film “Heavenly Bodies,” starring Cynthia Dale. He was nominated for a Genie Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in 1979 for “Running.”

Jeannette Kelly, 70, on March 17, after a lengthy battle with cancer. Kelly detoured from her PhD program in French literature at Université Laval to take a job as a researcher at CBC Radio in Quebec City, going on to become the first host of Quebec City afternoon radio show Breakaway in 1985, and later weekly national program Radio Active, spotlighting music from Quebec. In the 1990s, Kelly did a seven-year stint as a policy analyst with the Ministry of Intergovernmental Affairs in Ontario, prior to returning to CBC and Montreal in 2011 as an arts reporter and host of Cinq à six on CBC Radio One, a weekly show on arts and culture featuring guests from actors to novelists and curators. Known for her keen ability to relay the stories of French Quebec to Anglophone listeners, Kelly retired in 2016.

Brian Elston, 73, suddenly on March 16. Elston started his broadcast career working as an operator and studio technician at CBC Radio, while attending Ryerson’s Radio Television Arts program. Shortly after graduation, he was hired by Buzzed Radio Communications to travel North America, transitioning on-air radio operations to the new Top 40 format at stations from Chicago to San Diego. He returned to Toronto in 1972 and after a year-long stint on-air at 680 CFTR and 98.1 CHFI, went on to a 32-year career at TVOntario. Elston rose to the position of Senior Production Editor, embracing new technologies over the years like digital television editing and TVO’s Online Group, managing the creation of the broadcaster’s digital asset management system. After retiring from TVO in 2005, Elston excelled as a part-time Macintosh specialist at The Apple Store in Eaton Centre.

TV & FILM:

ETALK is gearing up for coverage of the 94th Oscars on Sunday, taking a digital-first approach, with interviews posted in real-time to Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and YouTube. ETALK Previews The Oscars airs Sunday at 5:30 p.m. ET on CTV, followed by the Oscar Red Carpet Show at 6:30 p.m. ET, and the main awards show at 8 p.m. ET, hosted by Regina Hall, Amy Schumer and Wanda Sykes. Following the Oscars, ETALK’s coverage continues with a closer look at the night’s viral moments and coverage from the after parties, including the Governors Ball, and Vanity Fair Party, Elton John’s annual post-Oscars event, and more. Denis Villeneuve’s Dune leads the Canadian-helmed productions going into the awards with nominations.

Skydance Animation has announced a multi-year agreement with Spin Master, to become the studio’s master toy licensee. The first feature property included under the pact is Apple Original Spellbound, which will debut globally on Apple TV+. With studios in Los Angeles, Silicon Valley, Spain and Canada, Skydance first launched in 2010 with feature films and has since strategically expanded to television, interactive, animation, new media and sports. Its films include The Adam Project, which recently debuted at #1 on Netflix; The Tomorrow War on Amazon Prime; as well as the The Old Guard on Netflix. The studio’s upcoming film slate includes Top Gun: Maverick, The Greatest Beer Run Ever, Ghosted, Heart of Stone, and the seventh and eighth instalments of the Mission: Impossible global franchise.

Telefilm Canada is relaunching the Marketing Program for fiscal 2022-23 with updated guidelines. The program is for Canadian distribution and production companies seeking financial support for the marketing and distribution of their feature film project(s). Canadian distribution companies seeking to be recognized as eligible distributors under other Telefilm programs may also apply. Among changes to the program, which opens April 18, are a requirement for a community engagement plan for all projects that have not been funded by Telefilm in production. The administration fees cap has also been increased to 20% (up to $30,000).

Robert Herjavec will return for Season 17 of Dragons’ Den after a decade away from the show. One of the founding Dragons, Herjavec rose to investor fame over six seasons on CBC before going on to become one of the founding Sharks on ABC’s Shark Tank. Herjavec will join fellow Dragon investors Arlene Dickinson, Michele Romanow, Manjit Minhas, Vincenzo Guzzo and Wes Hall. In addition to his work on television, Herjavec is a cybersecurity expert and has served as an advisor to the Government of Canada, participated in the White House Summit on Cybersecurity and is a member of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Task Force for Cybersecurity. Production on Season 17 of Dragons’ Den will begin later this spring in Toronto. 

The Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS) and CBC have announced that Arcade Fire will perform at The 2022 JUNO Awards Broadcast. The band returns to the JUNO stage for the first time since the 2018 awards, performing material off their upcoming album, WE. The first in-person iteration of the show since 2019, this year’s event will be held at Budweiser Stage in Toronto, on Sunday, May 15, broadcast and streamed live across Canada at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on CBC TV, CBC Gem, CBC Radio One, CBC Music, CBC Listen, and globally at CBCMusic.ca/junos and CBC Music’s Facebook, YouTube and Twitter pages.

Revenge of the Black Best Friend begins streaming March 31 on CBC Gem. Co-written and produced by CBC personality Amanda Parris, the irreverent six-part satirical series stars Oluniké Adeliyi (The Porter) and Toronto spoken word/hip hop artist Motion “Wendy” Braithwaite (Akillah’s Escape, Coroner). Inspired in part by Robert Townsend’s 1987 satire Hollywood Shuffle, the series follows Dr. Toni Shakur, a self-help guru whose singular mission is to cancel the entertainment industry’s reliance on token Black characters before she gets cancelled herself. 

Cottage Life’s new original investigative series Mysteries from Above (10×60’; HD) explores remote, hard-to-reach locations via drones, looking at strange geological occurrences, unique man-made structures, curious creatures and lost civilizations. Each episode features analysis and narration from experts including George Kourounis, Explorer-in-Residence for the Royal Canadian Geographical Society. The world broadcast premiere airs March 27 on Cottage Life during the channel’s eight-week free preview event.

VisionTV has acquired Canadian broadcast rights to Servant of the People, the hit political satire series that launched the real-life political career of creator and star Volodymyr Zelensky, President of Ukraine. The sitcom about a high school teacher whose smartphone-captured rant against government corruption goes viral and unexpectedly catapults him into the public eye. Servant of the People premiered in 2015 and ran for three seasons, ending when Zelenskyy launched his run for president in 2019. VisionTV will premiere the series in April in the original Ukrainian with English subtitles.

The Toronto Blue Jays on Sportsnet season gets underway Friday, April 8 with a long-awaited Opening Night vs. Texas Rangers at Rogers Centre. Coverage begins at 5 p.m. ET / 2 p.m. PT with a special edition of Tim & Friends with host Tim Micallef from the third-base line, followed by a one-hour edition of Blue Jays Central with Jamie Campbell and Joe Siddall on Sportsnet and SN NOW. On radio, Opening Night kicks off with The FAN Drive Time with Ben Ennis and Stephen Brunt at 5 p.m. ET across the Sportsnet Radio Network, followed by live game coverage from Toronto at 7 p.m. ET. On TV and streaming platforms, Dan Shulman, Buck Martinez and Pat Tabler share play-by-play and analysis for all Sportsnet broadcasts through the regular season. Reporters Arash Madani and Hazel Mae will deliver the latest from the clubhouse and dugout. On Radio, Ben Wagner is back behind the mic to deliver the play-by-play call across the Sportsnet Radio Network. 

Sportsnet and Canada Basketball have unveiled plans to launch GLOBL JAM, a first-of-its-kind international basketball showcase in Canada. Set to take place in Toronto, July 5-10, GLOBL JAM will feature women’s and men’s teams from around the world competing in an Under-23 tournament live at Mattamy Athletic Centre and broadcast nationally on Sportsnet. It will also include festivities at Yonge-Dundas Square, as well as play host to the Canada Basketball 3×3 National Championships. Sportsnet will serve as the exclusive broadcaster with coverage details to be announced at a later date.

Crave’s roster of original stand-up specials expands this spring with the premiere of seven new comedy specials. They kick off, starting April 15, with a one-hour special from Paul Rabliauskas, the co-creator and star of upcoming CTV Comedy Channel series Acting Good. Filmed in front of a live audience during the 2021 Just For Laughs Festival in Montréal, a new special will premiere every month on Crave, including: Chris Locke: Captain Bones; Chris Robinson: Panning For Gold; Dave Merheje: I Love You Habibi; Kyle Brownrigg: Introducing Lyle; Sophie Buddle: Smile Baby; and The Deanne Smith Experience. Crave has now produced 17 original stand-up specials with Just For Laughs since 2017.

Hollywood Suite will begin airing Canneseries 2021 Dior Grand Prize and Best Screenplay winner The Allegation, starting April 7. The seven-part German legal thriller will premiere with back-to-back episodes, with new episodes airing weekly throughout April. Viewers can also catch the series on Hollywood Suite On Demand, starting April 1. Conceived by German criminal lawyer turned best-selling author Ferdinand Von Schirach, The Allegation is inspired by the true story of a child sex abuse scandal that rocked the German legal system in the 1990s. 

The Banff World Media Festival (BANFF) has announced that Bela Bajaria, Head of Global TV for Netflix and David Linde, CEO of Participant, have joined this year’s Summit Series keynotes, its premium speaker lineup featuring influential media leaders. The 43rd edition of the festival will take place in-person June 12-15, 2022 at the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel. Find more info on this year’s programming here.

CaribbeanTales has launched the first cohort of the CaribbeanTales Black Incubator and Studio Access Project (CTBISAP). Supported by a $648,000 Government of Canada investment through the Black Entrepreneurship Program (BEP) Ecosystem Fund, the program will provide opportunities for Black Canadian filmmakers to access training and mentorship opportunities that will support their success as Black entrepreneurs in the Canadian media industry. Read more about the cohort here.

ONLINE & DIGITAL MEDIA:

The Q India is launching its second channel targeting the fast growing digital and Smart TV business in India on June 1 with the launch of The Q Comedistaan. The new channel will be featuring comedy programming 24/7 and becomes the fourth channel for the Toronto-headquartered company in India, joining the recently launched The Q Marathi and digital/Smart TV targeted animation channel The Q Kahaniyan. They join flagship channel The Q, the company’s Hindi language youth oriented channel, available in over 122 million TV households and to over 676 million users via OTT, mobile and app based platforms in India. The Q Comedistaan is set to feature programming from digital comedy stars and content creators such as Pankaj Sharma, Sanjhalika Shokeen, Ridu-Pidhu and Garuv Gera.

Narcity Media has launched a new audio feature in order to facilitate news consumption on narcity.com and mtlblog.com for users on-the-go as well as the visually impaired. By clicking the play button beside “Listen to this article”, found below the cover image of an article, an audio version of the content will start playing. The feature also enables the infinity scroll, automatically playing the next article in the queue and/or when a user navigates to another tab, so they can listen while completing other work or web browsing.

BBTV, the Vancouver-based creator solutions and content management company, has announced a raft of new content creator signings, including American streamer and eSports player Tfue (Turner Tenney) (11.9M YouTube Subscribers; 4.7M Instagram; 4.2M Twitter; 4.6M TikTok; 317K Facebook); and his older brother, professional skimboarder and surfer Joogsquad (Jack Tenney) (5.7M YouTube; 701K Instagram; 101.7K Twitter; 1.7M TikTok; 134K Facebook). Michael Shields, the creator behind That’ll Work, known for creating trick shot videos, also joins BBTV, as does sketch comedy creator Mobotv, Australian social media star Tingman, German YouTuber Ohara, as well as Fairy Tales For Kids (35.7K YouTube Subscribers), a family-friendly channel that creates content based on classical fairy tales from European authors.

REGULATORY, TELECOM & MEDIA:

The Canadian Association of Journalists (CAJ) has announced the launch of the 2022 Canadian Newsroom Diversity Survey. The association’s inaugural diversity survey was published last year with 209 newsrooms sharing data for 3,873 journalists. It found that half of all newsrooms employ exclusively white journalists; that more than 8 in 10 newsroom supervisor roles are staffed by white journalists, and that while, overall, women outnumber men in newsrooms, they are largely over-represented in part-time and internship roles. Last year’s survey also revealed that eight in 10 outlets have no visible minority or Indigenous journalists in a top-three leadership position. This year’s survey is being sent to the editor-in-chief, or their equivalent, at radio, television, digital and print outlets across the country. If you are a newsroom leader that did not receive a copy, contact [email protected] to receive one. 

The CRTC net billing calculation for Part I licence fees for the 2022-23 fiscal year is $34.021 million. The amount represents a slight increase of 0.4%, compared to the 2021-22 fiscal year.

BROADCAST TECH & ENGINEERING:

Triton Digital has launched Ad Marker Rules, an automated ad placement system that provides publishers with the ability to set rules that specify the minimum number of ad markers and ads per marker for an audio clip, based on the clip duration. The system will now be available to all customers using the Omny Studio Campaign Manager (OCM) or the Triton Advertising Platform (Tap). Triton says often, digital audio publishers do not place enough mid-roll markers before publishing, which has a negative impact on ad revenue. Its system aims to overcome that by empowering publishers to create and automate duration-based rules to ensure the desired amount of ad markers are always placed in radio shows and podcast episodes before publishing. 

WorldCast Systems has released a new RDS Server to facilitate the retrieval, processing and delivery of increasingly complex data streams. The offering is centered around a new software product called the Audemat RDS Server, designed to collect data from automation software, satellite receivers, local web servers or even the internet. The RDS Server can deliver promotional content to be displayed directly on the RDS, synchronized with the broadcast content, to enhance value to advertisers.

The Audio Engineering Society (AES), Alliance for IP Media Solutions (AIMS), Advanced Media Workflow Association (AMWA), European Broadcasting Union (EBU), SMPTE, and the Video Services Forum (VSF) have announced that the IP Showcase will return live and in person at the 2022 NAB Show, April 23-27 in Las Vegas. The IP Showcase booth will include both technical presentations and demonstrations showing how media organizations are making the critical shift. The event will also highlight the strides the industry has made in achieving an all-IP ecosystem for real-world media productions.

SMPTE (Society of Motion Picture & Television Engineers) has introduced its 2022 slate of board officers, regional governors, and governors-at-large serving terms on the SMPTE Board of Governors. Renard Jenkins, senior vice president, production integration and creative technology services at Warner Bros./WarnerMedia, has been appointed SMPTE Executive Vice President. Jenkins is splitting the 2021-22 term with Patricia Keighley of IMAX. Rose Lockwood, Global Account Director at Belden, has been appointed SMPTE Membership VP for the 2022-23 term. SMPTE also welcomes Florian Schleich, Senior Software Engineer, Media Systems, at Netflix, as Standards VP. Paul Stechly, President at Applied Electronics, was re-elected Finance Vice President. New SMPTE Regional Governors include Troy English, CTO and SVP of Product Development at Ross Video Group, for the Canada Region.

WAB INVITES YOU BACK TO THE ROCKIES! Hello Broadcasters and Friends,  The Western Association of Broadcasters (WAB) is pleased to announce that we are back and are excited to announce our feature speakers for the upcoming 86th Annual Conference, taking place June 8-9, 2022 at the scenic Fairmont Banff Springs in Banff, AB.  It has been a very unusual past few years for all of us! With so many Teams, Zoom or Google Video calls, it will be a great opportunity to shut our screens off, and turn our networking skills on, as we join together to get updates from the industry, hear from world-class speakers and be challenged by what they share with us.  Building on our 85-year history as Western Canada’s premier conference for broadcasters, the event includes an impressive list of world-renowned presenters and social opportunities for delegates, sponsors and exhibitors alike.  We’re excited to present these headlining speakers for the 2022 conference:  Matt Sunshine: Advertisers today want solutions to their business problems and not products. Recent surveys point to the fact that businesses are using more products (digital and broadcast) than ever before but are also using fewer suppliers. Managing Partner for The Center for Sales Strategy and LeadG2, Matt Sunshine will discuss how Legacy sales executives can give clients what they really want so sales teams can produce more positive results. Johnny Molson:  Finding the right balance in today’s media landscape – Wizard of Ads Partner and Marketing Strategist Johnny Molson will explain why creative is more important than ever at radio and television stations and how client businesses grow when the majority of their advertising budget is spent brand-building on traditional media rather than being spent on short-term digital tactics.  Tina Varughese: We all make quick assessments of others without even realizing it. Broadcasters are not born with bias. Biases are formed by past situations, experiences, background, and culture and certainly will influence what and how the news is reported. Unconscious biases typically exist towards gender, race, religion, sexual orientation, age, disability (both physical and mental), and weight. Most of us will say “I see people for who they are” but do we? Recognizing, managing and mitigating unconscious bias promotes diversity and inclusion. Diversity and inclusion drives innovation, increases productivity, and stimulates creativity while promoting a healthy, happy, engaging culture. Diversity is who’s on the team; Inclusion is who gets to play.  Pierre Bouvand: Media veteran and Chief Insights Officer of Westwood One/Cumulus Radio, Pierre Bouvard will provide information on the future trends relevant to radio and television and how broadcasters can prepare for new opportunities and challenges; including how our sales teams can track results to prove that traditional media really works for their clients with attribution.  The WAB 2022 Conference kicks off with an annual golf tournament and welcome dinner on June 8, followed by conference sessions on June 9 and the Gold Medal Awards Gala that evening to celebrate excellence in Prairie broadcasting. The notable list of speakers is sure to provide great take-home value for attendees and we encourage sales executives and station management teams to extend the invitation to coworkers who will also benefit.  Registration is now open and WAB is offering a special rate to NEW delegates. To be eligible for this promotion, the first-time attendee must be an employee of a radio or television station in Canada. For more information on Western Canada’s Premier Broadcasters Conference and registration visit www.wab.ca.  Stay tuned in the coming months for more exciting details about this must-attend event.  See you in the Rockies!

Jay Penner  President, Western Association of Broadcasters