REVOLVING DOOR:

Scott Fox and Ana Almeida have joined Evanov Communications’ Lite 92.1 (CKPC-FM) Brantford as the hosts of “Scott and Ana in the Morning.” Fox joins the show after a short hiatus from radio, following his departure from the morning show on Corus Radio’s 91.5 The Beat (CKBT-FM) Kitchener in December, where he was co-host of The Scott and Kat Show, which was also heard on Energy 95.3 (CING-FM) and Fresh 93.1 (CHAY-FM) Barrie. Almeida joins Evanov from CTV Atlantic, where she was a co-host and producer on the Atlantic edition of CTV Morning Live, up until last September when she moved back to Southern Ontario to be closer to family. Raised in Cambridge, ON, Almeida began her radio career at 91.5 The Beat, before moving to Halifax where she co-hosted mornings on 101.3 The Bounce (CJCH-FM). Read more here.

Lisa Daigneault-MacNeill can now be heard on Vista Radio’s newly-launched GO FM brand in middays across B.C. and nationally on weekends. Daigneault-MacNeill returns to B.C. after parting ways with Evanov’s Lite 92.1 (CKPC-FM) Brantford, where she was formerly APD and heard in mornings, alongside John Biggs.

Scott Johns, VP of Revenue Management & Local Sales at Stingray, has announced his retirement after four decades in media. Johns joined Stingray in 2016 as Director of Revenue Management and Local Sales, and was elevated to VP in 2020. He’ll stay on in his current role as Stingray looks to recruit his successor. Read more here.

Kent Newson is retiring as Vice President and General Manager of Rawlco Radio, effective June 1. Newson first worked with Rawlco in Saskatoon, starting in 1985, moving with the company to Ottawa, before leaving to join CHUM Radio. He rejoined the company in 2007.

Greg McLelland, former Executive Vice President and Chief Revenue Officer at Corus Entertainment, is joining strategic consulting firm Madison and Wall as GM Canada and CRO Advisory Practice Lead. McLelland left Corus in August 2024 after 19 years, when his position was eliminated. Alongside his new role, McLelland will continue his independent work with Canadian talent and brands.

Mario Fournier has parted ways with Bell Media, where he’d most recently been programming Energie 102.3 (CIGB-FM) and 94.7 Rouge FM (CHEY-FM) in Trois-Rivieres, Que. Fournier had been with Bell since 2009, arriving from Cogeco’s 91.9 Rhythme FM.

Catherine Williams has retired from Bell Media Edmonton where she’d been an Account Executive for the last 29 years. She’d held the Retail Sales Manager role for the last decade.

Sarah Jane Flynn is Knowledge Network’s new Executive Producer of Original Programming. Flynn will lead the B.C. public broadcaster’s slate of documentary commissions, development projects, and second window pre-licenses. She’s previously held senior executive roles at Shaw Media and Paperny Entertainment, and has overseen original unscripted programming for Global, History and National Geographic, among others. Patrice Ramsay, who currently spearheads independent production at Knowledge Network, is retiring in May. 

Vanessa Loewen has resigned as co-General Manager of Animiki See after almost 18 years with the Winnipeg-based Indigenous content producer. Loewen is now producing, directing and consulting under the banner of her own company, Highway 6 Pictures, on a freelance basis.

Blake Gregory has been appointed to the newly-created position of Director of Production for Counterfeit Sounds. The audio arm of Counterfeit Pictures welcomes Gregory from Montreal’s Just for Laughs where he leaves his post as Director of Audio and TV Producer. Working alongside Director of Talent Zoe Rabnett and reporting to Counterfeit partner Anton Leo, Gregory will support Counterfeit’s continued goal to create opportunities for Canada’s stand-up comedians, leveraging the team’s years of experience in television production to create bespoke audio production and accompanying video content.

Anita Boyle Evans has departed Numeris. Boyle Evans joined the company in 2012 after 13 years with Nielsen. She initially held the role of General Manager, Member Engagement before being named VP, Client Services in 2020.

Patti Sonntag is joining the Investigative Journalism Foundation (IJF) as a political investigative reporter in Ottawa. Sonntag had been working with the National Post’s political bureau for the last few months. The former New York Times Syndicate editor was among those caught up in layoffs last August at Global News, where she’d been a National Online Correspondent with the Investigative Unit.

Anita Bathe, who announced she was leaving CBC Vancouver and journalism last month, is joining Greater Vancouver transportation authority, Translink, as Senior Manager, Media Relations & Issues Management. Bathe, who has been on maternity leave for the past 18 months, had anchored the News at Six since 2018.

RADIO & PODCAST:

Vista Radio is officially the country’s second largest commercial radio broadcaster as it completes its acquisition of 21 former Bell Media stations in B.C. Now operating over 70 stations and digital portals, Vista has undertaken a major rebrand effort away from Bell Media brands like Virgin Radio, MOVE Radio and Bounce Radio. The two largest brands launched under the effort are GO FM – heard on former MOVE-branded stations 101.5 FM (CILK-FM) Kelowna, 97.1 FM (CJMG-FM) Penticton and 98.5 FM (CHRX-FM) Fort St. John, billed as “Feel Good Pop” featuring hits from the ’90s and 2000s – and Summit Radio, featuring a mix of rock-leaning and pop classic hits from the 1970s to 2000s, heard on former BOUNCE stations 800AM (CKOR-AM) Penticton, 1240AM (CJOR-AM) Osoyoos, 98.5 FM (CHOR-AM) Summerland, 106.9 FM (CKKC-FM) Nelson, 95.7 FM (CJAT-FM) Trail, 106.1 FM (CKCR-FM) Revelstoke, 106.3 FM (CKGR-FM) Golden, 91.5 FM (CKXR-FM) Salmon Arm, 590 AM (CFTK-AM) Terrace, 102.3 FM (CKRX-FM) Fort Nelson, and 97.7 (CKTK-FM) Kitimat. Read more here.

MBS Radio has rebranded the five stations it acquired from Bell Media in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. Four of the five stations, including CIKX-FM Grand Falls, CJCJ-FM Woodstock, CKBC-FM Bathurst, and CKTO-FM Truro. Three of the stations previously carried the BOUNCE Radio format, with the exception of Pure Country Woodstock. Pure Country Truro (CKTY-FM) becomes Cat Country 99.5.

The CRTC has approved Local Radio Lab’s acquisition of CJFB-FM Bolton, ON from Vista Radio. The transaction is valued at $238,000. The station has carried Vista’s Moose FM Classic Hits/Variety Hits format since 2021.

The CRTC has approved an application by Blackburn Media to convert CFCO-AM to FM. The new FM station would replace the AM station’s failing equipment and aging infrastructure and provide improved signal quality. CFCO currently broadcasts a mix of country music, local news, and information programming.

Sooke.Live, an online community radio station serving the Sooke, BC area, has officially launched. Operated by the Sooke Radio Society, the volunteer-run station got off the ground with the help of a $5,000 community grant from the District of Sooke.

Sarah Cummings, Director of Radio Content for iHeartRadio Canada and Orbyt Media, is this year’s recipient of the Trailblazer Award. The award – formerly known as the Rosalie Award, in honour of trailblazing CKLW music director Rosalie Trombley – was rebranded earlier this year as the Trailblazer as the organization expands its reach to include women across radio, television and podcasting. Cummings will accept the award during Departure Honours, an industry reception taking place during the upcoming Departure Festival + Conference in Toronto on May 7. Read more here.

The Pro Bono Group’s Pro Canada Project PSA campaign has added two more voices: Peter Mansbridge, former CBC News Chief Correspondent, and actress Cynthia Dale, best known for her role as Olivia Novak on long-running television drama, Street Legal. New spots will continue to roll out under the campaign in the coming weeks. Learn more here.

SiriusXM Canada and the Canadian Country Music Association (CCMA) have announced the three finalists for the 2025 SiriusXM Top of the Country competition. Following a nationwide vote, the country artists moving forward are Sully Burrows of Parry Sound, ON, Noeline Hofmann of Bow Island, AB, and Jake Vaadeland of Cut Knife, SK. The finalists will continue their journey with a trip to Nashville for CMA Fest this June, and take the stage at Montréal’s LASSO country music festival in August, culminating with live performances at Country Music Week 2025 in September.

SIGN OFFS:

Bob Wood, 85, on April 13. Wood considered a career with the Royal Canadian Air Force, working as a Safety Equipment Technician, before making his foray into radio at CKTS Sherbrooke, Que. He went on to become the longtime morning man at CFCH and CKAT North Bay. He made the move into local politics in 1975, serving as Deputy Mayor and as a city councillor until 1979. Wood was later elected as a Member of Parliament for Nipissing in 1988, spending 16 years representing the region. He decided not to re-offer in 2004. Wood was diagnosed with dementia in 2018 and was a vocal advocate for Alzheimer’s awareness.

Allan Thompson, on April 2. Thompson spent his entire professional career as an artist at Edmonton’s CFRN. Thompson, who joined the station in the late 1950s, played a large part in its visual identity, creating characters like “Sunwapta Sam,” the station’s logo mascot for many years. Thompson also served as president of the station’s employee’s union. He retired in 1993 after 36 years with the station.

TV & FILM:

ACTRA Toronto has announced the Outstanding Performance on-camera nominees and lifetime membership recipients for the 23rd ACTRA Awards in Toronto, taking place May 8. This year’s awards mark the introduction of two new on-camera categories – Non-Binary/Gender Non-conforming and Commercial. Read more here.

The Canadian Cinema Editors (CCE) has announced the nominees for the 2025 CCE Awards. The awards will be presented May 29 at the Delta Hotel in Toronto. Jeff Warren, CCE and the late Yves Langlois, CCE, are the recipients of the 2025 Lifetime Achievement Award, while Gregor Hutchison will posthumously receive the Career Achievement Award. 

The Guild of Music Supervisors, Canada (GMSC), in collaboration with Departure Festival + Conference, has announced this year’s Canadian Sync Awards nominees, celebrating the craft of music supervision in filmed media. Set to take place May 6 in Toronto, among this year’s multiple nominees are music supervisors Andrea Higgins (The Trades, Sight Unseen, Heartland, Wynonna Earp: Vengeance), Heather Gardner/Telan Wong (My Dead Mom, Drive Back Home, Christmas with the Singhs), Michael Perlmutter (North Of North, We Forgot To Break Up, Born Hungry), Natasha Duprey (Heretic, The Monkey, Allegiance, Snowpiercer, Girls State), Scotty Taylor (My Old Ass, Deaner), and Valerie Biggin (Hot Frosty, BRATS). Additionally, the 2025 Impact Award will be presented to Broken Social Scene. Read more here.

TIFF has announced Lloyd Lee Choi as the recipient of this year’s TIFF–CBC Films Screenwriter Award for his screenplay, Yakult Ajumma. As part of the award, he’ll receive $15,000, support from a script consultant, and access to the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival and TIFF Industry Conference. The Korean Canadian writer-director is best known for his short film Same Old, which had its World Premiere at the 75th Cannes Film Festival in the Main Competition and premiered at TIFF ’22.

Banger Films/NFB feature-length documentary Any Other Way: The Jackie Shane Story, directed by Toronto filmmakers Michael Mabbott and Lucah Rosenberg-Lee, has been nominated in the Documentary category at the 85th Peabody Awards. The look at the trans soul singing legend is currently streaming on Crave in Canada as it continues its international festival run. Any Other Way has received more than 20 awards and honours to date including the Rogers Best Canadian Documentary from the Toronto Film Critics Association, and the Best Doc Award at the UK’s Doc’n Roll Film Festival.

WildBrain says it’s renegotiating the previously-announced sale of a majority stake in its television channels, including Family Channel, Family Jr., WildBrainTV and Télémagino to Halifax-based children’s studio, IoM Media Ventures. Following the CRTC’s recent decision finding WildBrain was not the subject of undue disadvantage from Bell Canada, WildBrain says it has been unable to negotiate a new carriage agreement for the channels with Bell. As a result, Bell has informed the company it intends to remove the channels from its distribution service. In light of those events, WildBrain and IoM have entered renegotiations regarding certain commercial aspects of the sale agreement. WildBrain President & CEO Josh Scherba says the company remains optimistic it can arrive at a deal that works for both companies.

Canadian Media Producers Association (CMPA) has released the results of a poll that suggests 91% of Canadians believe it’s important to protect Canadian culture and identity, in contrast to the U.S. Abacus Data conducted the survey of 1,800 Canadian adults from March 31 to April 3. It finds Canadians overwhelmingly believe in promoting and supporting Canadian culture and identity, including that (83%) of Canadians would like to see greater investment in Canadian-made TV, film and digital content to ensure more content with higher production values is available for audiences. Read more here.

HBO’s The Last of Us returned to Crave with the Season 2 premiere boasting a 23% increase in streaming viewership, compared to the Season 1 premiere. The Season 2 debut episode achieved the third-highest season premiere Day 1 streaming numbers in Crave history, surpassed only by the premieres of House of the Dragon. Season 2, and Game of Thrones, Season 8. The Last of Us reigned as the #1 title on Crave on Sunday night, and leading up to its anticipated Season 2 premiere, streaming viewership for Season 1 rose by 124% week-over-week. 

Crave has ordered 10-episodes of Project Runway Canada, the Canadian adaptation of the fashion competition series, which will see Canadian designers compete in a series of challenges for their ultimate industry breakthrough. The series is being produced in collaboration with Fashion at The Creative School, Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU). Production begins this summer, with the series slated to debut on Crave later this year. Coco Rocha (host and judge) and Jeanne Beker (judge) are set to join the series, with additional cast to be announced soon.

Crave Original Drag Brunch Saved My Life showcases world-renowned drag superstar, Priyanka, as she and a team of culinary connoisseurs visit restaurants across Ontario, helping transform their businesses, culminating in the ultimate drag brunch extravaganza. The eight-episode series debuts with three episodes dropping on Friday, May 2, followed by one new episode streaming on subsequent Fridays.

Eagle Vision has announced that production has wrapped on a fifth season of true crime documentary series TAKEN. After a seven-year hiatus, the 13-episode, half-hour docuseries returns, reigniting its mission to shed light on Missing and Murdered Indigenous People (MMIP) in Canada. The series, which shot across Canada, is expected to air on APTN and APTN Languages in 2026.

Sinking Ship Entertainment (SSE) has announced international sales for Dino Dana franchise spinoff, Dino Dex. New broadcast partners include ITVX Kids (UK), ABC Kids (Australia), and Hop! (Israel). These new acquisitions join original partners Amazon Kids+ (US), TVO Kids (Canada), TFO (Canada), and SVT (Sweden). The official Dino Kids YouTube channel has now surpassed 1.5 million subscribers and amassed over 1.5 billion views.

REGULATORY, TELECOM & MEDIA:

Corus Entertainment’s bottom line was impacted in Q2 by lower demand for radio and television advertising. Revenue fell 10% year-over-year to $270.4 million, with the company reporting $251.8 million in television revenue, down from $278.1 million compared to the same quarter a year ago. TV ad revenue fell 13% to $129.5 million. In addition to lower demand for linear advertising, in the television segment – which saw a segment profit decline of 62% year-over-year – the company cited lower traditional TV subscriber revenue, partially offset by modest growth in streaming subscribers; fewer episode deliveries, and higher amortization of programming rights, offset by a decrease in expenses. Radio revenue was also down by 14%, falling to $18.5 million, from $21.5 million in Q2 2024. Read more here.

Cogeco has announced its financial results for the second quarter ended Feb. 28. Revenue remained stable at $753.2 million. Media activity revenue decreased 2.7%, as the company cited competitive dynamics in the radio advertising market that remain challenging. American telecom revenue decreased by 4.5%, mainly due to a decline in subscriber base, especially for entry-level services, and a higher proportion of customers subscribing to Internet-only services. Canadian telecom revenue decreased by 0.9%, mainly due to a lower revenue per customer as a result of a decline in video and wireline phone service subscribers as an increasing number of customers subscribe to Internet-only services, as well as a competitive pricing environment.

The Canadian Journalism Foundation (CJF) has announced the shortlist for the Landsberg Award, which celebrates a journalist, or journalists, enhancing awareness of women’s equality issues. The five finalists for this year’s award are: Anne Bokma for her column The Other Side of Midlife, including “Can angry older women change the world?“; Sarah Champagne and Félix Deschênes for their work with Le Devoir analyzing domestic violence against women immigrants; Cassidy McMackon for her work with The Canadian Press and Toronto Star exploring unreported intimate partner violence in Nova Scotia; Jana Pruden for her In Her Defence: 50th Street podcast series, produced with Kasia Mychajlowycz for The Globe and Mail, about the unsolved death of Indigenous woman Amber Tuccaro; Aly Thompson for her work with CBC News highlighting women’s health inequality in Nova Scotia. The winner will be announced at the CJF awards June 12.

Gavin John, a Calgary photojournalist, is this year’s recipient of the Canadian Journalism Foundation (CJF) Edward Burtynsky Award for Climate Photojournalism. John won for his compelling images of Canadian Armed Forces Operation NANOOK-NANAKPUT on the Northwest Passage, published in the Globe and Mail. The $5,000 award, launched in 2022 by the CJF in partnership with photographer and filmmaker Edward Burtynsky, celebrates provocative, impactful and inspirational climate photography.

Pattison Media has awarded four Pattison Media Equity Scholarships valued at $2,500 each, to deserving students enrolled in journalism studies across Western Canada. The scholarships acknowledge significant challenges for individuals under-represented in the broadcast sector including those who are Indigenous, persons with disabilities, members of visible minorities, and women. The successful recipients are: Gregory Burdey, Herzing College, Winnipeg; Sia Foryoh, BCIT, Burnaby; Christian Hince, Red River Polytech, Winnipeg; and Koralee Nickarz, Langara College, Vancouver

The Canadian Journalism Forum on Violence and Trauma has announced the winners of the Mindset Awards for excellence in mental health reporting. The main award for reporting on the mental health of young people, goes to Luke Galati, with Ashishvangh Contractor, for Dreaming of Better, broadcast by CBC Radio, in which he shares his deeply personal story of spending three months in a psychiatric hospital following a bipolar episode. The award in the workplace category goes to Robert Cribb, with Wendy-Ann Clarke, Declan Keogh and Owen Thompson, for Mind Games – Healing or Harming Generational Wounds, published cooperatively by Investigative Journalism Bureau, TVO, and the Toronto Star.The awards will be presented May 30 during the Canadian Association of Journalists (CAJ) national conference in Calgary. 

BROADCAST TECH & ENGINEERING:

NAB Show has unveiled the winners of its 2025 Product of the Year and newly-established Project of the Year Awards. Among the companies taking home multiple Product of the Year honours are Grass Valley, CANON U.S.A., FUJIFILM, Blackmagic Design, Apurture and TILTA. Canadian-headquartered companies recognized include Quickplay for its Quickplay Shorts creator tool and Ross Video for Carbonite HyperMax, its remote production platform for production switching, routing, video and audio processing, and multiviewer monitoring. Read more here.

OP-ED: Insights & Invigoration from NAB Show: Momentum Media’s VP of Sales & Partnerships Rob Brimacombe shares his thoughts from Las Vegas. “Given the current backdrop, pre-flight to attend a trade show south of the border was not concern-free,” writes Brimacombe. “In the end, NAB Show proved to be excellent for timely discussions of Canadian markets and attributes. It’s empowering and confidence-building to converse with leaders of multinational media and tech companies from Germany, the U.S., Australia, Korea, Vancouver, Hackett’s Cove, and Montreal.” Read more here.

FEATURE: Looking Ahead in Media and Entertainment Technology: A Canadian Perspective: “There’s a big shuffle happening in Canadian radio right now…with new ownerships and station takeovers,” writes WABE President Tessa Potter in her April column. “For television broadcasters, the looming question is what technologies they’ll adopt next. It’s been 14 years since the DTV rollout. With Roku, FAST channels, and new set-top boxes, the challenge is how to keep Canadian content in front of viewers. Add a tariff-heavy, unpredictable U.S. government into the mix, and it all starts to stir the pot. From my vantage point in the middle of Canada, I see a lot of opportunity.” Read more here.

Bell Canada and Ericsson have conducted a successful field test of AI-native link adaptation – the first globally. The tech uses real-time AI to dynamically adapt networks in response to changes in signal quality, interference, and other factors, resulting in an enhanced user experience through increased throughput and spectral efficiency. The companies say the collaboration marks a significant breakthrough in applying artificial intelligence to improve the performance of radio access networks (RAN).