Attending NAB Show? Join Broadcast Dialogue and CARTT.ca poolside at the Las Vegas Flamingo on Monday, April 15 for the Great Canadian Suite, a 60+ year NAB Show tradition bringing together Canadians from the content production and broadcast sectors, along with the vendors that serve them. Tickets are on sale now! A warm welcome to our newly-announced Gold Sponsor group Pippin Technical Service, Telos Alliance, Aqua Broadcast and Enco.
REVOLVING DOOR:
Karen Macdonald, the longtime Station Manager and News Director at Global Montreal, is set to retire at the end of April. Macdonald, a 1985 graduate of Concordia University, started her career with the Quebec Chronicle-Telegraph. She remained with the paper for 25 years, the last 14 as its publisher. She concurrently joined Canwest in 1997 and has held roles from reporting and anchoring to running master control and operations, in addition to her current role as news director and station manager. Read more here.
Lisa Williams has announced her retirement after 38 years on AM 800 CKLW Windsor. Williams, the longtime voice of The Morning Drive, alongside Mike Kakuk, will co-host her final broadcast on Friday, May 31. Bell Media says Williams is looking forward to more time with family, traveling, and continuing her involvement in local causes and community events.
Robert Brimacombe has parted ways with Corus Entertainment after eight and a half years as Manager of Sales for the B.C. Market, working as part of the Corus Radio Vancouver and Global BC management teams. Prior to Corus, he was the General Sales Manager at Rogers Sports & Media for seven years, preceded by six years with Corus as Manager of Local Sales. Brimacombe will continue in his role as President of the B.C. Association of Broadcasters (BCAB).
Nancy Wood is retiring from CBC after 40 years in journalism and more than 30 with the public broadcaster in Quebec. Wood started her career with the Montreal Gazette in 1984 where she covered the National Assembly, before joining the Toronto Star as its Queen’s Park reporter. She then worked for Maclean’s Magazine as its senior writer in the Parliamentary Bureau. Wood joined CBC in 2005, covering Quebec for The National. She produced investigative journalism in both French and English, in addition to hosting Radio Noon for eight years. More recently, she had anchored the late night newscast for CBC Montreal and served as a digital editor.
Daryl McIntyre is leaving 630 CHED Edmonton, capping a 41-year broadcasting career. The co-host of This Morning with Stacey Brotzel and Daryl McIntyre since 2021, McIntyre was previously with CTV Edmonton for 33 years, much of that time as the co-anchor of CTV News at Six. His last day on CHED will be May 31.
David Boles has moved on from 630 CHED and Global News Edmonton to join The Canadian Press (CP) as a reporter. Boles had been an anchor and reporter with Corus Edmonton since 2019. Prior to that, he held roles with Harvard Media’s 620 CKRM Regina, 2Day FM (CIQC-FM) Campbell River and 95.7 Coast FM (CFPW-FM) Powell River.
Eden Debebe has parted ways with CP24 Toronto. Debebe had been a reporter and anchor with the station for the past two years. Previously, she worked as a digital content producer for OMNI TV and was a reporter and anchor at 680 News (CFTR-AM).
Sarah Scott, who was released by Stingray last month, has joined Blackboot Records in Artist Management & Media Relations. Scott had been hosting mornings on New Country 95.9 (CKSA-FM) Lloydminster.
Rob Learmonth has departed Harvard Media after 14 years in sales with the company in Calgary, most recently as Retail Sales Manager, Broadcast & Digital. Learmonth is joining Pattison Media as a Senior Media Executive and will remain based in Calgary.
Tom Plasteras and Jamie Harrison have launched Verito Communications & Media Strategies, offering media planning and buying, crisis management and public relations services. Plasteras was the Senior Director, Brand and Programming at 980 CKNW Vancouver for two decades and more recently spent seven years as Chief Communications Officer for the Vancouver Whitecaps. Harrison was a Senior Account Manager with Corus Vancouver for more than a decade, in addition to stints in sales with Rogers Sports & Media and Metro.
Monica Flores has been named Vice-President of Governmental Affairs and Communications at Telefilm Canada. She’ll be based out of the Montreal office. Most recently, Flores led her own consulting firm, where she advised clients in communications, branding, public affairs and stakeholder relations. Her background includes corporate affairs and communications roles with Novartis, Bristol-Meyers Squibb and BCE Emergis.
Tom Hastings, Head of Original Programming at Paramount+ Canada, is among those impacted by cuts at the streaming service. Hastings had been with Paramount since Sept. 2022 after serving as VP, Scripted at Muse Entertainment; Director, Original Programming at Bell Media; and Head of Drama, TV Arts & Entertainment at CBC, among other roles.
Sheila Kirby has been named President Elect of Mentoring and Inspiring Women in Radio (MIW), the non-profit organization dedicated to the advancement of female leadership in radio broadcasting. Her term will begin Jan. 1, 2025. Kirby most recently served as Senior Vice President, Sales Acceleration for Audacy. Prior to that, she held key executive positions, including SVP of Talent Development at Tribune Sales Solutions and President of Strategic Sales Development at Interep. She’ll succeed Ruth Presslaff, who has served as MIW Board President since 2020 and will serve as Past President.
RADIO & PODCAST:
Radiodays North America is doubling down on the use of AI in the broadcasting space, podcasting and diversity and inclusion as the audio industry gets set to gather for the second edition of the conference, June 2-4 in Toronto during Canadian Music Week (CMW). Among the big names set to address this year’s gathering are BBC Director of Music Lorna Clarke, radio futurologist James Cridland, Magnificient Noise co-founder Eric Nuzum, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Connie Walker, ABC News’ Director of Podcast Programming Laura Mayer, Audacy Format VP for Rhythmic AC Skip Dillard, and Virgin Radio International Chief Programmer Ronnie Stanton, among many others. Read more about this year’s program, here.
The Soundwave Summit is a new venture spearheaded by Lead Podcasting, Sonar Network and Chonilla Network, who have teamed up to put on a podcast event “bringing together creators making waves in podcasting.” Taking place June 6 in Toronto, directly following Radiodays North America, the event includes daytime panels, in addition to an evening featuring four live shows, headlined by The Women of Ill Repute podcast, featuring Wendy Mesley and Maureen Holloway.
Rogers Sports & Media’s Frequency Podcast Network has launched Season 6 of Island Crime: Sweethearts. The new season explores the unsolved murders of three teenage girls in and around Victoria, B.C. in the early 1990s.
Allan Waters Young Broadcaster of the Year nominations are open until Monday, April 22. The winning recipient receives a trip to Radiodays North America to accept their award at the event’s opening reception on June 3. Anyone working in the Canadian radio industry can nominate any worthy broadcaster who was under 30 years of age as of Dec. 31, 2023; works in On-Air, Programming, Promotions, Production or Creative; and has made a significant, documented contribution to the community they serve, the radio industry or their craft. Read more here.
LISTEN: Matt Vettese is on the latest Sound Off Podcast. Caught up in layoffs last November at Corus Radio’s Big 101.1 (CIQB-FM) Barrie, ON, Vettese has also made stops in Peace River, AB and Thunder Bay, ON. He shares what he’s learned about the importance of connecting with listeners regardless of station size, the strength of social media in a medium or smaller size market, his studio setup, and more.
SIGN OFFS:
David Nevett, on April 2. Nevett was serving with the Royal Air Force (RAF) Services Personnel when he joined the Aden Forces Broadcasting Association (AFBA) in Aden (now south Yemen) in 1965 as a news announcer and writer. Within two years, he had joined BRMB in Birmingham, England as an announcer and sales manager, the first commercial radio station outside of London. He eventually landed at CFRN-AM Edmonton in sales and participated in remote broadcasts, including the station’s Search for Talent broadcasts, which saw a crew tape shows across central and northern Alberta every weekend. After a brief detour to work with Oxford Developments, he returned to radio and CKXM-FM Edmonton as manager in the 1980s. Following his broadcasting career, Nevett established security business, Lionsafe Security Pro.
TV & FILM:
The National Film Board (NFB) has announced it’s undertaking a major modernization initiative that will see 55 employees depart the Crown agency and another 23 new positions created. NFB says the move is expected to translate into roughly $5 million in savings that can be allocated directly to the production of animated films and documentaries. NFB previously announced in January that it would be shuttering its Vancouver and Montreal interactive studios to reinvest in production. That resulted in the loss of 14 full-time positions, and the apparent creation of a half-dozen new jobs. Read more here.
The Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television’s second round of 2024 Special Award recipients includes Sudbury’s Science North, former foreign correspondent Paul Workman, Emmy-nominated actor Lamar Johnson, and Mohawk actress Devery Jacobs. Science North is being recognized for Jane Goodall: Reasons for Hope, the large format IMAX documentary it produced in association with the Jane Goodall Institute. It’s being presented with the inaugural Sustainable Production Award. Workman is the recipient of the Gordon Sinclair Award for Broadcast Journalism, while both Jacobs and Johnson are being recognized with the Radius Award, honouring an artist from Canada whose work is leaving a resounding global impact. Read more here.
ACTRA Toronto has announced the nominees for the 22nd ACTRA Awards, set to take place at the Palais Royale in Toronto on April 22, hosted by actress and writer Martha Chaves. Among the productions spurring multiple Performance nominations are Shudder and Hollywood Suite’s Slasher; AppleTV+ kids series Pinecone & Pony; and live-action CBC Kids’ animal series Mittens & Pants. The ACTRA Toronto Stunt Award will be presented to Tom Farr, known for his work on series like Hemlock Grove, Murdoch Mysteries and Saving Hope. Find the full list of nominees here.
Kim Cattrall will receive the ICON Award at the inaugural Hollywood Reporter Women in Entertainment event in Toronto on May 30. Being awarded for the first time, The Hollywood Reporter Women in Entertainment Canada ICON Award recognizes a Canadian cultural icon who has advanced the representation of women in the entertainment industry, and whose artistic vision and excellence have inspired audiences at home and around the world.
The Canadian Country Music Association (CCMA) is welcoming country superstar Thomas Rhett as host of the 2024 CCMA Awards. Rhett, an eight-time Academy of Country Music (ACM) and two-time CCMA Award winner with 16 No.1 hits on Canadian country radio, is joined by two-time CCMA winner MacKenzie Porter. Returning to Edmonton for the first time in 10 years, CTV will broadcast the awards live from Rogers Place on Saturday, Sept. 14 at 8 p.m. ET.
CBC has announced that 1-800-GOT-JUNK? founder and CEO Brian Scudamore will join Dragons’ Den for Season 19. Scudamore joins Arlene Dickinson, Wes Hall, Manjit Minhas and Michele Romanow, as Robert Herjavec and Vincenzo Guzzo depart the Den.
FilmRise has acquired the exclusive rights to Bell Media’s original comedy series Corner Gas for its ad-supported services. The New York City-based studio will have sub-distribution rights including in the U.S., UK, New Zealand, and Australia to all six seasons of the sitcom, in addition to the 90-minute Corner Gas: The Movie. The show is distributed worldwide through Prairie Pants Distribution.
The Curling Group is assuming ownership and operations of Sportsnet’s Grand Slam of Curling after the conclusion of this season, with Sportsnet continuing as the exclusive Canadian broadcaster. The Curling Group is a new sports business venture led by sports, media, and entertainment industry veterans Nic Sulsky and Mike Cotton, along with former NFL star Jared Allen and two-time Olympic gold medal curler John Morris. A number of elite international curlers, including Jennifer Jones, are also working alongside the group as strategic advisors. Operated by Sportsnet since 2012, the Grand Slam of Curling is an elite series of curling events that feature the best men’s and women’s teams from across Canada and around the world, with at least $2 million in total prize money up for grabs each season.
OUTtv is rebranding its UK and Ireland streaming service Froot.tv to OUTflix and launching a Direct-to-Consumer app offering for OUTflix across the region. In addition, OUTflix has launched across the Nordics through a deal with Allente which covers Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland. Since launching in the UK in 2020 as a DTC offering, the service has grown its partnerships to include OUTtv Proud, a FAST channel now available via Channelbox on Freeview, Plex and Netgem.
MTM Jr.’s latest report provides an overview of TV viewing in the context of other video sources. It finds that traditional TV remains popular among anglophone kids – seven in 10 (70%) are watching it every month, with 62% watching weekly and a third (33%) daily. Those numbers go up among French speakers, with 77% watching monthly, 70% weekly and 36% watching daily. MTM says TV subscription rates among anglophone households with kids have been experiencing a downturn – from 81% back in 2019 to 65% in 2023, falling from 87% among French-speaking households in 2019 to 68% last year. Compared to other sources of video content, kids are less likely to be watching traditional TV than YouTube (Anglo: 70% versus 83%, respectively; Franco: 77% vs. 85%), or SVOD services like Netflix and Disney+ (Anglo: 82%; Franco: 84%).
Horowitz Research’s new State of Media, Entertainment & Tech: Subscriptions 2024 report sheds light on how recent crackdowns on password sharing are impacting consumer behavior when it comes to subscription streaming services (SVODs). According to the study, half of TV content viewers (52%) have cancelled or lost access to at least one SVOD service within the past year. Among those, the main reasons cited include efforts to cut subscription costs, recent price hikes, and perceived lack of value. Almost one in four (23%) streamers plan to cancel one or more of their SVODs in the coming months, an increase from 19% who intended to churn in 2023. Netflix is the service most often mentioned as being on the chopping block.
ONLINE & DIGITAL MEDIA:
Village Media has launched the wait list for Spaces, a local, community-powered social network, set to be integrated with Village Media’s local news sites. Aimed at providing a safe place for civil discourse and shared discussion about what is happening in neighbourhoods, a pilot phase will kick off this summer, with a broader rollout planned across Canada in late 2024.
369 Global, in partnership with SJC Media, is introducing 3, a new magazine tailored to newcomers to Canada, set to launch in September. Celebrating Third Culture Individuals (TCIs), the publication will target prospective and recent immigrants, and first-generation Canadians. With an editorial mandate defined by indepth research, including a national survey and first-person interviews with Canadian newcomers, 3 promises to cover topics from identity to innovation, commentary, profiles and cultural insights on style, tech, health, sports, food, travel, and politics. The editorial team includes Muraly Srinarayanathas, Co-Founder and Executive Chair of 369 Global; Stacy Lee Kong, Editor-in-Chief; Sasha Emmons, VP of Branded & Custom Content for SJC Media and Paul Ferriss, Director of Editorial & Creative for SJC Media’s Custom Content Division.
Postmedia has launched Puzzmo, a new puzzle games platform created by game developers Zach Gage and Orta Therox. Puzzmo launches in Postmedia’s online publications across Canada through a partnership with Hearst Newspapers, becoming the exclusive Canadian distributor. Inspired by newspaper games, the offering includes SpellTower, Typeshift and Really Bad Chess, as well as newer options like Flipart and Cross|word. Puzzmo games will be available to Canadians free of charge, with a paid subscription unlocking new games and features in an ad-free experience.
REGULATORY, TELECOM & MEDIA:
Bell has released a fact sheet with regards to its recent restructuring, apparently prompted by what the company sees as inaccurate information circulating, writing “As some distort the truth, here are the facts about Bell’s restructuring as announced on February 8.” Bell goes on to say it “far exceeds its regulatory obligations for local news” by airing more than 25,000 hours of local news per year (150% more than the CRTC requires). The company confirms its April 11 appearance before the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage “to discuss the challenges and opportunities facing our industry.”
Friends of Canadian Media are urging the federal government to close a loophole it says continues to extract over $13 billion in advertising revenues from the Canadian economy every year. Updated figures from the media advocacy not-for-profit suggest the exception that allows Canadian businesses to claim tax deductions for advertising on foreign digital media like Facebook and Google, has worsened in the intervening years since Friends initially raised the issue in 2017, going from garnering one-third of all Canadian advertising revenues to over two-thirds since the first study.
CPAC (Cable Public Affairs Channel) anchor Omayra Issa has been recognized by the World Economic Forum as a Young Global Leader. The Forum of Young Global Leaders was established in 2004 to unite outstanding leaders under the age of 40 from around the world. Every year 100 Young Global Leaders are carefully selected and handpicked out of thousands of applications to take part in the three-year program. Issa joined CPAC at the end of January after working with CBC News for almost a decade. Read more here.
Connie Walker is being honoured with an honorary degree by the University of King’s College. The Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist will be awarded a Doctor of Civil Law “for her determination in seeking justice where it has been denied, and her dedication to telling the stories that must be told for true reconciliation to be possible.” Walker has spent most of her broadcasting career focused on missing and murdered Indigenous women. While a reporter with the CBC, in 2013 Walker co-created and was the lead reporter for the CBC Indigenous Unit. Her work, which more recently includes the podcast Stolen: The Search for Jermain and Stolen: Surviving St. Michael’s, has exposed the crisis of violence in Indigenous communities and the devastating impacts of intergenerational trauma stemming from Indian Residential Schools in Canada and the U.S.
The Canadian Journalism Forum on Violence and Trauma has announced the winners of its Mindset Awards for excellence in mental health reporting. In the category for reporting on the mental health of young people, Laura Lynch (with Rachel Sanders and Catherine Rolfsen) wins first prize for “Emily’s story: one activist’s journey through climate anxiety“ broadcast on CBC Radio’s What on Earth. Kenyon Wallace of the Toronto Star received an Honourable Mention for “Minds Lost in the Maze” within multi-author series “The kids aren’t all right.” In the category for reporting on mental health in the workplace, Jeremy Hainsworth wins first prize for his five-part series “Existential crisis: There’s a mental health problem in B.C.’s courts“ published by Vancouver Is Awesome. Jana Pruden (with Kasia Mychajlowycz) received an Honourable Mention in the same category for “Helen in Hell”, episode 2 of Globe and Mail podcast series In Her Defence. The awards will be presented May 31 at the Canadian Association of Journalists national conference in Toronto.
The Canadian Journalism Foundation (CJF) is awarding the CJF-Edward Burtynsky Award for Climate Photojournalism to Vancouver photojournalist Jesse Winter. Winter won for his series of images from the frontlines of B.C.’s 2023 wildfires published in The Narwhal. The $5,000 award, launched in 2022 by the CJF in partnership with internationally renowned photographer and filmmaker Edward Burtynsky, celebrates provocative, impactful and inspirational climate photography.
BROADCAST TECH & ENGINEERING:
LISTEN: Analytics represent another area of explosive technological growth as broadcast manufacturers embrace descriptive analytics. That includes Dielectric, which is sprinkling in a pinch of predictive modelling to make systemic changes to its design and production process for antennas. Dielectric President Keith Pelletier joins this special, sponsored episode of Broadcast Dialogue – The Podcast to talk about why RF is where analytics may be needed the most, and more. Read more about the importance of analytics to the bottom line here.
5G Broadcast Collective, a non-profit to promote and help deploy 5G Broadcasting, will officially launch at NAB Show in Las Vegas with XGen Network (XGN) and Milachi Media its founding members. 5G Broadcasting is a direct to mobile platform that runs independently of any other service on a smartphone chip, be it cel service, satellite, wi-fi, or bluetooth. In the U.S., deploying 5G Broadcast consists of replacing a current exciter with 5G Broadcast exciter with modulator and 5G core software. The station’s current transmitter and antenna can stay in place. In other parts of the world, 5G Broadcast can be interlaced with ISDB and DBTV-2 to operate simultaneously and is being studied for interlacing with ATSC 3.0. 5G Broadcast was successfully deployed in Boston by XGN on Milachi Media’s WWOO last September, showing both a streaming channel and proof of emergency alerts being delivered to a smartphone within half a second. The proof of concept also included a 5G Broadcast CPE receiver delivering a 1080p signal in 800 kbps using Ateme processing to a 65-inch television.
Bluewaves Mobility Innovation (BMI), an emerging Canadian wireless system and device provider of state-of-the-art Open Radio Access Network (ORAN) Radio Units, has selected Microart Services Inc. from Markham, ON as its Electronics Manufacturing Services (EMS) partner to manufacture its portfolio of next generation 4G & 5G radios. BMI, which has offices in Toronto, Ottawa and Tokyo, says the contract brings radio manufacturing back to the GTA.
Futuri has unveiled enhancements to its Futuri AudioAI platform, including the introduction of real-time AI with CoHostAI, which creates a seamless collaboration between human hosts and AI personalities during live broadcasts. Futuri says the breakthrough feature empowers hosts to engage in natural, dynamic conversations with AI counterparts. Futuri has also announced new CallerAI technology, where listeners can ‘call in’ and talk directly with AI. Conversations are recorded with the permission of listeners for potential use on-air.
Quickplay is using Generative AI to help content programming teams drive deeper discovery into their content libraries with a new product that continues the Toronto-headquartered company’s innovation partnership with Google Cloud. At Google Cloud Next ’24 and the NAB Show this month, Quickplay is unveiling a Curator Assistant that leverages Large Language Models (LLMs) to return results that tap into a much broader database than traditional metadata tagging. Query results are matched in the Quickplay CMS against available content rights and user profiles.
Blu Digital Group has unveiled DubGenie, a specialized service arm dedicated exclusively to AI dubbing. The company says the initiative marks a pivotal advancement in utilizing AI to provide dubbing services, enabling content creators to effectively engage international audiences through sophisticated and emotionally resonant dubbed content.
