Glen Clark, the former NDP premier of British Columbia and former president and COO of The Jim Pattison Group, has temporarily taken over leadership at Victoria-based Overstory Media Group. As first reported by The Logic, CEO and co-founder Farhan Mohamed has reportedly been moved out of the top job. Overstory, which was launched in 2021 by Mohamed, the former editor-in-chief and co-owner of Daily Hive, and Victoria-based tech entrepreneur Andrew Wilkinson, initiallyhad designs on expanding to 50 community publications by 2023. As it stands, growth has been much more moderate with 13 outlets, including its flagship Capital Daily in Victoria, Vancouver Tech Journal, Vancouver alt-weekly The Georgia Straight (acquired in 2022), The Coast in Halifax (also acquired in 2022), New West Anchor and Burnaby Beacon, among others. Overstory has made several rounds of layoffs since 2022, with a majority of employees signing union cards in early 2023.
NO JOKE! Starting April 1st I’m on 98.1 CHFI with my friend Brooksy. We’re starting a brand new weekday afternoon show! We’ll keep you company as you finish up your work day.
Can’t wait to talk to you! pic.twitter.com/NQx1zkN2an
Rick Campanelli will join Brooksy in a new 4 – 7 p.m. show on 98.1 CHFIToronto, starting April 1 as part of a lineup shuffle. She’ll then continue to be heard from 7 – 9 p.m. solo, followed by the syndicated John Tesh Radio Show. Darren Osborne, who is now heard from 2 – 6 p.m., moves into the 1 – 4 p.m. time slot. Campanelli, who is best known for a decade-long run with MuchMusic as “Rick the Temp” and his 12 years reporting for ET Canada, has previously done stints in morning radio with Z103.5 (CIDC-FM) and 102.1 The Edge (CFNY-FM). Read more here.
Chris Scheetz is bidding farewell to Edmonton’s CISN Country 103.9 after more than three decades. The five-time Canadian Country Music Association (CCMA) Personality of the Year, started working with the station on May 10, 1989 at the tender age of 18 in promotions. He’ll leave the station exactly 35 years to the day he began his radio career. Scheetz, 53, has held roles from relief receptionist and mascot to traffic reporter, music director and program director. He’s been co-hosting the morning show for the last 15 years. Read more here.
Ted Bird has parted ways with Evanov Communications. Bird had been the morning man since Lite 106.7 FM (CHSV-FM) Hudson/St. Lazare, Que. signed on in 2015. His show had been networked to Lite 88.5 (CJWL-FM) Ottawa since January. Bird and Terry DiMonte had also been helming a Saturday morning show on Lite 106.7 for the past year and a half. Their Standing By: The Terry and Ted Podcast is about to enter its seventh season.
Mose Persico is moving into the afternoon drive time slot on Mike FM 105.1 (CKDG-FM) Montreal, starting April 1. Previously with CTV Montreal where he hosted his “Mose at the Movies” segment for more than 38 years, Persico was among the casualties of Bell Media’s February round of layoffs. He’d been an on-air contributor at Mike FM since 2013.
Shauna Cunningham is leaving Global Kingston after a decade to pursue an opportunity outside of journalism. Her last day on the anchor desk will be March 28. Prior to joining Global in 2013, Cunningham was the morning show co-host and News Director at 98.3 Fly FM (CFLY-FM) Kingston for 11 years.
Joanne Vrakas is returning to CJAD 800 Montreal as weekend morning show host in April as Ken Connors retires. Vrakas, who served as a fill-in host on the station during the pandemic, has a background that includes time as a host on MusiquePlus, CHOM, CBC, and Breakfast Television in the market. Connors, who announced his retirement last August, will continue as a fill-in host.
Layla Khdir is leaving 980 CKNW Vancouver to join 630 CHED Edmonton in a full-time producer position. The 2022 BCITBroadcast Journalism grad had been a producer with CKNW for the past two years.
Matt Di Paola, former afternoon drive co-host and Music Director at Wild 95.3 (CKWD-FM) Calgary, who was caught up in a round of layoffs at Pattison Media in early March, has been picked up by Harvard Media. Di Paola joins X92.9 (CFEX-FM) Calgary, which also recently saw several high profile layoffs.
Sarah Scott has been laid off from the morning show at Stingray’s New Country 95.9 (CKSA-FM) Lloydminster. In addition to her work in radio, Scott is the host of the Studio B podcast, focused on the country music industry.
Jeff Brown has returned to the airwaves after suffering a stroke on a flight to San Diego in January 2023, filling-in on Rebel Rock 101.7 (CIDG-FM) Ottawa. Brown was most recently heard in mornings on Surge 105 (CKHY-FM) Halifax.
Connie Bailey has rejoined Golden West Broadcasting’s Country 88 (CKMW-FM) Winkler, MB. Bailey has held previous roles with the company, on-air and as a Program Director and Producer, off and on from 1999 to 2015.
Steve Scherer is no longer Reuters’ chief correspondent in Canada as the wire service eliminates his position. Scherer had been Reuters’ Ottawa-based reporter for the last five years. Prior to that, he was based in Rome, with Reuters for eight years and Bloomberg News for another decade.
John Tory is set to rejoin the Rogers Communications’ Board of Directors. Tory is one of three people who will stand for election at a shareholder meeting April 24, following the departure of several board members, including Melinda Rogers-Hixon and Martha Rogers who retired from the board earlier this year as part of a private settlement between members of the Rogers family. Tory previously served on the board from 2010 to 2014, when he left to serve as Mayor of Toronto, a job he resigned from in 2022. However, he remained a member of the advisory committee to the Rogers Control Trust. Musqueam Indian Band Chief Wayne Sparrow and Diane A. Kazarian of PwC are the other board nominees.
Hussain Currimbhoy has stepped down from his role as Artistic Director at Hot Docs, due to personal reasons, according to the festival. Currimbhoy, whose resume included programming stints at Sundance Film Festival and Sheffield DocFest, had been in the position just five months. Festival Director Heather Haynes will lead the programming department in preparation for its 31st editionl, April 25–May 5. Currimbhoy’s departure comes as 10 programmers resign en masse including long-serving international programmers Myrocia Watamaniuk and Angie Driscoll, in addition to Samah Ali, Vivian Belik, Jesse Cumming, Gabor Pertic, Margaret Pereira, Kaitlynn Tomaselli, Mariam Zaidi and Yiqian Zhang.
Peter Hayman has been named the new film commissioner for Victoria and Southern Vancouver Island, beginning May 1. A former producer and production executive, with previous experience at Jodko Media Group, Torch Television and ICE Inc., he also served as Executive Firector and Business Agent for the International Cinematographers Guild of Western Canada. Hayman succeeds Kathleen Gilbert, who was in the role for 14 years, and announced her retirement in December.
Anton Parfenyuk has joined Scott McGillivray’s unscripted, reality and lifestyle production company, MEM, as Director, Finance, and Susanne Ritzau as Director, Business Affairs. Parfenyuk is responsible for MEM’s financial reporting, budgeting and forecasting, arriving from Banger Films where he served as Financial Controller. Ritzau is responsible for business affairs for the company’s corporate and production files as well as guidance to internal production teams. She most recently served as Head of Business Affairs at Yap Films.
RADIO & PODCAST:
CBC/Radio-Canada is heading into the New York Festivals Radio Awards with 19 programs on this year’sshortlist. With awards set to be handed out at the Storytellers Gala on April 16, among the talk, news, documentary, music specials and podcast productions advancing are The Debaters; The World at Six’s coverage of the Israel massacre; and Tom Power’sSeptember interview with Rolling Stones’ frontman Mick Jagger on Q. Also nominated in the Craft: Interview category is Canadian Raina Douris, host of NPR’s daily nationally-syndicated music discovery program World Cafe, for herinterview with musician Weird Al. Find the full list of Canadian nominations here.
TheCountry Music Association of Ontario (CMAOntario) has announced the nominees for the 12th Annual CMAOntario Awards,presented by Slaight Music, set to take place June 2 at the Living Arts Centre in Mississauga. Radio Station of the Year nominees include: (Large Market) Country 104, London; Country 106.7, Kitchener; KX 94.7, Hamilton; KX96, Oshawa; Pure Country 93, London; Pure Country 94, Ottawa. (Medium Market): Cool 100.1, Belleville; Country 92.9, Chatham; Country 93.5, Kingston; Hot Country 93.9, Brantford; Pure Country 105, Peterborough; Pure Country 99, Kingston. (Small Market): Country 103, Great Lakes Country; Country 107.3, Tillsonburg; Country 89, Welland; Country 93, Owen Sound; Pure Country 106, Orillia; The Ranch, 100.1, Listowel. Among this year’s Industry Person of the Year honourees are: Country 92.3’sWendy Boomer; Dave Woods, In the Country; Samantha Pickard, Strut Entertainment; Aj Astle, Roadhouse Productions; Ali Raney, Starseed Entertainment; and Madelaine Napoleone, Warner Music Canada.
Dear Alana, hosted by Canadian-American writer, filmmaker and art director Simon Kent Fung has won Best Personal Growth / Spirituality Podcast at the Podcast Academy’s Ambies awards, one of four categories it was nominated in. Slow Burn: Becoming Justice Thomas was named Podcast of the Year. Find the full list of winners here.
Triton Digital has unveiled its Canada Podcast Ranker for February 2024. Measured by Triton’s Podcast Metrics measurement service and reflecting the period from Jan. 29 to Feb. 25, 11.4M average weekly downloads were recorded. The top three Canadian originating English-language podcasts included Front Burner (CBC/Radio-Canada) again at #1, The World This Hour (CBC/Radio-Canada) again at #2, and The Current (CBC/Radio-Canada) climbing to #3. Top ranked debuts included MrBallen Podcast: Strange, Dark & Mysterious Stories (Wondery Network), Joel Osteen Podcast (SiriusXM Podcast Network), Dateline Originals (NBCUniversal News Group), and In the Dark (Soundrise/PRX).
The Indigenous Screen Office (ISO) is partnering with Acastas it announces an inaugural slate of 12 projects under its Podcasting Program. Acast will provide information support and lifetime hosting for each completed podcast under the program, created with a $500,000 grant fromGoogle. Among the shows greenlit are The Future is Indigenous, hosted by Matriarch Movement, an 11-video podcast series on themes such as matriarchy, sustainability, Indigenous fashion and Indigenous futurism; and Actors and Ancestors, a film and TV podcast that celebrates Indigenous actors. Read more here.
Radiodays North America, taking place June 2-4 in Toronto as part of Canadian Music Week (CMW), continues to add names to its robust speakers lineup including Lorna Clarke, the Director of Music at the BBC, who will give a keynote speech at the international radio, podcast and audio conference. Clarke is responsible for BBC Radio’s music strategy, whilst overseeing the portfolio of five national popular music networks, as well as live events, music television commissioning, and the public broadcaster’s visualisation team. In her keynote, she’ll lay out the BBC’s approach to the changing nature of audio consumption, and the role linear music radio may play in the future.
SiriusXM Canada will offer extensive coverage of the full 2024 Major League Baseball (MLB) season, from Opening Day through the postseason. Subscribers will have access to live play-by-play calls of every game, as well as 24/7 news, talk and expert analysis on the MLB Network Radio channel (channel 89). Two former MLB stars – 2006 American League (AL) MVP and four-time All Star Justin Morneau and veteran pitcher Trevor May – have joined the team of hosts. Every Sunday from 1 – 4 p.m. ET, May will co-host “Home Plate” along with SiriusXM’s Dani Wexelman, while Morneau will make regular appearances on various programs. On Opening Day (March 28), SiriusXM host and former general manager Steve Phillips will join Wexelman as they broadcast live from Camden Yards, where the Baltimore Orioles will play the Toronto Blue Jays.
Clayton Dreger, Golden West Broadcasting and PembinaValleyOnline Sports Director, has been named the South Eastern Manitoba Hockey League’s (SEMHL) Dale Rempel Award winner for 2023-24. The award recognizes individuals who have made a significant positive impact in the SEMHL and their community. Dreger started with CFAM Radio 950 in Altona, MB in January 1985 and was on the broadcast crew for SEMHL Saturday night games and playoff games from the late 1980s to the mid-’90s. He’s also helped the league celebrate its 40th, 50th, 60th & 70th anniversary seasons. He continues to file weekly SEMHL interviews on PembinaValleyOnline.
Tim Ellis has reached a milestone with the finale of the Camrose Kodiaks’ season on CFCW Camrose/Edmonton, marking 1,040 games called. Ellis has been the voice of the Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL) team since 2007. He’s also moving into his 37th consecutive year hosting the “Rodeo Report” on the heritage station.
LISTEN:Mark Asquith, the Managing Director and Co-founder of podcast growth platform Captivate, is on the latest Sound Off Podcast. In this episode, he shares insights from over a decade of experience in podcasting, including understanding diverse revenue streams beyond sponsorships, the evolution of podcasting and adapting to change, and releasing episodes when competition is lower.
SIGN OFFS:
“Rockin’ Robin” McMillan, on March 20. A founding member and drummer of “The Rising Sons” who appeared with The Rolling Stones, among other groups in the ‘60s and ‘70s, McMillan went on to be known as “Rockin’ Robin” on the former CING Radio FM108 in Burlington, ON, where he was on-air from 1979-89. He went on to join the Canadian Satellite Network. When it ceased operations in the early ’90s, he continued his career with stints at CJRN Niagara Falls, CHML Hamilton, CHSC St. Catharines and CHWO (AM 740) Oakville. Following radio, McMillan was a fixture at oldies dances throughout Southern Ontario with his Rockin’ Robin Disc Jockey Service.
TV & FILM:
Yuk Yuk’s International Stand-Up Comedy and Icarus Capital Corporation have unveiled new content development and production venture, Yuk Yuk’s Media. On track to start releasing content later this year, Yuk Yuk’s Media will be focused on developing traditional and digital stand-up comedy shows, unscripted competitions, and documentaries. Icarus Capital COO Eric Y. Lapointe, whose background includes distribution, marketing and development roles with Cirque du Soleil Entertainment Group and Just For Laughs, will serve as Head of Content. Read more here.
The Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television has announced Montreal-based comedian Harrison Weinreb as the inaugural recipient of Misdirect: The Nick Nemeroff Comedy Grant. The initiative is aimed at supporting emerging Canadian comedians who embody the spirit of the late Canadian comedian through a $10,000 grant intended to be utilized for their next television special, album, or other comedy-related project. Weinreb is a stand-up comic and writer whose unique style blends absurd one-liners with unconventional observation. He’ll use the grant to fund a professional audio recording of his stand-up, which will become available this fall.
The Banff World Media Festival (BANFF) has announced the 2024 Rockie Awards International Program Competitionnominees, recognizing excellence in television and digital media from around the globe. The Rockie Awards ceremony will be held in-person as well as live-streamed during this year’s festival on Tuesday, June 11 at 5:30pm MT. Leading nominations by country are the U.S. with 51, the UK with 50 nods and Canada with 40. Among the Canadian productions nominated are CBC’sStill Standing (Comedy & Variety), Scott Brothers’ Celebrity IOU (Lifestyle), Bollywed (Reality), and Wild Cooks (Reality). Radio-Canada OHdio and Audible garnered multiple nods in the Podcasting categories for Anna Caritas: The Damned (Les damnés) (Podcast: Fiction) and The Other Side of the Story (L’autre moitié de l’histoire) (Podcast: Non-Fiction), and Anne of Green Gables and The Downloaded (Podcast: Fiction), respectively.
The Guild of Music Supervisors, Canada (GMSC) and Canadian Music Week (CMW) have announced the return of the Canadian Sync Awards, taking place Monday, June 3 at the Westin Harbour Castle in Toronto. The fourth annual gathering of music supervisors, sync reps from record labels and music publishers, sync agents, managers, artists, songwriters and filmed media industry creatives celebrates the significant role of music in filmed media.
CityNews has refreshed its brand colour palette to red, black and white on its TV and Radio news stations, CityNews 24/7 Toronto, CityNews 24/7 Vancouver, CityNews.ca, and accompanying news social platforms. Additionally in Toronto, CityNews 680 has been updated to 680 News Radio Toronto. Rogers Sports & Media says the updated branding will rollout to other markets in the coming months.
Global BC is adding 30 minutes to its weekday late night newscast, Global News at 11. Starting on Monday, April 1, the program will air from 11 p.m. to 12 a.m. Global says the expanded newscast will offer a full hour of news, community-based stories, weather and more, led by anchor/reporter Jordan Armstrong, senior meteorologist Kristi Gordon, and sports anchor Squire Barnes.
TSN’s live coverage of the2024 IIHF Women’s World Championship, April 3-14, will include every game of the tournament, including the Quarter-Finals, Semifinals, Bronze and Gold Medal Game. Calling the action is play-by-play commentator Kenzie Lalonde alongside analystCheryl Pounder, a six-time IIHF gold medallist and two-time Olympic gold medallist. The tournament also features play-by-play commentator Daniella Ponticellialongside four-time IIHF gold medallist and two-time Olympic gold medallistSami Jo Smallas analyst, in addition to Tessa Bonhomme, Sportscentre’s Laura Diakun, Megan Bozek, Becky Kellar, BarDown’s Julia Tocheri and Raegan Subban.
Super Channel has the Canadian premiere of the highly anticipated documentaryBreaking Olympia: The Phil Heath Story on April 6. The doc, from executive producers Dwayne Johnson and Dany Garcia, and Canadian documentarian Brett Harvey, follows the untold story of legendary bodybuilder Phil Heath, a seven-time Mr. Olympia champion, as he battles back from injury. The documentary is produced by Edmonton’s Adam Scorgie and Shane Fennessey from Score G Productions.
Fifth Ground Entertainment’s new TVOkids original live-action series, Secrets of the Forest, will premiere on Earth Day, April 22. The 26-episode series will air Mondays on TVOkids in Ontario and online across Canada on TVOkids.com, YouTube and smart TV services like Roku and Apple TV. Produced by Raj Panikkar and Chris Szarka of Fifth Ground Entertainment, it follows 10-year-old host Taviss Edwards as she travels coast-to-coast, visiting National Parks in Nova Scotia, B.C. and Northern Ontario.
Hollywood Suite will premiere a new season of their original documentary series A Year in Film, Thursday, April 11. The fifth season will explore the iconic films of 1977, 1988, 1991, and 2002 as industry leaders and critics take a deep dive into New Queer Cinema, comedic box office hits, Canadian perversion, and renowned world cinema. Among the film’s featured this season are Star Wars, Slap Shot, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Smokey & the Bandit, Die Hard, Working Girl, Coming to America, Beetlejuice, Thelma & Louise, Silence of the Lambs, Point Break, and Boyz n the Hood. All four episodes will be available on Hollywood Suite On Demand beginning April 1. The A Year in Filmcompanion podcast is now available to download.
Canadian Film Fest (CFF) presented by Super Channel revealed its 2024 award winners on March 23, following a six-day event at Toronto’s Scotiabank Theatre. Kim Albright’s With Love and a Major Organ won Best Feature,Anna Fahr was honoured with the DGC Ontario Best Director award for her film Valley of Exile, and Jonas Chernick & Diana Frances’s The Burning Season won the feature film jury award for Best Screenplay. Additionally, Eva Thomas’ Redlights won Best Short Film and Ian Harnarine’s film, Doubles, was awarded the Reel Canadian Indie Award and took home People’s Pick for Best Flick.
Convergence Research’s latest Battle for the Canadian Couch Potato report suggests Canadian subscription streaming revenue grew an estimated 14% last year and is forecast to grow another 14% in 2024. The report estimates that 2023 saw a decline of 2.6% of Canadian cable, satellite, and telco TV subscribers, with increasing declines forecast through 2026. As of 2023, an estimated 6.7 million Canadian households (42%) did not have a TV subscription with a cable, satellite, or telco TV access provider, which is forecast to rise to 50% by 2026. Read more here.
ONLINE & DIGITAL MEDIA:
Black Press, whose publishing portfolio includes more than 80 community news outlets in Canada, has announced the completion of its previously-announced sale to Canso Investment Counsel Ltd., Deans Knight Capital Management Ltd. and Carpenter Media Group as part of the company’s restructuring under the Creditors Arrangement Act. Black Press says it emerges from those proceedings “on solid and sustainable financial footing, enabling it to continue publishing impactful local journalism and providing outstanding advertising solutions.” Under terms of the transaction, the company remains Canadian-controlled and headquartered in Surrey, B.C.
The CRTC has introduced a new fee structure, taking effect April 1 that will see traditional broadcasters pay a lower percentage of total fees. Drafted with an eye to striking a fair balance between the regulatory fees paid by traditional broadcasters and online streaming services, the Broadcasting Fees Regulations are calculated and based on broadcasting revenues. Licencees are also benefiting from the abolishment of Part II fees, formerly charged to hold a broadcast licence. Broadcasters will now pay a single fee, financing the commission’s regulatory activities. Revenue excluded from the new fee structure includes audiobook, podcasting, and video game services. Advertising-based Video on Demand, online news undertakings and revenues of online undertakings themselves that provide social media services derived from their own broadcasting activities, such as ad or subscription revenues, are to be included in the revenue calculation. Read more here.
The CRTC is launching a public consultation to gather views on how to support Indigenous broadcasters and content creators, and to ensure Indigenous stories and voices are represented, easily found, and shared across all platforms. This is the second phase of a co-development process toward a modernized Indigenous broadcasting policy. The commission has also announced the creation of anIndigenous Relations Team to support Indigenous participation in the proceedings. Comments are being accepted until July 22.
Bell CEO Mirko Bibic will now appear before the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage on April 11. While Broadcast Dialogue was among the outlets that previously reported that Bell had postponed two earlier appearances, the company said its March 19 meeting was actually delayed by the committee. Bibic, along with Bell Media President Sean Cohan, are among the executives invited to appear to speak to the company’s workforce reduction of 4,800 employees announced in February.
CBC/Radio-Canada employees represented by the Canadian Media Guild (CMG) have ratified a new collective agreement. The three-year deal, covering the period from April 1, 2024 to March 31, 2027, is the shortest in almost two decades, allowing the bargaining committee to go back to the table sooner “when there are so many variables at play for CBC-SRC at the moment.” Over 2,700 members cast their votes with 89.4% in favour of the new contract, which includes an immediate wage increase of 6.1% (including two years of retro pay) on April 8 of this year, and 12.57% more in wages between March 2022 and April 2026. Read more here.
The Corus.Futures Scholarship and Internship Program is now accepting submissions from post-secondary students from underrepresented communities for the 2024-25 school year. The so.da Social Marketing Scholarship and Internship is available to students who identify as racialized, Indigenous, living with disability and/or 2SLGBTQ+, and are entering their final year of post-secondary diploma, advanced diploma or degree program with a focus on Marketing, Advertising, Multimedia Design and Development, or Communications. The Susannah Therrien Radio Scholarship and Internship is available to students who identify as women and pursuing studies in radio, while the Corus Television Broadcast Scholarship and Internship is available to students who identify as racialized, Indigenous, living with disability and/or 2SLGBTQ+ and are pursuing studies in television broadcasting. Students entering their final year of post-secondary studies in September are eligible to apply by May 31, here.
BROADCAST TECH & ENGINEERING:
Triton Digital has acquired audio intelligence platform, Sounder. Triton says the acquisition will combine its audio streaming and podcasting technology and expertise with Sounder’s brand suitability solutions and AI-powered podcast understanding, enabling “a more seamless, practical, data-driven advertising experience for brands, agencies, publishers, and podcasters.”
Grass Valley and private equity firm Black Dragon Capital have announced the successful completion of a $220 million strategic refinancing led by Morgan Stanley Private Credit. The company says the strategic move will both strengthen its balance sheet and refinance existing debt, while further positioning Grass Valley to lead “the reimagination of the future workflow for media” through its Grass Valley Media Universe (GVMU) suite of solutions.
The National Association of Broadcasters has announced a new discussion on the NAB Show’s Main Stage, April 13 – 17, on how artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping the broadcast, media and entertainment industry. Sessions will delve into tools and efficiencies, disinformation and deep fakes, content security and cyber security issues. AI in Media and Entertainmentbrings together panelists including Renard Jenkins, President, SMPTE; Hao Li, CEO & co-founder, Pinscreen; Alejandro Matamala Ortiz, co-founder and CDO, Runway and moderator Sam Matheny, CTO, National Association of Broadcasters.
OpenAI is meeting with Hollywood studios as part of an effort to encourage filmmakers to integrate its new AI video generator into their work. According to reports, Chief Operating Officer Brad Lightcap has been demonstrating the capabilities of Sora, a yet-to-be released solution that can generate realistic-looking videos up to about a minute in length, based on text prompts from users.