REVOLVING DOOR:
Perry Macdonald has joined Paramount as Vice-President of Ad Sales for Canada. Macdonald departed Bell Media last year, where he had held the title of Vice-President, Advertising Sales and Partnerships since 2015, leading sales and operations teams across television, digital, radio, and Astral Out of Home. Prior to that, he served as VP of Sales at CTV.
Kevin Karius has announced his retirement after 36 years in sports broadcasting. The host of The Kevin Karius Show on Stingray’s Sports 1440 (CKJR-AM), which has aired in the morning time slot since the station’s launch in 2023, Karius is best known for his 25-year run as a sports anchor on Global Edmonton. From 2003-10, he also served as the fill-in colour analyst on Edmonton Oilers radio broadcasts. Read more here.
Jacqueline Hansen is returning to television as Global News’ new Senior Business Editor and Anchor. Hansen was a business reporter with CBC for 12 years, before joining BNN Bloomberg in 2022, where she hosted The Close, leading daily coverage of market developments. She returned to CBC in early 2024 as a network anchor on CBC News Network. She makes her way back to television after a year-and-a-half-long stint in communications with TD. Read more here.
Michael Serapio is joining CTV News as a National Correspondent in the Ottawa Bureau. Serapio, who was caught up in layoffs at CPAC in April, started his career as a writer and producer with CTV.
Anna Mandin is now reporting for CTV News from Fredericton. Mandin arrives from Global, where she’d been a Fredericton-based reporter since 2023.
Diane Kashton is retiring after nearly 38 years in broadcasting and 29 with CTV Winnipeg. Kashton is currently Bell Media’s CTV Promotions Director/Creative Director for Manitoba and Saskatchewan. She started her career at CKXL 1140 Radio in Calgary as Music Director and Promotion Director. Her last day is Aug. 7.
Lisa Vinc has been promoted to Vice President, Media Operations at Whiteoaks Communications. Vinc will continue to lead and manage the team at CKTB, Dream 105.7 (CHRE-FM), and 97.7 HTZ-FM St. Catharines and Legend 102.9 (CKLH-FM) Hamilton, maintaining Program Director responsibilities and overseeing content creation, while remaining actively involved in day-to-day operations. Her expanded role will support Whiteoaks’ strategic direction across operations, performance, financial stewardship, and governance. Vinc has been with the Niagara area stations since 2013, initially under their previous ownership by Bell Media.
Brigitte Bougie has retired from Radio-Canada’s Le National. Bougie started her career with Radio-Canada as a radio reporter in 1992, before becoming a presenter on ICI RDI in 1995.
Jenna Legge is returning to Ottawa to step into a reporter/editor role with CBC News. A former Parliamentary Bureau intern, Legge has most recently been working with CBC P.E.I. as a reporter, web writer and producer.
Jeff Lagerquist is now a Senior Writer with CBC. Lagerquist arrives from Yahoo Finance, where he’d been a Senior Reporter for the last eight years.
Brian Snider has joined CHEK News in Victoria as an operator. Snider, who most recently has been working with hockey podcast, Scrum Culture, has formerly worked with CP24 as an ENG Editor and CTV London as a web writer.
Thank you, EST!!! pic.twitter.com/9aiRr0phmt
— Tom Gazzola (@TomGazzola) June 11, 2026
Tom Gazzola is no longer with Edmonton Sports Talk. Gazzola had been with the digital outlet as a host and reporter covering the Edmonton Oilers and Edmonton Elks, among other teams for the past three years. Gazzola is also a sideline reporter for the CFL on TSN.
Andrea Macpherson, who left Global BC in May, has joined Abbotsford Police Department as Communications & Engagement Specialist. Macpherson previously served as Morning Show Reporter for Global BC for the past six years.
Hector G. Sanchez has joined TikTok Canada as Brand Partnerships Manager on the e-commerce team. Sanchez had most recently been a Client Partner and Client Solutions Manager with Meta in Toronto since 2019.
RADIO & PODCAST:
The CRTC has approved two radio ownership transactions that will see Stingray Radio acquire C97.7 (CHUP-FM) Calgary from Rawlco Radio, and Rawlco subsequently take over 92.9 The Bull (CKBL-FM) in Saskatoon. The divestiture sees Rawlco exit Alberta. Read more here.
Dufferin Communications is seeking to revoke its broadcast license for CIRR-FM Toronto and relocate its transmitter from Toronto to CHLO-AM’s tower in Georgetown, ON. Formerly branded as Proud 103.9, CIRR-FM went off the air in Sept. 2023. Interventions are being accepted until July 20.
Corus Entertainment’s 880 CHED has renewed its partnership with Canadian Football League (CFL) franchise, the Edmonton Elks, for another three years, extending a 32-year tradition. Read more here.
Numeris has released its breakdown of spring 2026 listening trends, indicating out-of-home tuning remained strong across major markets, with Calgary boasting the highest share at 86%, up from 77% last spring. Vancouver and Edmonton also recorded strong OOH listening at 76% and 73%, respectively, while Toronto remained steady year-over-year at 69%, a two-point gain from spring 2025. Read more here.
VIBE105 (CHRY-FM) has launched VIBExTRA, a new “culture forward” streaming platform and DOOH (digital out of home) screen network. Presented as an add-on feature to subscribers of the urban contemporary station’s streaming app, VIBExTRA features more than a dozen series, film shorts and creative originals – all free, thanks to an ad-supported hybrid model. Read more here.
Pro Bono Group is rolling out a new national PSA for The Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness. “CAEH_Brush Past” can either replace “CAEH On The Road_Dan Shulman” or be added to the rotation with current creative.
OP-ED: “People do not necessarily gather around a format,” writes Echo Podcast Summit founder Rhys Waters. “They gather around an interest, an identity, a question, a frustration or a very particular shared obsession.” Read Waters’ takeaways from last week’s gathering of podcast insiders, creators, and journalists in Halifax here.
LISTEN: Radio news veteran Craig Lester bet on himself in 2022, leaving his full-time job at Calgary’s 660 News Radio to pursue his passion for agriculture media. Rural Roots Canada now reaches radio stations across Alberta and B.C. with both weather and daily features, in addition to providing communications support to the industry. Lester and Tim Parent join Broadcast Dialogue – The Podcast to talk about the startup, the importance of authenticity in storytelling, and they share their advice to other journalists thinking about going out on their own.
LISTEN: Dan Misener is on the Sound Off Podcast discussing the launch of the Bumper Dashboard, which offers a unified view of podcast metrics across platforms like Apple, Spotify, and YouTube. Misener and Matt Cundill touch on the limitations of download metrics and the need for better data to serve creators and advertisers.
SIGN OFFS:
Roxanne Taylor, 66, on June 12, of ALS. A veteran of both TV and radio, Taylor is best known for her time at Winnipeg’s Power 97 (CKJR-FM) throughout the 1990s, before she moved over to 92 CITI FM. She also spent time on-air at CKY-TV. She went on to co-found Taylor Made Productions Voice Talent.
David Cayley, 81, suddenly on June 10. Born in Toronto, Cayley spent two years in Malaysia teaching with CUSO (Canadian University Service Overseas), after attending Harvard University. He spent his entire professional career working for the CBC in both Vancouver and Toronto, starting in 1981 and up until his retirement in 2012. The majority of that time was devoted to CBC Radio documentary program Ideas, where he produced series on philosophy, science, education and religion, among other topics. Cayley was additionally the author of eight books, including his most recent, 2025’s The CBC: how Canada’s public broadcaster lost its voice (and how to get it back).
TV & FILM:
FIFA World Cup audiences continue to break records with Thursday evening’s Canada’s Men’s National Team win attracting an average audience of 5.3M viewers across Bell Media’s properties. Broadcast and streamed across TSN, RDS, CTV, Noovo, and Crave, it becomes the country’s most-watched FIFA World Cup match since the 2014 Final with 11.7 million unique Canadian viewers tuning in for some part of the match. Read more here.
Quebecor Content has announced details of a new licensing agreement with Disney+ that will bring five Quebec productions to the platform for streaming in Canada. The original series include 10-episode drama Chaos; drama Mégantic, based on real-life events of the 2013 train disaster; six-episode, one-hour series Son of Mine; and limited espionage series IXE-13: Racing for the Uranium, and escape drama Mouse Trap. Read more here.
The Quebec Audiovisual Strategy 2026-2031: Making Quebec’s Heart Beat on Our Screens allocates $609.6 million for the industry over five years. During the first phase (2026-28), SODEC will receive $53.8 million to be used to enhance TV production budgets and consolidate film support programs, with $100 million available to offer interim financing to prodcos at favourable rates. Télé-Québec will receive $60.6 million to reposition its content offering across multiple platforms. TV5 will receive an additional $7 million to enhance support for the production and promotion of Quebec audiovisual content.
Pink Triangle Press (PTP) has launched national training initiative, Pride in Production, aimed at helping foster more inclusive environments for 2SLGBTQIA+ professionals in Canada’s film, television, streaming and gaming sectors. Supported by the Canada Media Fund, the 2SLGBTQIA+ Allyship Skills for Screen Professionals consists of six 30-minute modules. Read more here.
The Canadian Academy has opened applications for the sixth iteration of the Women in Post program, designed to provide higher-level industry access and professional development for women-identifying and non-binary creatives interested in working in all areas of post production. Presented by Netflix and supported by Telefilm Canada and the City of Toronto, an information session will be held via Zoom on Monday, June 29.
Brown Bag Films, the studio behind Doc McStuffins, has launched Bad Pencil Animation, a new label targeting adult audiences. Unveiled at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival, it will develop and animate projects across comedy, horror, and action. Executive Creative Director Sanatan Suryavanshi leads the studio’s creative team, with Nicole Gibbs heading up sales.
CBC is offering a full day of live original programming on Canada Day. CBC News’ live coverage begins at 6 a.m. ET, culminating in live concert special Celebrating our Canada! at 8 p.m. from LeBreton Flats Park in Ottawa, featuring Alessia Cara, Barenaked Ladies, Beatrice Deer, Diane Dufresne and Paul Langlois, among others. CBC also kicks off It’s a Canada Thing Summer Tour in four cities on July 1, including Bower Ponds in Red Deer, Wascana Park in Regina, The Forks in Winnipeg, and Chinguacousy Park in Brampton.
Go Button Media has gone into production on Secrets of Cold War Ruins, a new six-hour history series. Greenlit by partners Autentic and Canadian broadcaster Super Channel, Secrets of Cold War Ruins is the fourth series from the previously-announced 36-hour slate deal between the three collaborators, following Secrets of Ancient Structures, The Animal Within S2 and Milestones of the Solar System.
Epic Storyworlds, founded by children’s entertainment execs Steve Couture and Ken Faier, has secured a deal with on-demand platform TV5MONDE+ for its Quebec-made children’s animated series Guiby The Super Baby. The new deal will bring the series – based on the popular Quebec comic book created by Samuel Parent – to over 60 million screens across the French-speaking world in 160 territories, spanning Europe, Africa, Asia, the Middle East, U.S. and Latin America.
Crave has announced casting for its latest project with Jared Keeso, Cats in the Plateau, a dark comedy about two Montréal garbage men who start a gang. Created, written, starring, and for the first time directed by Keeso (Letterkenny, Shoresy), production on the six-episode, half-hour series is underway in Montréal and set to premiere in 2027. He’s joined onscreen by Alexander Calvert (Supernatural), Robert Bazzocchi (Ripple), Sarah-Jeanne Labrosse (Bon Cop, Bad Cop), Brian Gazemar (Mea Culpa) and social media star Lysandre Nadeau.
Heated Rivalry picked up multiple wins at the 2026 Canadian Sync Awards, handed out during NXNE and celebrating excellence in music and media. The Crave hockey drama won both Best Sync – Soundtrack – Drama TV Series and Best Sync – Scene – Episodic Series. Find the full list of winners here.
REGULATORY, TELECOM & MEDIA:
BCE is facing a wrongful dismissal suit from nearly 50 former Bell employees. The 46 employees claim they were terminated without cause after being accused of falsifying attendance records to comply with return-to-office requirements. The lawsuit maintains the so-called “swipe-and-go” terminations allegedly occurred as part of broader cost-cutting measures. Read more here.
The CRTC is being urged by a group of minority shareholders to demand full transparency or reject Corus Entertainment’s proposed $500-million debt-for-equity recapitalization plan. In an intervention submitted this week, the coalition – representing over 10 million Class B shares (approximately 5% of the class outstanding) – warned that the deal threatens local news, lacks editorial safeguards, and leaves effective control of a massive Canadian media footprint in the hands of unidentified financial investors. Read more here.
The Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB) is welcoming a recommendation from last week’s Senate report on CBC/Radio-Canada, suggesting the public broadcaster do more to collaborate with private and community media. While welcoming the committee’s expectation that CBC/Radio-Canada continue developing partnerships with private and community media, CAB President Kevin Desjardins was disheartened that there was ultimately no recommendation addressing CBC’s role in the advertising market. Read more here.
Radio-Canada is the recipient of the 2025 Michener Award for Public Service Journalism for Dérives : le labyrinthe de Lyme, an investigative series led by journalist Olivier Bernard that challenged widely held assumptions about chronic Lyme disease and prompted public health action in Quebec. The series investigated the growing influence of unproven diagnoses and treatments, unveiling a network of for-profit clinics in Canada and the U.S.
The Canadian Ethnic Media Association will present its 47th Annual Awards for Journalistic Excellence webcast on the eve of Canadian Multiculturalism Day, Friday, June 26, at 7 p.m. ET. Among this year’s winners are CKCU 93.1 FM Ottawa, CHEK Media, and TLN Media Group.
The Weather Network is Canada’s most trusted media organization for a fourth consecutive year, according to Pollara’s annual Trust in Media study. After The Weather Network, which is trusted by 78% of Canadians, those surveyed have the most trust in the country’s biggest TV networks – CBC (71%), CTV (68%), and Global (65%). Read more here.
OP-ED: “The story of the end of broadcasts of NHL games over CBC television is about much more than just that,” writes news radio veteran Paul Cross. “The bottom line is that the only way to watch an NHL game on what we used to call TV will be to pay for it. I think that’s a big deal.” Read more here.
NABS-BEC has introduced its first micro-bursary program. This fall, at least 20 people will receive a $1,000 bursary to go towards education funding. Geared towards those currently out of work or employed less than 40 hours per week, the program will see applicants self-identify courses or certifications that will help improve their job prospects. Applications are open until July 14.
BROADCAST TECH & ENGINEERING:
SMPTE is making its entire Standards catalogue freely available to the global media technology community, including all published SMPTE Standards, Recommended Practices, Engineering Guidelines and Registered Disclosure Documents (RDDs), as well as future releases. By removing barriers to access, the organization is hoping to accelerate adoption and implementation, strengthen interoperability, and help drive the next generation of innovation.
WABE (Western Association of Broadcast Engineers) has opened registration for its Media & Entertainment Technology Conference in Vancouver, Oct. 5–7. Learn more at conference.wabe.ca.
