The Weekly Briefing

REVOLVING DOOR:

Lori Graham is leaving CTV Montreal. The longtime weather anchor is stepping away from her role after more than 25 years on May 30. Graham started her career at CJAD 800, moving into television in 1998. Her tenure with the network has included hosting national weekend morning show, Good Morning Canada, and stints presenting the weather on Canada AM and Your Morning.

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New set. New job. New title.
I’m honoured to now be the Chief Correspondent and 5:00/6:00 anchor for CityNews. The best part is I will still be able to do in depth reporting on critical issues. I’m very grateful and excited for this new role. pic.twitter.com/2GrlInSWhH

— Cynthia Mulligan (@CityCynthia) May 2, 2024

Cynthia Mulligan has a new title at CityNews Toronto as Chief Correspondent and 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. anchor. More recently focused on investigative journalism and politics, Mulligan says she’ll still continue to report on “critical issues.”

Caryn Ceolin is joining Breakfast Television as a reporter. Ceolin has been with Rogers Sports & Media for the last seven years, initially as an anchor and reporter at 570 News (CKGL-AM) Kitchener and 680 News (CFTR-AM) Toronto. She’s held various producing roles with CityNews since 2019.

Paul Withers has announced his retirement from CBC Nova Scotia after 37 years with the public broadcaster. Withers, who started his career as a cartoonist in the 1970s, went on to cover politics, industry and the environment. He was nominated for Best Local Reporter at the 2019 Canadian Screen Awards, among other accolades he’s earned over the years.

Katie DeRosa is joining CBC Vancouver as its new provincial affairs reporter. A print reporter for the last 16 years, DeRosa arrives from the Vancouver Sun and Province. Prior to that, she was with the Victoria Times Colonist.

Tara Weber, who was part of layoffs at Bell Media earlier this year, has joined Suncor as Manager, Media Relations. Up until this past February, Weber served as Western Bureau Chief for BNN Bloomberg for almost nine years. Prior to that, she was a reporter for CBC in Calgary, Windsor and Toronto, as well as Citytv Toronto.

Sam McDaid is the host of Country Nights, airing weeknights from 6 – 10 p.m. on Rogers Sports & Media Country stations across the country. McDaid was formerly heard on The Morning Pickup with Gord & Sam, alongside Gord St. Denis, on Pure Country 94 (CKKL-FM) Ottawa and Pure Country 99 (CKLC-FM) Kingston.

Gregger is back at 98 Cool (CJMK-FM) Saskatoon, alongside his former co-host Sarah Wallace in mornings. He left the show in late 2021 to join Global Saskatoon as a tech producer for the morning show. 

Bruce Walchuk has retired from Acadia Broadcasting’s CKDR-FM Dryden, ON after five decades. Walchuk has held roles from station manager to sales, writer, and on-air personality over the last 50 years.

 

Kattie Laur has announced she’s joining Bumper. Laur, the editor of the Pod the North newsletter and a freelance podcast producer, is joining the startup – helmed by former Pacific Content leads Dan Misener and Jonas Woost – as a Podcast Growth Strategist. 

Steve Ladurantaye is now Senior VP and Editor-in-Chief at Zonda, the housing market intelligence provider. The former CBC Managing Editor of News and Programming has been with the organization since 2021 and is upped from serving as VP of Content.

Matthew Berkowitz is leaving his role as President and Chief Creative Officer (CCO) of Thunderbird Entertainment Group, effective May 31, after accepting a new opportunity. Berkowitz’s responsibilities overseeing the development of new animated and scripted IPs will be split between Aaron Behl and Kristin Cummings, both SVP, Originals at Atomic Cartoons, and Hillary Zwick Turner, SVP of Scripted Content, Thunderbird. The three execs will now report to Jennifer Twiner McCarron, CEO, Atomic Cartoons/Thunderbird and Thunderbird Chair. Thunderbird’s leadership team is now composed of Twiner McCarron, CFO Simon Bodymore, and Richard Goldsmith, President of Global Distribution and Consumer Products. David Way has been appointed CEO of Great Pacific Media (GPM), the company’s unscripted subsidiary. Lindsay Macadam has been promoted into the role of President at GPM. Read more here.

Brandon Best has been appointed Director, Program Content at Super Channel. He’ll continue to be based in Edmonton, reporting to Kim Ball, Chief Content and Communications Officer. Best will be responsible for supporting Ball in executing the company’s content strategy, assisting with acquisitions and production development for its linear broadcast channels, On Demand and FAST channels. He’ll also continue to oversee contract management and add supervision of content scheduling to his responsibilities. He initially joined Super Channel in May 2008 as Programming Assistant and was promoted to Contracts Manager in March 2010, after a brief hiatus to manage Live Event Merchandise Sales at Edmonton’s historic Rexall Place.

Christian Kelley is joining Toronto’s Counterfeit Pictures as Director of Scripted TV, effective May 21. A 14-year Bell Media executive, Kelley has most recently held the title of Production Executive – Comedy, overseeing development and production of shows like Letterkenny, JANN, and Children Ruin Everything.

John Roman has been named the new Director of Legal and Regulatory Affairs at the Canadian Communication Systems Alliance (CCSA), which represents 100 independent communications companies. Roman was founder and principal of JPR Consulting, providing counsel and support in regulatory proceedings, industry and policy direction and development. He was previously Director of Research and Contracts for the Canadian Broadcasting Museum Foundation and a senior policy analyst for Kealy Wilkinson Enterprises.

RADIO & PODCAST:

UCB (United Christian Broadcasters) has been granted an extension until October 2025 to commence operating their religious music station in Kelowna and rebroadcasting transmitter in Kamloops. UCB is seeking the extension due to technical and environmental issues at the approved transmitter site due to significant forest fires in the Kelowna region, including Blue Grouse Mountain. UCB says its original engineering brief to the CRTC identified a tower owned by SBA Towers, which currently requires remedial structural work to become ready for colocation. 

680 CJOB Winnipeg has announced a partnership with Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) franchise, the Winnipeg Sea Bears, that sees the radio station broadcast select games in 2024, starting with the team’s season opener in Saskatoon on May 22. 680 CJOB will live broadcast six Sea Bears games this season, including four home and two away match-ups. Regular segments with Sea Bears head coach and general manager Mike Taylor will also air on The Start, The Jim Toth Show and The CJOB Sports Show with Christian Aumell. Launched as an expansion franchise last year and capturing the league’s Franchise of the Year honour, the team’s home opener is slated for May 24 at Canada Life Centre against defending CEBL champions, the Scarborough Shooting Stars.  

Bell Media has announced that 39 Corus Radio stations are joining its iHeartRadio Canada platform. A complete list of Corus Radio stations now streaming via iHeartRadio Canada is available here. Corus stations will also continue to be heard on the Radioplayer Canada app.

Gracefully & Frankly, the podcast hosted by radio veterans Lisa Brandt and Erin Davis has surpassed the 100,000 download mark. Launched in January 2023, the weekly podcast is recorded, produced, edited and marketed by the two-woman tour de force and has attracted two national sponsors.

RPM: Where Radio People Meet held its biannual gathering of Vancouver broadcasters past and present last week. Jody Vance, Dee Lippingwell, Don Shafer and Larry Hennessey were inducted into the RPM Hall of Fame. Photos courtesy Jack Lew.

 

LISTEN: Omayra Issa has been recognized by the World Economic Forum as a Young Global Leader, chosen from thousands of applicants under 40 from around the world. Born in Morocco and raised in Niger and Saskatchewan, she joined CPAC (Cable Public Affairs Channel) earlier this year after a decade with CBC/Radio-Canada. Omayra joins us on Broadcast Dialogue – The Podcast to talk about making change through storytelling, why the status quo isn’t good enough, and finding work life balance.

LISTEN: Episode 400 of the Sound Off Podcast features Dave Jackson, owner of the School of Podcasting, which encompasses podcasts like Ask the Podcast Coach, Podcast Rodeo Show, Your Podcast Consultant, Your Podcast Website, and The Future of Podcasting. He and Matt Cundill talk about why you need a “podcasting why” before you start your show, the difference between a YouTube show and a podcast, why you (still) need a website for your pod, and enhancing the experience for the audience.

 TV & FILM:

The Writers Guild of Canada (WGC) and the Canadian Media Producers Association (CMPA) announced early Tuesday that they’ve reached an agreement in principle for a new Independent Production Agreement, averting a potential strike. WGC members had been working without a contract since Dec. 31 and overwhelmingly voted to authorize job action late last month, a first in the guild’s 33-year history. Terms of the new three-year agreement, which establishes working conditions and rates for writers, story editors, and story consultants haven’t been disclosed and will be distributed by WGC for ratification. Read more here.

The Canadian Media Producers Association (CMPA) has released Profile 2023: An Economic Report on the Screen-based Media Production Industry in Canada. Among its findings are that between April 1, 2022, and March 31, 2023, the media production sector contributed $14.05 billion to Canada’s GDP, generating $12.19 billion in production volume, and creating nearly 240,000 jobs. The CMPA cautions that while the numbers reflect significant economic activity, those figures may represent a high-water mark for production activity in Canada that is now receding. It says during the period reflected in the report, domestic production volumes were influenced by a post-COVID “catch up” period, which saw Canadian broadcasters commissioning projects in order to meet regulatory obligations they were unable to achieve during the pandemic. Similarly, foreign production, consisting almost exclusively of American projects shooting in Canada, were also elevated following a pandemic lull. The report also isn’t reflective of the impact of strikes by American writers and actors last year, nor the significant reduction in commissioning of Canadian productions currently facing the domestic sector.

The Canadian Film Centre (CFC) has announced its inaugural Hair and Makeup Training Initiative, in partnership with CMU College of Makeup Art & Design. The program, which will start this fall, acknowledges the need for hair and makeup equity in the film and television industry. With financial support from NABET 700-M UNIFOR, Warner Bros. Discovery Access Canada, and the Canadian Media Producers Association, it strives to accelerate the career paths of the next generation of hair and makeup professionals from Black, Indigenous and racialized communities and to expand the industry’s expertise in serving all hair textures and skin tones. CMU College will select early-career alumni for the six-week, hands-on program at no cost to participate.

Karena Evans is being recognized with the Breakthrough Award at the Hollywood Reporter Women in Entertainment Canada event on May 30. The award recognizes rising stars in entertainment who are making waves with bold, innovative storytelling and a distinct artistic vision. The Canadian director and actress is best known for directing Drake’s videos for “God’s Plan,” “Nice for What” and “In My Feelings,” spurring her to win the 2018 MuchMusic Video Award for Best Director and become the first woman to receive the Prism Prize Lipsett Award for music video direction. She also won the Grand Prix at Cannes Lions in 2020 for interactive experience “Swipe Night” for Tinder.

Farhan Lalji has been inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame. The Vancouver Bureau Chief for TSN, Lalji has been with the network since 1997, previously hosting Sportscentre from 1997-2000. He was also heard on the BC Lions’ radio broadcasts as pre and post-game host during its time on TSN 1040. He’s covered 21 Grey Cups, 15 Super Bowls and 11 College football championships.

Sportsnet continues its coverage of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs, delivering Round 2 to fans on Sportsnet, Sportsnet ONE, Sportsnet 360, CBC, and OMNI Television, and via live stream on Sportsnet+. Ron MacLean and David Amber host Hockey Central pre-game, intermission, and post-game alongside experts Kevin Bieksa, Elliotte Friedman, Kelly Hrudey, Jennifer Botterill, and Luke Gazdic. Select Saturday night games will also air on Hockey Night in Canada: Punjabi Edition on OMNI, featuring Randip Janda, Harpreet Pandher,  Gurpreet Sian, Amrit Gill, Mantar Bhandal, and Taqdeer Thindal.

TSN and TSN+ will deliver all 64 games of the 2024 IIHF Men’s World Championship, live from Prague and Ostrava, Czechia from May 10-26. Connor Bedard, Owen Power, and Team Canada begin their campaign against Great Britain on Saturday, May 11 at 6 a.m. ET. TSN play-by-play commentator Gord Miller leads coverage alongside game analyst and former Team Canada Men’s Worlds forward Mike Johnson. Miller and Johnson deliver the call on-site in Prague for all games in Group A. Bryan Mudryk calls Group B matchups in Ostrava, alongside game analyst and three-time Stanley Cup winner Brian Engblom. Lindsay Hamilton and Claire Hanna report live from Prague and Ostrava, providing updates and player interviews. 

CTV has announced a 16-episode order of Canadian Screen Award-nominated comedy Children Ruin Everything from New Metric Media. With production underway in Toronto and Hamilton, Meaghan Rath and Aaron Abrams return, alongside Logan Nicholson, Mikayla SwamiNathan, Ennis Esmer, Nazneen Contractor, Dmitry Chepovetsky, Veena Sood and Lisa Codrington. Part 1 of Season 4 is set to air during CTV’s 2024/25 schedule. 

Moosemeat & Marmalade, the Leo Award-winning food docuseries, has returned for a seventh and final season on APTN. The farewell season features 13 new episodes following Indigenous bush cook Art Napoleon and classically-trained chef Dan Hayes who explore charming small towns and beautiful cultures while sharing a fusion of Indigenous cooking styles with modern techniques. The final season includes adventures from ice-fishing near Whistler to canoe racing with the Malahat First Nation. 

Pluto TV has added six new streaming channels to the service from A+E Networks’ library of content, headlined by the Dance Moms Channel. Other dedicated channels include Ax Men, Duck Dynasty, Dog the Bounty Hunter, Modern Marvels, and Tiny House Nation.

 

REGULATORY, TELECOM & MEDIA:

Shushma Datt, the multicultural broadcasting trailblazer behind Vancouver’s Sp!ce Radio, was named the B.C. Association of Broadcasters (BCAB) Broadcaster of the Year at the organization’s annual conference in Vancouver this week. The Broadcast Performer of the Year award went to longtime The Zone (CJZN-FM) Victoria morning show duo of Jason Lamb and Dylan Willows. Willows, who had been with Pattison Media for 19 years, stepped away from the station in March following a recurrence of a rare ocular cancer he battled 20 years ago. Tchadas Leo of CHEK News, who hosts the station’s first-ever podcast Our Native Land, was named the Broadcast Performer of Tomorrow. Read more here. More BCAB coverage to come.

BCE operating revenues were $6,011 million in Q1, down 0.7% compared to Q1 2023, reflecting 0.6% lower service revenue due to a year-over-year decline at Bell Media, partly offset by growth at Bell Communication and Technology Services (Bell CTS), as well as a decrease in product revenue. Adjusted EBITDA grew 1.1% to $2,565 million, reflecting a 1.7% increase at Bell CTS, partly offset by an 11.4% decrease at Bell Media. Total digital revenues grew 33%, the result of strong growth in digital advertising fuelled by Bell Media’s programmatic advertising marketplace where growing customer usage of its strategic audience management (SAM) TV sales tool drove a significant increase in ad bookings in the quarter, as well as by ad-supported subscription tiers on Crave and Addressable TV. Ad revenue was up 1.6%, due to increased year-over-year sales for Super Bowl LVIII, strong growth in digital advertising and improved out-of-home and radio performance. Bell says that result was achieved despite continued soft overall traditional broadcast TV advertiser demand, due to unfavourable economic conditions and delays in the delivery of new scripted content due to last year’s Hollywood writers’ strike.

TVA Group has reported its consolidated financial results for Q1 2024, including $129,161,000 in revenues, a 5.1% decrease compared with the first quarter of 2023. TVA recorded $21,259,000 in negative adjusted EBITDA for the Broadcasting segment, a $1,547,000 favourable variance mainly due to savings in content costs, a decrease in CRTC Part II licence fees and savings stemming from the implementation of reorganization plans that slightly offset decreased ad revenues.

The Canadian Journalism Foundation (CJF) has announced Dominique Gené, Démar Grant, Zuhra Jibril, Daysha Loppie and Aajah Sauter as recipients of the Black Journalism Fellowship Program, in partnership with CBC/Radio-Canada, CTV News, The Globe and Mail and the Investigative Journalism Bureau (IJB). The five fellows will receive mentoring and training in video and audio editing, writing, research and investigative reporting and will write, produce or contribute to an article/series during their fellowship, which will be considered for publication/broadcast by the media partner organizations.

World Press Freedom Canada (WPFC) has announced Winnipeg’s Melissa Martin as the 2024 winner of the Press Freedom Prize, while Robyn Doolittle of The Globe and Mail is awarded the Career Achievement Award. Martin took a leave from the Winnipeg Free Press last year to spend a year in Ukraine, chronicling the impact of war on civilians on her Substack platform, under constant threat to her own safety. Doolittle has for many years been one of Canada’s most tenacious and impactful investigative reporters at The Globe and Mail and previously the Toronto Star. The inaugural WPFC Student Achievement Award goes to Charles Séguin and Naomie Duckett-Zamor from the student paper at L’Université du Québec à Montréal for articles on lack of democracy at the student associations. 

BROADCAST TECH & ENGINEERING:

SMPTE recently released an engineering document arguing for Standards for Artificial Intelligence. It’s now created a series of webcasts on the topic, the first of which is Standards in AI. It features SMPTE President Renard Jenkins summarizing the history of its development and engaging with co-leads Fred Walls and Alex Roulex. SMPTE says the industry needs indepth analysis and unbiased research with regards to the development of AI’s advancement while keeping time to market expectations, performance constraints, and security concerns in mind. 

GDS Communications now represents Plura Broadcast/Production monitors and solutions. Surrey, BC-based GDS adds Plura to a growing product roster that includes DVEO broadcast encoders, Osprey Video solutions, OMC Tech data transceivers, and more.