REVOLVING DOOR:
Pascale St-Onge has been appointed the new Minister of Canadian Heritage as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced an anticipated cabinet shuffle Wednesday morning. The Member of Parliament for Brome-Missisquoi, St-Onge previously served as Minister of Sport and Minister responsible for the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec. Her background includes serving as Secretary General and later President of the Fédération nationale des communications et de la culture, where she worked to develop public policy and programs to address the challenges facing media, newspapers, and the cultural sector. Pablo Rodriguez becomes Minister of Transport and will continue to serve as Quebec Lieutenant. He had held responsibility for the Heritage portfolio since October 2021, after previously serving in the role in 2018-19. François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, retains his portfolio. Read more here.
Ginella Massa has announced she won’t be returning to helm her prime time CBC News Network show Canada Tonight in the fall as she moves on to pursue “personal projects.” Massa, who joined the public broadcaster in the fall of 2020, says going forward she’ll be focusing on further building her personal brand through media consulting, brand partnerships, and public speaking engagements. She’s also accepted a part-time teaching position at Toronto Metropolitan University in the Journalism program. Prior to joining CBC, Massa was an anchor and reporter with CityNews Toronto. She made history in 2015 during her time at CTV Kitchener when she became the country’s first hijab-wearing TV news reporter. Read more here.
Sean Davidson has left CTV Toronto. With Bell Media since 2014, where he started as a Ryerson University intern, Davidson was most recently an Assignment Editor and Managing Digital Producer. Prior to that, he was the Senior Digital Producer and a journalist for 9News Australia in Melbourne. Davidson is taking on a new role with Greater Toronto Airport Authority.
Stephen Peck has retired as Rogers Sports and Media’s Local Sales Manager, Eastern Ontario, including Kingston’s K Rock 105.7 (CIKR-FM), and 93.5 COUNTRY (CKXC-FM), in addition to Ottawa’s CHEZ 106 (CHEZ-FM), KiSS 105.3 (CISS-FM), 1310 CityNews (CIWW-AM), and 92.3 Country (CKBY-FM) and CityNews 101.1 (CJET-FM) Smiths Falls. Peck’s 41-year career started in Guelph, followed by stops in Peterborough and Oshawa before landing in Toronto to help launch Rawlco’s New Country station 92.5 KISS FM. From there, he became New Business Director for CHUM Radio National Sales before accepting the role of GM/GSM for Newcap’s Calgary stations, followed by GM/GSM for Rogers in Fort McMurray.
Chris Ash has parted ways with Pattison Media’s NOW! Radio (CHNW-FM) Winnipeg. Ash had been the host of middays since Oct. 2021, arriving from afternoon drive on Kool FM (CKMB-FM) Barrie. Cassey Hunter moves into the 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. time slot. Before joining NOW, she worked primarily in promotions with Pattison in both Calgary and Edmonton. Macie Rae joins the station in evenings, arriving from the morning show on Sun 102.3 (CHSN-FM) Estevan, SK.
Charis Hogg has joined CBC Vancouver as a contributor. Hogg was one-half of the morning show on Pattison Media’s 102.7 The Peak (CKPK-FM), prior to the station’s flip to the NOW! Radio format. Prior to that, she was heard on the JACK FM (CJAX-FM) Vancouver morning show from 2018-20.
Jason Herring has left the Calgary Herald to join allSaskatchewan as a business reporter. He’ll remain based in Calgary. Herring had been with Postmedia since 2019, previously working as a multimedia journalist with the Edmonton Journal.
Tanuka Roy has been appointed Chief Operating Officer as part of internal restructuring at Super Channel that sees its Revenue, Marketing and Creative Services departments combined. Roy joined Super Channel in January as Chief Revenue Officer. Reporting to Tanuka will be Stacey Brooks, who joins the company as Director, Marketing, arriving from Bell, where she held a variety of senior level marketing positions over the last 16 years, most recently Senior Manager, Marketing Communications, Bell Consumer Services. Also joining Super Channel are Eva Lonoza and Ben Cheema, who each assume the newly-created role of Manager, Distribution Sales & Marketing, responsible for identifying and executing revenue generating opportunities across BDU and platform partners to drive subscriber growth and reduce churn. Lonoza was most recently with TELUS Small Business Solutions where she was Channel Manager, while Cheema was Manager, Training Affiliate Sales at Bell Media. The position of Chief Marketing Officer, which was held by Katie Lee, has been eliminated. Read more here.
Kim Robinson is moving on from Shaw TV’s community access channel in Victoria where she’s primarily been a producer for the last 15 years. Prior to joining Shaw, Robinson was a sales assistant with Corus Vancouver.
Peter Tsegaye has been appointed to the role of regional sales manager for Riedel Communications to accommodate the company’s continued growth in Canada. Tsegaye, who was most recently a technical sales and solutions manager with ES Broadcast, will report to Dave Caulwell, Regional Sales Director, East, North America, and operate out of Toronto. Tsegaye got his start at Harris Broadcast, which later became Imagine Communications, where he worked in various roles from customer service to product support specialist.
Signal Hill Insights has named Grace Carrick as its new Head of U.S. Business Development, leading efforts to bring the company’s holistic brand lift measurement to more agencies and brands. Based in New York City, Carrick was previously VP, Advertising Partnerships with Midroll Media. She also spent 17 years with Westwood One, including six as Vice-President of Sales.
RADIO & PODCAST:
CBC Podcasts has launched a new channel on YouTube, making a collection of the public broadcaster’s most popular shows available through the platform. Audiences can now stream series like Someone Knows Something; Uncover; Run, Hide Repeat; and daily news podcast, Front Burner, among a dozen others, on YouTube. CBC says the channel will continue to grow in the coming months with the addition of video podcasts. The move is in line with CBC’s ongoing commitment to meet listeners where they are, timed with the launch of Canadian podcasts in the YouTube Music app, allowing podcasts to be listened to in the background on a locked screen or downloaded for offline listening. Read more here.
CJRU, Toronto Metropolitan University’s campus and community station, is rebranding to MET Radio under new call letters CJTM-AM to reflect the institution’s move away from its former Ryerson University moniker in 2021 as part of a Truth & Reconciliation process. Station Manager Elissa Matthews says after consultations with the community and stakeholders, the decision to rebrand the station was made “to better reflect our spirit and vision and to move the station forward as a multimedia broadcaster. Met Radio embodies the idea of a station that is open, inclusive, and a platform for diverse voices and perspectives in the city of Toronto.”
JAZZ.FM91 (CJRT-FM) Toronto is launching a third season of Discover Women in Jazz, in partnership with the Pat and Tony Adams Freedom Fund for the Arts. The concert series promotes, champions and highlights women’s contributions to jazz as musicians, composers, lyricists and bandleaders. Selected by a panel that includes three members of JAZZ.FM91’s new Alumni Committee — musicians and entrepreneurs Agneya Chikte, Chelsea McBride, and Jesse Ryan — along with JAZZ.FM91 board member Catherine Mitro, this round of artists includes Lauren Falls, Sabine Ndalamba, Emma Cava, Virginia MacDonald and Jen Lo. Concerts will be broadcast live and livestreamed to YouTube each Thursday during August between 7 – 8 p.m. ET. Listeners can also tune in Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET throughout August to get to know more about this year’s artists on Jazzology, supported by RBC Emerging Artists.
A Big 8 CKLW Reunion will follow the Sept. 17th unveiling of a life size bronze statue of legendary CKLW Music Director Rosalie Trombley in downtown Windsor. The statue, by local artist Donna Mayne, will be unveiled at a ceremony on Riverside Dr. East with the reunion to follow at the St. Clair Centre for The Arts. The casual gathering is open to all radio fans and former staffers. The Chimczuk Museum, located inside the Art Windsor Essex (formerly the Art Gallery Of Windsor) at 401 Riverside Dr. W., will also be featuring a gallery display honouring Trombley with personal mementos, gold records and audio visual elements.
LISTEN: At a time when most radio stations are maximizing their voice tracking, airing syndicated programming, or introducing listeners to AI-generated content in off-peak listening hours, Durham’s Radio’s 94.9 The Rock (CKGE-FM) – licensed to Oshawa, ON – has gone in the opposite direction, launching a live overnight show hosted by cable TV and MuchMusic icon Ed the Sock. On this episode of the podcast, we welcome Steven Kerzner, the voice behind Ed, and Program Director Doug Elliott to the podcast to talk about taking radio back to its roots in the age of streaming.
LISTEN: On the Sound Off Podcast, Jodi Krangle, longtime VO talent and the host of her own podcast, Audio Branding. With over 100 episodes, she’s explored every possible angle for enhancing your business through the use of audio, including podcasts. Jodi and Matt Cundill discuss their mutual love of audio, what got her into it, and the two sides of audio branding: how business owners can use it to expand their brand image, and how VO workers can use their talents to build themselves a strong brand. They also talk a bit about the impact of AI on the audio industry.
SIGN OFFS:
Lee Major (Ivan Lemesurier), 85, on July 11. Major began his more than five-decade career in Yellowknife with CBC Radio in 1957. Early in his career, he made the move to CBC Winnipeg where he worked in both radio and television, hosting programs including “Major Progression,” “Music to Listen to Jazz By,” and “Red River Country.” He went on to co-host “2 Grumpy Guys in the Kitchen” on CKY-TV, alongside Don Percy, among other projects. Starting in the early ‘90s, Major resurfaced at CJNU 93.7 Winnipeg, a Nostalgia Broadcasting Cooperative. In his last years, he’d been retired to Campbell River, BC.
TV & FILM:
BRON has filed for bankruptcy. Based in Vancouver, the finance and production company behind films like Joker and Licorice Pizza, has filed for creditor protection in B.C. Supreme Court. CEO Aaron J. Gilbert wrote, in a letter to studio partners obtained by Deadline, that “BRON had no choice but to take this step in light of its financial circumstances.” “The last few years have been incredibly difficult for BRON, and things have only gotten more complicated over these past months,” continued Gilbert. “Covid and the many other issues affecting the media industry the last few years, most recently the strikes, have made BRON’s ability to continue its existing business impossible.”
WildBrain has closed on its previously-announced acquisition of animation pre-production house House of Cool. WildBrain says the acquisition significantly expands and enhances its pre-production capabilities for premium animated series, specials and features. Under the agreement, WildBrain has acquired full ownership of House of Cool for $15.5 million, with $10.25 million through the issuance of 4,479,406 WildBrain shares and the remainder in cash. Additionally, there is a potential earn-out of up to $6 million based on tax credits earned by House of Cool up to closing. House of Cool executives and co-founders, Wes Lui and Ricardo Curtis, have joined the WildBrain Studios senior management team in the newly-created roles of Co-General Managers of House of Cool.
Crave has launched new ad-supported plan options as the Bell Media-owned streaming service secures a roster of advertising partners that include Google Canada, Canadian Tire, adidas Canada, Hyundai Auto Canada, Maybelline New York, McDonald’s Canada, Royal Bank of Canada, and Bell flanker brand Virgin Plus, among others. The home for HBO and Max Originals in Canada, in addition to Crave Original programming like Canada’s Drag Race, Letterkenny and its spinoff Shoresy, Crave also features numerous series from the CTV network and Bell Media’s specialty channels. Subscribers now have the option to sign up for Crave Basic with Ads for $9.99/month, offering viewers one concurrent stream, 720p video quality, casting with Chromecast, and unlimited registered devices. Crave Standard with Ads for $14.99/month offers subscribers four concurrent streams in up to 4K quality. The ad-free option remains available at $19.99/month as Crave Premium Ad-Free, which also offers casting via AirPlay, as well as Chromecast, in addition to livestreaming and downloading. Read more here.
Corus Entertainment’s Nelvana has produced its second original short film entitled Jelly, created and directed by Emmy Award-winning director Robin Budd (Beetlejuice, Hotel Transylvania: The Series). Featuring music from composer Daniel Lanois, Jelly is a 2D animated short film exploring the universal reality that life is too precious to be unhappy at work and encourages the pursuit of one’s true passion. The 13-minute film is making its world premiere at the 27th Edition of Fantasia International Film Festival this month, and has started to receive interest from other festivals internationally.
Les Contes interdits (Forbidden Tales), the Quebecois book series that adapts popular tales like Cinderella and Beauty and the Beast into horror novels for adults, will be adapted into a television series. Publisher Éditions AdA and Attraction have signed an agreement that would see an initial five to eight-episode season produced, with filming to take place primarily in Quebec.
CBC Sports is the exclusive Canadian broadcast and streaming home of the third edition of Global T20 Canada, North America’s first professional Twenty20 cricket league. The tournament takes place at TD Cricket Arena in Brampton until Aug. 6. Recognizing the growing momentum for cricket in Canada, CBC Sports will stream all 25 league matches on CBC Gem, cbcsports.ca and the CBC Sports App. The championship final will be broadcast live on CBC and CBC Gem. CBC Sports joins a roster of international broadcast partners that will carry Global T20 Canada to viewers around the world, including Fox Sports (Australia), Free Sports (United Kingdom), beIN SPORTS (Middle East), Sportsmax (Caribbean), Star Sports (India), FanCode (India) and SuperSport (South Africa).
ACTRA Toronto has released its Best Practices for Working with Animals guide, designed to improve workplace safety on set. The guide was created to assist performers and productions to ensure the most positive and creative interactions when working with animals.
TIFF has announced 60 official selections in the Gala and Special Presentations programmes for this year’s festival, with films representing 70 countries. The first wave of the 2023 Official Selection features 37 World Premieres, seven International Premieres, 12 North American Premieres, and four Canadian Premieres. Among the highlights are Craig Gillespie’s Dumb Money, Anna Kendrick’s Woman of the Hour, Viggo Mortensen’s The Dead Don’t Hurt, Ning Hao’s The Movie Emperor, Maggie Betts’ The Burial, Alexander Payne’s The Holdovers, Richard Linklater’s Hit Man, Michael Keaton’s Knox Goes Away, Ethan Hawke’s Wildcat, Jonathan Glazer’s The Zone of Interest, and Hirokazu Kore-eda’s Monster. The TIFF Docs programme will open with the World Premiere of Copa 71 from Rachel Ramsay and James Erskine, which serves to restore the lost legacy of a 1971 international women’s soccer tournament that had record setting crowds in Mexico City but was largely erased from sports history.
Telefilm Canada is currently accepting entries for Canadian production and distribution companies wishing to join the Canada Pavilion at MIPCOM 2023, Oct. 16-19, and benefit from a discounted rate on accreditation. The Canada Pavilion will return to Riviera 8, providing better visibility for Canadian companies and more outdoor space for meeting clients. The pavilion can host up to 80 companies, making it one of the largest national pavilions at MIPCOM.
ONLINE & DIGITAL MEDIA:
Acadia Broadcasting has shuttered its Maritime business publication Huddle, which it acquired in 2019. In a company announcement, Acadia President Chris Pearson cited an “increasingly complex” advertising landscape, particularly during the pandemic. As of July 25, Huddle will no longer publish new stories, however its archive of more than 10,000 stories will remain available. Paid subscribers will be refunded for all active subscriptions. Huddle’s Insights Podcast, hosted by Don Mills and David Campbell, will continue under the Acadia Broadcasting banner.
Harvard Media has launched SaskAgToday.com, a new digital offering featuring ag news, markets, crop talk, livestock, features on farm living, and more. The site is fueled by Harvard’s newsrooms at 620 CKRM Regina and GX94 (CJRX-FM) Yorkton.
REGULATORY, TELECOM & MEDIA:
The CRTC has issued a call for comments on proposed amendments to the Television Broadcasting Regulations, 1987 and the Discretionary Services Regulations that would update the definition of the term “Canadian program” in reference to Broadcasting Regulatory Policy 2023-90, in which the commission amended the treatment of stock footage costs. Those costs were moved from the “Services” category to the “Other costs” category when calculating the cost breakdown of a production. Interventions are being accepted until Aug. 21.
The CRTC says its latest decision, setting the rates that Quebecor will pay Rogers Communications when offering services using Rogers’ wireless network, will help deliver more affordable cellphone plans to Canadians. In May, the commission set the rules for MVNO access and gave companies until Aug. 7 to negotiate agreements. Quebecor and Rogers asked the CRTC to initiate arbitration, leading the commission to choose Quebecor’s proposed rate, which remains confidential. The commission says now that the rate has been set, Quebecor (via Videotron, Freedom Mobile, and Fizz) is expected to offer cellphone services in more areas across Canada.
Rogers Communications has announced unaudited financial and operating results for the second quarter ended June 30. Total revenue and total service revenue increased by 30% and 32%, respectively, driven substantially by revenue growth in Rogers’ Cable and Wireless businesses. Wireless service revenue increased by 7%, primarily due to growth in the company’s mobile phone subscriber base and revenue from Shaw Mobile subscribers acquired through the Shaw transaction. Cable service revenue increased by 93% in the quarter as a result of the Shaw acquisition. Media revenue increased by 4% as a result of higher sports-related revenue, primarily at the Toronto Blue Jays. Consolidated adjusted EBITDA increased 38% in the quarter and adjusted EBITDA margin increased by 220 basis points, primarily due to improving synergies and efficiencies. Media adjusted EBITDA increased by $2 million.
The Canadian Ethnic Media Association (CEMA) is celebrating its 45th Anniversary with a call for submissions for this year’s annual CEMA Awards for Journalistic Excellence in the categories of Print, Radio, Television, Internet, Podcast – News, Podcast – Feature, Documentary, Innovation, Online Articles and Community Engagement. CEMA will announce the winners before a live audience on Saturday, Nov. 25. The deadline for entries is Sept. 10.
BROADCAST TECH & ENGINEERING:
Bryan Adams has joined Scottish tech startup Songbox as a co-founder after falling in love with the platform’s secure music-sharing capabilities. Glasgow-based Songbox allows musicians and other audio content creators to securely store and share their files with anyone they choose, be it co-creators, collaborators, industry figures, or media. The platform lets the content creator know that the file has been received and whether it has been listened to – even confirming which tracks have been played and for how long. The Canadian rocker was one of the first big names to use the newly-launched platform and has helped add new features to the product, noting that he no longer has to send out physical files, keeping early versions of songs secure until he’s ready for an official release. Songbox founders Michael Coll and Ciaran O’Toole are looking to grow the platform and will soon begin a series of funding rounds.
Enghouse Networks, the Markham, ON-based global telecommunications technology and streaming TV solutions provider, has announced that its SaaS IPTV platform, EspialTV, has been chosen by GVTC Communications to bring video streaming services to its customer base. The solution allows GVTC to provide more options to its subscribers, including the ability to record and view shows on any connected device, including Amazon’s Fire TV, Roku, AppleTV, phones and tablets. The new GVTC system relies on Broadpeak’s content delivery network (CDN) and cloud DPVR solutions.
GDS Communications in Surrey, BC is now a reseller for OMC TECH products. OMC TECH manufactures data transceivers, SDI 3G/12G video SFP transceivers, media converters and fiber extenders for broadcasting, video streaming, industrial Ethernet, and machine vision applications.
Mood Media’s Vibenomics advertising division, an experiential tech and retail media solutions provider, and Stingray Advertising, are combining their respective networks creating the largest U.S. retail media in-store network. The companies say the collaboration will provide advertisers with an unmatched national presence, reaching over 800 million monthly shoppers through in-store digital audio advertising across 25,000+ brick-and-mortar locations nationwide. The sales agreement will streamline programmatic advertising across all networks, taking advantage of Vibenomics’ advanced capabilities. The announcement comes as the companies say U.S. retail media spending is on the rise, increasing from $31B in 2021 to an anticipated $61B by 2024.
