The Weekly Briefing

REVOLVING DOOR:

Rogers Communications has confirmed changes to its executive team that include the appointment of David Fuller as president of Rogers Wireless and Lisa Damiani as Chief Legal and Regulatory Officer. Fuller, who was formerly a TELUS executive, assumes the role previously held by Brent Johnston for the last two years, while Damiani – who had been serving as General Counsel and EVP, Government Relations for Ontario mining company, New Gold – steps in for the retiring Graeme McPhail, who had been with Rogers since 1991. 

France Lauzière, President & CEO of TVA Group and Chief Content Officer for Quebecor Content, is stepping back from her duties for up to six months for family reasons. Pierre Karl Péladeau, President & CEO of parent company Quebecor, will assume Lauzière’s role during her absence, on an acting basis.

Chad Armstrong is the new General Sales Manager for 101.5 Today Radio (CKCE-FM) and Wild 95.3 (CKWD-FM) Calgary. Armstrong has been with Pattison Media since 2017, most recently as Team Lead for the Calgary sales department. 

Kristelyn Karadimas will be the new General Sales Manager for Pattison Media’s 102.3 NOW! Radio (CKNO-FM) and Up! 99.3 (CIUP-FM) Edmonton. Karadimas was most recently the Sales Manager for Rogers Sports & Media’s Edmonton stations. Prior to that, she was the Rogers National Account Director for Northern Alberta and spent several years as an Account Manager for CTV/Bell Globemedia and Rogers in Edmonton. 

Paul Graham has been released from his Assistant Program Director role at CHNL Kamloops after 14 years with the station as part of restructuring at Stingray. Graham joined the station in 2007 after 16 years in Winnipeg at CJOB and CKRC.

Tamara Konrad, who was GM at Harvard Broadcasting in Edmonton for the last decade up until restructuring last June, is joining Stingray Edmonton as Business Manager. Prior to joining Harvard, Konrad served in a Business Manager role at Corus Edmonton for eight years.

Janet Dirks has retired from CTV News after nearly 22 years with the network. Dirks has been the Alberta Bureau Chief for CTV National News for the last 12 years. Prior to that, she was a reporter at CTV Vancouver for eight years. Dirks has also worked as a producer and reporter at CBC Winnipeg.

John Streit is joining CKNW Vancouver as an anchor and reporter. Streit was with Rogers Vancouver for the last two decades, as a producer and writer at Citytv and News 1130 (CKWX-AM), up until last November when he was caught up in layoffs in conjunction with the cancellation of Breakfast Television.

Al Stafford has been appointed News Director for Blackgold Broadcasting stations CJLD-FM Leduc, CKSS-FM Stony Plain and Ponoka station CKPA-FM, which is launching this fall. Stafford, who joined 93.1 FM The One (CJLD-FM) in October, also serves as the PA Announcer for the Edmonton Oilers. He formerly did PA for the Edmonton Eskimos and was a host and sports announcer on 630 CHED.

Matt Slaney has left Stingray Halifax to join B2B lead generation company, Leadable, as an Account Executive. Slaney had been with Newcap Radio since 2011, starting out on the Halifax street team, and then Promotions Coordinator for 89.3 K-Rock (CIJK-FM) Kentville. He’d been the Promotions and Marketing Coordinator for Q104 (CFRQ-FM) and 96.5 The Breeze (CKUL-FM) Halifax since 2013.

Ashley Stanhope is leaving Global Toronto to join Provident Communications as a Senior Account Director. Stanhope had been an Assignment Editor at Global for the last two and a half years. Prior to joining the station, she’d served in a similar role at CP24 from 2012-18.

Lucas Meyer, who was part of layoffs at Newstalk 1010 (CFRB-AM) in February, has joined Enterprise Canada as a Senior Media and Public Affairs Consultant. Meyer had been a reporter and anchor with Bell Media since 2018. 

Maria Luisa Todaro has been appointed Déléguée de production for Corus Entertainment’s Historia and Séries Plus. Todaro will maintain relationships with industry players and develop and complete original productions for the two channels. She previously held similar positions with Bell Media over the last 18 years. 

Stacey Brotzel has joined CBC Edmonton. Brotzel has been hosting on Edmonton’s 96.3 The Breeze (CKRA-FM) for the last few months following her release from the local edition of CTV Morning Live, alongside co-host Rob Brown, last September. Prior to CTV, Brotzel was an anchor and reporter with CityNews Edmonton for 15 years.

Jonathan Muma is stepping behind the camera at CityNews Calgary as Supervising Producer. Muma has been with Rogers Sports & Media for more than a decade, starting on the graveyard shift at 680 News (CFTR-AM) Toronto, before going on to work as a reporter at News 95.7 (CJNI-FM) Halifax and then 660 News (CFFR-AM) Calgary in 2014.

Michael Anderson has been appointed Chief Operating Officer of Hitachi Kokusai Electric Comark LLC (COMARK). In his new position, he’ll be responsible for the day to-day administrative and operational functions of COMARK and report directly to President and CEO, Matsuzaka Toshihiro. Anderson has been with COMARK since 1981 and over the last 40 years has held numerous positions including Inventory Control, Buyer, Purchasing Manager, and VP of Manufacturing & Operations. 

 

 

RADIO & PODCAST:

Evanov Radio Group is the latest media company to undertake a rebrand as it moves to refresh its corporate image to reflect the changing digital landscape. The new Evanov Communications logo incorporates a digital “play” button, with the company also indicating that the rebrand will extend to some programming elements across its 18 radio stations. Evanov is the second independent Canadian radio group to announce a rebrand this month as traditional broadcasters move to embrace digital media consumer behaviour that’s been heightened by the pandemic. Jim Pattison Broadcast Group has rebranded as Pattison Media, while Entercom in the U.S. dropped the corporate branding it’s held for more than 50 years. Now known as Audacy, Entercom also killed off its radio.com branding on its direct-to-consumer online platform – which is now using the audacy.com moniker – to reflect the company’s move into podcasting, among other digital consumer entertainment. Read more here.

Vancouver Whitecaps FC has struck a new two-year broadcast partnership with Corus Entertainment. The partnership will see Whitecaps’ games broadcast live on on AM730 (CHMJ-AM) including one-hour pre and post-match shows, regular weekly programming on 980 CKNW, content and promotional support on CFOX and Rock 101 (CFMI-FM), and ongoing television coverage on Global BC and BC1. CKNW’s weekly programming will include a coaches show on Mornings with Simi featuring team talk, news, and insights. 

CF Montréal and TSN Radio 690 (CKGM-AM) have announced an extension of their radio broadcast rights agreement, which sees TSN 690 continue as the team’s English-language radio home through the 2022 season. The station will deliver live coverage of all 34 MLS regular season matches, including pre-game and post-game shows. CF Montréal kicks off the season against Toronto FC on Saturday, April 17 at 2 p.m. ET, live from the team’s temporary home in Miami. Calling the action for CF Montreal matches are play-by-play commentator Joey Alfieri and analyst and former Club striker Grant Needham.

Pattison Media has announced the Western Canadian rollout of Dynamic Ad Insertion capability through the Audio Velocity platform of National Sales Partner, Canadian Broadcast Sales. All 48 Pattison radio stations will have the functionality fully deployed by the end of this week. Dynamic Ad Insertion (DAI) is a value-added feature for advertisers in real-time, on live and on-demand audio streams. Pattison Media says it’s now better positioned to serve ads to a desired target based on behavioural metrics, offer the ability to optimize ads based on performance, and scale ads from local to regional to national quickly. 

CBC Podcasts has released details of its Spring 2021 slate, headlined by original series Life Jolt and A Death In Cryptoland, alongside new seasons of Other People’s Problems and Inappropriate Questions. Life Jolt – prison slang for a life sentence – examines the lives of women navigating Canada’s correctional system. Debuting April 27, the production team behind the nine-episode series gained unprecedented access to Grand Valley Institution for Women in Kitchener, ON over more than two years. A Death In Cryptoland, premiering May 25, is an investigative series about Gerald Cotten, the young CEO of Canada’s largest cryptocurrency exchange – QuadrigaCX – who is reported to have died while honeymooning in India. The six-part podcast dives into the crypto-tycoon’s secret past, his mysterious death, and an online sleuth’s obsession with uncovering the truth. The series is hosted by tech journalist Takara Small. Read more here. 

Hollywood Suite’s A Year in Film podcast has launched its second season. An extension of the TV series of the same name (which debuted its own second season in December), 24 new episodes will be released on a weekly basis. Two thematically-linked films will be discussed in each episode, with titles curated from 1975, 1986 1994, and 2000. Back for another season of the podcast are co-hosts Becky Shrimpton, Alicia Fletcher, and Cameron Maitland. They’ll be joined by guest hosts throughout the season. 

Canadian Music Week (CMW) has announced that Kim Mitchell will be inducted into the INDIES Hall of Fame at the 20th Annual Jim Beam INDIES Awards on May 21. Mitchell has been a fixture on the Canadian music scene since the mid ‘70s and sold over 1.5 million recordings. Starting out as the frontman of progressive hard rock band Max Webster and going on to gain prominence as a solo artist in the ‘80s, his 1984 single Go For Soda charted on the Billboard Hot 100, in addition to six more singles – Patio Lanterns, Rock and Roll Duty, Rockland Wonderland, Expedition Sailor, America, and Some Folks. A three-time JUNO winner, Mitchell later established himself as a radio personality as the drivetime host on Toronto’s Q107 (CILQ-FM) from 2004-15. The INDIES Awards, presented by INDIE88 (CIND-FM), will be streamed Friday, May 21 from the El Mocambo, hosted by Josie Dye.

Julian Taylor, the afternoon drive host on Toronto’s 106.5 ELMNT FM (CFPT-FM), was named Best Solo Artist at last weekend’s Canadian Folk Music Awards. The Toronto-based musician is also nominated for two JUNO Awards for Contemporary Roots Album of the Year and Indigenous Artist or Group of the Year for his second solo acoustic album, The Ridge.

 

 

 

Major League Baseball and SiriusXM have expanded their agreement to include additional streaming rights starting with the 2021 MLB season. For the first time, SiriusXM subscribers with a streaming-only subscription now have access to live play-by-play broadcasts of every MLB game on the SiriusXM app and on connected devices and speakers. The SiriusXM app offers 30 play-by-play channels dedicated to streaming the official radio broadcasts of every MLB team, giving fans the choice between the home and visiting team announcers for every game. All 30 channels are also available on vehicles equipped with next generation SiriusXM with 360L radios. The new agreement also includes a multi-year extension of SiriusXM’s rights to broadcast every MLB game.

LISTEN: On the latest Sound Off Podcast, Matt Cundill catches up with talent coach Tracy Johnson. In this episode you’ll hear how the Nebraska native got his radio start calling baseball games, how he found his way to San Diego, why he left programming radio to explore the digital side with Triton, and what radio needs to do to address its measurement issues. Listen on your favourite podcast app or here:

SIGN OFFS:

Matthew Fisher, 66, on April 10. The son of federal politician and print and broadcast journalist Douglas Fisher, Matthew developed an interest in travel and war correspondence early, parlaying that into a 45-year career that would see him visit 174 countries and cover more than 20 wars and civil conflicts, including Somalia, the Rwandan genocide, Chechnya, the Balkan Wars, Israel in Gaza and Lebanon, the two Gulf Wars and Afghanistan. He got his start in journalism at age 16 when he won a Montreal Expos Junior Broadcaster contest. He went on to work as a high school sports reporter for CBO Radio in Ottawa, and then joined CJOH-TV. After travelling the world reporting on Canadian amateur athletes and co-writing a book, he went on to work for newspapers including The Globe and Mail, National Post, Canwest News Service, and Sun Media. Among the historic events he had a front row seat to were Nelson Mandela’s election, the death of Princess Diana, the Hong Kong handover to China, and the fall of Eastern European Communism. More recently, Fisher had joined independent international relations think tank, the Canadian Global Affairs Institute.

David Miller, 47, on April 6. After studying Communications at Simon Fraser University, Miller’s first introduction to the film industry was at the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television where he landed a public relations role. He went on to work for the National Film Board where he led an Oscar-winning PR campaign for the animated short “Ryan” in 2004, based on the life of Canadian animator Ryan Larkin. Miller then took a turn into programming as Director of Creative and Business Development at Channel Zero. In 2010, he became a partner in A71 Entertainment. His executive producer credits included The Child Remains, Becoming Burlesque, and Sadie’s Last Days on Earth, among many other films. Miller was also an active member of the Canadian Media Producers Association (CMPA).

TV & FILM:

MADE | NOUS has launched new campaign “Seek More” which encourages Canadians to seek out content and creators from a wider array of backgrounds, cultures, and lived experiences, reflecting the vast and varied storytellers shaping television, film and gaming in Canada. Among those that have signed on as ambassadors for the new initiative are Shamier Anderson (Stowaway, Bruised), Kawennáhere Devery Jacobs (Blood Quantum, Taika Waititi/FX’s Reservation Dogs), and Simu Liu (Kim’s Convenience, Marvel’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings), alongside Adib Alkhalidey (L’Agent Jean, Mon Ami Walid), Mélissa Bédard (Star académie, M’entends-tu), and Cynthia Wu-Maheux (District 31) in Quebec. The campaign features first-person stories from each ambassador sharing their experiences working in the entertainment industry and what representation in front of and behind the camera means to them. Read more here.

The Banff World Media Festival (BANFF) has announced the full list of nominees for the 2021 Rockie Awards International Program Competition, recognizing excellence in television and digital media from around the globe. The Rockies Program Competition ceremony will stream live on YouTube during this year’s festival at 3 p.m. ET on June 15. Leading nominations by company are: BBC Studios with 28 nominations, followed by HBO (9), CBC (8), and PBS and Sky (6). Leading nominations by country are: the U.S. (50 nominations), UK (47), and Canada (36).

Amazon Prime Video has commissioned a third Canadian original with Insight Productions set to produce a local version of Amazon Studios’ original format LOL: Last One Laughing. Jay Baruchel has signed on to host LOL: Last One Laughing Canada, which will shoot in Toronto and feature Canadian comedic actors and stand-up comedians competing to make each other laugh first. The final comedian left standing will win the grand prize for the charity of their choice. The format has also produced editions in Japan, Mexico, Australia, Germany and Italy with upcoming series set to debut in France and Spain. The series is Amazon’s third Canadian original following Kids In The Hall and docuseries All or Nothing: Toronto Maple Leafs.

Roast Battle Canada is a new original series from CTV Comedy Channel and Just For Laughs, based on the format from ViacomCBS International Studios Distribution. The eight, half-hour episodes build on the success of Bell Media’s French-language version, Roast Battle: Le Grand Duel for Z. The English-language adaptation, which sees two pairs of Canadian comics faceoff in each episode in hopes of being crowned the victor by a panel of judges, will start filming later this year. Presiding over each episode will be comedian Russell Peters; writer, producer, and actor Sabrina Jalees (Carol’s Second Act); and Season 1 Roast Battle semi-finalist, Letterkenny’s K. Trevor Wilson. Actor and comedian Ennis Esmer, who’ll appear in upcoming CTV original series, Children Ruin Everything, serves as host.

CBC and BET+ have announced the initial round of casting for upcoming original series The Porter (working title, 8×60) with Aml Ameen (I May Destroy You, Yardie), Ronnie Rowe Jr. (Star Trek: Discovery, Pretty Hard Cases) and Mouna Traoré (Self Made, The Umbrella Academy) to co-star in the 1920s drama. With the series set to start production in Winnipeg later this spring, more additions to the cast will be announced in the coming weeks. Inspired by real events, The Porter follows the journeys of an ensemble of characters highlighting the moment when railway workers from both Canada and the U.S. joined together to give birth to the world’s first Black union.

Rutherford Falls is the latest Peacock Original series to hit Corus Entertainment’s platforms with the comedy slated to premiere on Showcase with back-to-back episodes on Thursday, April 29, and a special presentation of episode one to air on Global. Starring Ed Helms and Jana Schmieding, the series also features Jesse Leigh (Heathers), and Canadians Michael Greyeyes (I Know This Much Is True) and Dustin Milligan (Schitt’s Creek). Rutherford Falls represents a breakthrough moment in Indigenous representation in comedy television with Schmieding (Cheyenne River Lakota Sioux) and Greyeyes (Nêhiyaw from Muskeg Lake Cree Nation) starring in the series, along with five Indigenous writers. They include Schmieding, Sierra Teller Ornelas (Navajo), Bobby Wilson (Sisseton-Wahpeton Dakota), Tai Leclaire (Kanien’kehá:ka [Mohawk Nation]/Mi’kmaq), and Tazbah Chavez (Nüümü [Bishop Paiute Tribe], Diné [Navajo], San Carlos Apache).

Corus Studios has landed its largest distribution deal to date with the sale of over 200 episodes to U.S. streamer, Hulu. Set to acquire Corus Studios content across home renovation, real estate and food, the groundbreaking deal includes  in-market streaming premieres of renovation series Backyard Builds (Season 1-3), Family Home Overhaul, Farmhouse Facelift, Home to Win (Season 1-4), $ave My Reno (Season 1-3), real estate show Hot Market, food travelogue series Big Food Bucket List (Season 1-2) and Wall of Chefs and Junior Chef Showdown. Quebecor Content continues to secure French language rights to Corus Studios content, adding 29 hours of programming to its slate including Big Food Bucket List (Season 2 – 26×30), Junior Chef Showdown (Season 1 – 8×60) and Family Home Overhaul (8×60). Discovery in Turkey and Germany have picked up the first two seasons of Island of Bryan. Discovery in Germany also picks up Salvage Kings (Season 1 – 10×60). Nine Network in Australia will air Farmhouse Facelift (10×60), while Poland’s Grupa acquires Home to Win: For the Holidays (8×60).

Warner Bros. International Television Production (WBITVP) and Toronto-based LoCo Motion Pictures have announced a deal that will see WBITVP acquire global (excl. Canada) distribution rights to International Emmy-nominated CBC Digital series How To Buy A Baby. Created by Wendy Litner, WBITVP Sweden is the first of WB’s opcos to adapt the format with Season 1 locally titled Alla Utom Vi (translation: ‘Everyone Except Us’) having premiered on Sweden’s Discovery+ platform in February.  A second season has been commissioned.

The Writers Guild of Canada (WGC) has announced that Canadian actor, writer and comedian Emma Hunter is writing and hosting the 2021 WGC Screenwriting Awards ceremony, which will take place over Zoom on Monday, April 26. Hunter most recently completed filming the first season of CBC drama Feudal, created by WGC member Sheri Elwood. Hunter was also a co-host and writer for three seasons on CTV’s The Beaverton. The WGC has also named the 2021 nominees for the bi-annual Jim Burt Screenwriting Prize awarded to the best unproduced longform script. The nominees include Goners, written by Ken Hegan; Magnificent, written by Travis McDonald; Sluggy and Bogie, written by Tommy Gushue; Struck, written by Lynne Kamm; and Tall Grass, written by Bri Proke.

The Fabienne Colas Foundation’s Youth and Diversity Program has issued a call for applications for its 2021 Being Black in Canada program, presented by Netflix, in collaboration with the National Bank. This year marks the expansion of the program to three new Canadian cities, welcoming 35 participants in Montreal, Toronto, Halifax, Ottawa, Calgary, and Vancouver. The selected filmmakers will be guided through audiovisual production (screenwriting, directing, editing, post-production, etc.) and creation of a documentary short under the tutelage of industry experts. The eligibility criteria and application form are available here. Candidates have until April 18 to apply.

imagineNATIVE says its 22nd Annual Film + Media Arts Festival will once again take place online, Oct. 19 – 24, accompanied by its Industry Days professional development series. The decision to mount another digital presentation resulted from a series of discussions between imagineNATIVE leadership, the board of directors, and other stakeholders. imagineNATIVE says its 2020 online festival allowed for broader outreach with over 29,576 viewing across Canada, the U.S., Mexico, New Zealand, Australia and select European countries. Submissions for the festival are now open until May 31.

ONLINE & DIGITAL MEDIA:

Indiegraf, the Vancouver-based startup helping small digital news publishers serve diverse and underserved communities, is the recipient of the inaugural Canadian Journalism Foundation (CJF)-Facebook Journalism Project Digital News Innovation Award. The new $10,000 prize recognizes initiatives by news organizations that advance the quality of digital journalism. Led by sisters Caitlin Havlak and Erin Millar, Indiegraf was established last May by The Discourse founders. The network of independent journalism entrepreneurs and community-owned publishers aims to help digital startups in so-called “news deserts” by pooling resources to reduce the cost of technology, distribution and marketing. Indiegraf launched with seven partner publishers and by the end of last year had grown to serve 18 publishers in 23 communities. The Canadian Press and Glacier Media Group received honourable mentions. Read more here.

The Canada Revenue Agency has released tax tips for social influencers, reminding those who earn income via social media platforms like YouTube, Instagram, Twitch, Facebook, Twitter, or blogging, that all income (both monetary and non-monetary) earned through social media channels must be reported on your income tax return. The CRA’s definition of non-monetary income extends to sponsorships, merchandise sales or commission on sales, tips or donations and free perks such as products, clothes, and trips.

Bell Media’s Discovery Networks including Discovery, Animal Planet, Discovery Velocity, Discovery Science, and Investigation Discovery are the latest brands to join CTV’s expanded digital experience. More than 5,000 hours of Canadian Discovery Original Series like Mighty Trains, Heavy Rescue: 401 and Highway Thru Hell, in addition to factual films are now available to stream on CTV.ca and the CTV app.

REGULATORY, TELECOM & MEDIA:

The Province of Manitoba is the latest government to indicate it will force online streaming, video, e-commerce and other digital platforms to start collecting a 7% provincial sales tax from Manitobans by the end of the year. Manitoba joins Quebec, Saskatchewan, and BC in pursuing the measure which has put more than $261 million in Quebec provincial coffers since it began collecting sales tax in 2019. The federal government is expected to announce details of its plans to enforce collection of GST and HST by digital entities operating in Canada in next week’s budget.

The CRTC has rejected an appeal of its Internet Code consumer rights policy by large Internet Service Providers (ISPs). They submitted that the commission erred in its determination to apply the Internet Code to only the 10 largest facilities-based ISPs. The commission, however, found that the applicants “failed to demonstrate that there is substantial doubt as to the correctness of that determination.” The commission intends to initiate a formal review of the Internet Code within three years when it says it will expand the code’s application to other ISPs if deemed appropriate.

The Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA) says rural Canadians are still coping with much slower download rates than their urban counterparts. New CIRA data suggests that at the start of the pandemic in March 2020, the median download speed in rural areas was about 5.42 Mbps, far behind the median 26.16 Mbps in cities. As lockdowns took hold and Canadians increasingly worked from home, city dwellers benefited from big improvements, while those living in the country saw speeds improve at a much slower rate. By March 2021 the median speed in cities grew to 51.09 Mbps, compared to about 9.74 Mbps in rural areas. CIRA says the disparity is all the more consequential, given the widely reported movement of urban residents to smaller centres during the pandemic. The findings are based on test results generated between March 1, 2020 and March 31, 2021 from a total of 198,921 urban tests and 137,158 rural tests.

Corus Entertainment Q2 2021 results indicate a continued recovery for television advertising. Consolidated revenues declined 5% for the quarter and 8% year-to-date with net income attributable to shareholders of $35.3 million ($0.17 per share basic) for the quarter and $112.0 million ($0.54 per share basic) year-to-date. A decline in Television’s advertising revenues of 7% were, again, sequentially improved from declines of 31%, 25% and 14% for the three months ended May 31, 2020, Aug. 31, 2020, and Nov. 30, 2020, respectively. Subscriber revenues remained flat in both Q2 and year-to-date as increases to paid subscriptions on streaming platforms offset linear subscriber declines and channel shutdowns. Merchandising, distribution and other revenues increased in Q2 and year-to-date primarily as a result of strong content licensing sales from Corus Studios. Radio segment revenues in Q2 were consistent with the three months ended Nov. 30, 2020, while sequentially improved from declines of 52% and 43% for the three months ended May 31, 2020 and Aug. 31, 2020, respectively.

Shaw Communications’ consolidated financial and operating results for the quarter ended Feb. 28 report a consolidated revenue increase of 1.8% to $1.39 billion, an adjusted EBITDA increase of 6.2% year-over-year to $637 million and net income up 29.9% to $217 million. Second quarter results do not include any costs or financial impacts from Shaw’s proposed transaction with Rogers. In Q2, the company added approximately 82,300 new Wireless customers, while postpaid net additions of approximately 75,100 in the quarter included continued momentum with Shaw Mobile. Wireless service revenue growth of 8.5% was due to subscriber growth, with postpaid churn improving 32-basis points over the prior year period to 1.25%. Shaw says it remains on track to meet its fiscal 2021 guidance, despite the ongoing uncertainty presented by the pandemic. During the second quarter, the company continued to experience a reduction in overall Wireline subscriber activity, an increase in wireline network usage as well as extended peak hours, increased demand for Wireless voice services, a decrease in Wireless roaming revenue, as well as the reduction or cancellation of Shaw Business customer accounts.

Cogeco’s Q2 financial results for the second quarter ended Feb. 28 reported Revenue increases of 6.9% to $653.2 million. Canadian broadband services revenue increased by 10.1% as a result of the DERYtelecom acquisition completed in December, the cumulative effect of sustained demand for residential high speed internet since the beginning of the pandemic, and rate increases implemented for certain services, partly offset by a decline in video service customers. American broadband services revenue increased by 9.5% resulting mainly from a higher internet service customer base, rate increases and the impact of the Thames Valley Communications acquisition completed last year. Radio operations were negatively impacted by the pandemic with a revenue decline of 18% in the first half compared to the previous year, due to segments of the retail industry reducing or cutting advertising activities. 

CBC Radio series What on Earth is the recipient of the new Canadian Journalism Foundation Award for Climate Solutions Reporting. The award comes with a $10,000 cash prize, which CBC has donated back to the CJF to support its journalism awards and fellowships program. What on Earth, which debuted last summer, explores the challenges of the climate change crisis by focusing on one problem each week, highlighting the human cost and presenting potential solutions to each issue. The winning CBC team includes host Laura Lynch, executive producer Joan Melanson, senior producer Manusha Janakiram, producers Lisa Johnson and Molly Segal, associate producer Rachel Sanders and engineer Mathias Wolfsohn. 

LISTEN: The Canadian Journalism Foundation (CJF) annually recognizes an individual who has made an outstanding lifetime contribution to journalism in Canada. This year’s honouree is Dan David. Hailing from Kanehsatà:ke, among other achievements, David was the founding news director of APTN, has worked across the country with CBC Radio and Television, and has trained journalists abroad in Indonesia, Azerbaijan, and post-apartheid South Africa. On the latest episode of Broadcast Dialogue – The Podcast, he talks about his journalism journey, why the Oka crisis was a personal turning point, and inspiring the next generation of Indigenous journalists.

Riley Yesno and Shayla Sayer-Brabant are the recipients of this year’s CJF-CBC Indigenous Journalism Fellowships. Yesno, an Anishinaabe woman from Eabametoong First Nation who grew up in Thunder Bay, graduates this year from the University of Toronto with a double major in Indigenous Studies and Political Science. She plans to explore challenges faced by two-spirit and queer Indigenous people in northern and remote communities and what support is needed to ensure their well-being and vitality. Sayer-Brabant is a Nehiyaw (Plains Cree) two-spirit student in their final year studying Indigenous Communications Arts at First Nations University of Canada in Regina and a member of the Poundmaker Cree First Nation. Sayer-Brabant will explore the subject of self-harm and suicide among Indigenous youth. The story or series resulting from the fellowship experiences will be considered for publication or broadcast by CBC News.

BROADCAST TECH & ENGINEERING:

RØDE has introduced RØDE Connect, an app that allows up to four NT-USB Minis to connect to a single computer. It features a recording interface inspired by the RØDECaster Pro, complete with broadcast-style faders, one-click recording, level metering, mute buttons, output control, and optimisation and export options for uploading to podcasting platforms. There are also two ‘Virtual’ channels for connecting remote callers via apps like Zoom and Google Hangouts, and for adding music beds, stings and sound effects, pre-recorded interviews or other audio from external sources. The app is available for free download, here. 

Ross has launched Living Live – an online community platform for the live production industry where production professionals can come together to share their experiences, solve problems, find answers to questions and discuss best practices. “Our industry is incredibly diverse and includes professionals working in lots of different areas,” said Ross Executive Vice President and CMO Jeff Moore. “Everyone faces subtly different creative, business and technology challenges in their daily work, and the Living Live community platform will act as a very valuable industry resource, where like-minded experts can come together to share ideas and thoughts.”

Nielsen Holdings has launched Nielsen Market Lift, a cloud-based campaign measurement tool to evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of marketing campaigns on both a large national scale as well as on small scale test and learn advertisements. The tool brings together Nielsen analytics, powered by automated and scalable cloud based modeling, to deliver results across markets, categories, media types and channels. Nielsen Market Lift will be available in 37 markets around the world, including Canada, the UK and U.S.

Stingray has selected Triton Digital’s Omny Studio platform to support its podcast strategy. Through the partnership, Stingray Radio will use the Omny Studio platform to create, publish, and promote its podcast portfolio to audiences across a wide range of devices and platforms, including smart speakers, social media networks, and smartphones.

Dejero has received ISO 9001:2015 certification in recognition of its quality management system. The scope includes the design, development, realization, information assurance, and support of the Waterloo-based broadcast connectivity solutions provider’s products and services. ISO 9001:2015 is a globally-recognized quality management standard developed and published by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). The standard is based on a number of quality management principles including a strong customer focus, the commitment of top management, an outlined process-based approach, and continual improvement.