REVOLVING DOOR:
Jason Carlos has been named the new Executive Director of Departure Festival + Conference. Carlos had served as the event’s Senior Director of Brand, Marketing & Communications since 2024 when LOFT Entertainment and Oak View Group (OVG) acquired Canadian Music Week (CMW) and undertook the event’s rebrand. In his new role, he’ll oversee strategic and operational leadership of the festival, reporting to Jackie Dean, who was recently appointed President & CEO of LOFT Entertainment. Carlos’ appointment comes following Kevin Barton’s recent resignation from the ED role. Read more here.
Ron Ahluwalia has joined TVO as Vice President, Strategy, helping shape the Ontario public broadcaster’s organizational strategy, planning and governance. Ahluwalia’s background includes serving as Director of Policy to the Minister of Canadian Heritage in 2022-23, where he handled files related to broadcasting, online safety, and the CBC; in addition to senior advisory roles in the Ontario government and other regulatory bodies. Read more here.
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Claudia Marques has reunited with Cat Spencer in the afternoon drive time slot, on Montreal’s 92.5 The Beat (CKBE-FM). Marques leaves the morning show after five years as Catherine D (Catherine Duranceau) returns to The Beat Breakfast Club alongside co-hosts Natasha Gargiulo and Lee Haberkorn, following parental leave.
Allison Waytowich is joining CHCH-TV Hamilton as a reporter for Morning Live. A Humber College Post-graduate Journalism Certificate grad, Waytowich had been interning in the newsroom for the last three months.
Dana Roberts has announced his departure from CTV News. Roberts has been with the network since 2019, initially as a videographer, anchor and producer with CTV Barrie. Since 2025, he’d been a show producer for CTV News Channel.
Kelsey Brown has moved on from Global Edmonton after more than 13 years as Senior Sales Promotions Coordinator. Prior to Global, she held similar roles at Shaw Media and CTV.
Cameron Hughes is joining Calgary Sports & Entertainment full-time as Game Day Coordinator for American Hockey League (AHL) franchise, the Calgary Wranglers. A former board operator and producer with Rogers Sports & Media, prior to this summer’s station closures, Hughes has been working as an in-game DJ and music coordinator for the Wranglers and Calgary Stampeders for the past three years.
Sarah Wolfe is now being heard weekends on Pattison Media’s The Wave 102.3 (CKWV-FM) Nanaimo from noon to 4 p.m. on Saturdays and 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. on Sundays. Wolfe joined the station earlier this summer and also takes on Production Assistant duties. The SAIT Radio program grad previously completed an internship with Pattison’s stations in Calgary, where she’s also worked as a street team member.
John Curry has joined Cineplex Media as an Account Director. Curry arrives from Bell Media, where he’s been a Multi-Platform Account Executive in the GTA since 2023. Prior to that, he held several business development and account roles with The Globe & Mail.
Zach Marcovici has been promoted to Director of Drama Development at CBC, upped from Executive in Charge of Development, Drama, a position he’d held since November 2024. He succeeds Lea Marin, who left the public broadcaster in May to join Netflix Canada as Manager of Content.
Taron Cochrane is now officially the Producer of Communications, Marketing & Brand for CBC in Saskatchewan and Manitoba. Cochrane has been working with CBC Saskatchewan for the past eight years on various marketing and communications initiatives.
Quebecor-owned MELS Studios and Postproduction is moving forward with a new organizational structure aimed at enhancing the studio’s appeal to both domestic and international productions. Aurée Lepage, Director of International Business Development, who is based in L.A., becomes the primary point of contact for the U.S. market. Sophie Houle has been appointed Director, Client Experience and Communications, focused on enhancing the client experience and strengthening partner relationships, in addition to continuing to lead brand visibility and communications strategy. Read more here.
Alethea Bakogeorge has departed the Disability Screen Office (DSO) to move on to a new role as Manager, Major Gifts at the Rick Hansen Foundation. As the DSO’s inaugural Director of Programs and Development, Bakogeorge helped build DSO’s Programs department, Canada’s Screen Industry Survey on Disability and Industry Resource Hub. She also co-authored best practices guide, Reframing Access.
RADIO & PODCAST:
The CRTC will no longer require the vast majority of radio stations to go through regular, fixed-term licence renewals. As part of a major regulatory overhaul designed to reduce administrative red tape, the regulator announced Monday, it’s granting indefinite licence terms to hundreds of commercial, campus, community, ethnic, and Indigenous radio stations across the country. The change will take effect automatically as current station licences expire between next month and August 2031. Read more here.
AMI-audio’s lineup for its 2026-27 broadcast season includes the debut of new series Access in Progress (working title), hosted by disability advocates Bean Gill (Push) and Marco Pasqua, with contributions by John Loeppky (History in 60). It explores what needs to happen to make Canada barrier-free to members of the disability community by 2040. It debuts Oct. 6, alongside a new season of Reflections with Ramya Amuthan; and daily tech program Double Tap, among other returning series.
The One Voice Conference has handed out its annual awards, recognizing voice acting talent in the U.S. and Canada. Nanaimo-based voice talent Matt Fogarty is among this year’s winners, capturing Best Performance-Male – TV/Web Commercial for the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre “Carry The Fire” spot.
The Edmonton Broadasters Club is hosting an Edmonton Radio Reunion on Sunday, Sept. 27. Former and current radio personalities and staff are invited to meet, mix and mingle. Learn more here.
LISTEN: Veteran sports talk host Mike Richards is about to resurface on the airwaves in Calgary after a tumultuous summer for sports media, particularly in Calgary and Vancouver, where Rogers Sports & Media took Sportsnet Radio off the air in both markets. The Raw Mike Richards Show, which Richards had been independently producing, alongside imaging guru and executive producer Ron Tarrant, is now about to get a second life on Corus Radio’s QR 77 (CHQR-AM) in Calgary. Richards and Tarrant join Broadcast Dialogue – The Podcast to talk about piloting their indie hybrid digital/broadcast model, the future of sports radio, and their eye to going national.
LISTEN: As Numeris prepares to introduce Radio Local+ in 22 Canadian markets, Chief Research and Operations Officer Derrick Gray joins the Sound Off Podcast. He discusses the new measurement approach which will see Numeris use online and telephone surveys to establish demographic profiles, co-listening and the relationship between streaming and over-the-air consumption. He suggests radio may be reaching more people than previously thought, among other surprises and exposed problems.
SIGN OFFS:
Perry Rosemond, 89, peacefully on Aug. 20. Born and raised in Winnipeg’s North End, Rosemond started his career as an actor as a founding member of John Hirsch’s Manitoba Theatre Centre (MTC) at the age of 18. He went on to direct musical variety show Red River Jamboree for CBC Winnipeg, which led to a 50-year television career. His long list of credits includes The Johnny Cash Show, Donny and Marie Show, Tom Jones Show, Fraggle Rock, David Steinberg Show, Good Times, Bizarre, Super Dave, Hockey Night in Canada, and directing 15 seasons of Royal Canadian Air Farce. His work with CBC Toronto included serving as Head of School and Preschool Programming, where he produced Mr. Dress Up and Friendly Giant and wrote and developed a Canadian edition of Sesame Street. He’s additionally credited with the creation of the King of Kensington series in the mid-1970s, inspired by the neighbourhood characters of his youth. Among other accolades he served as a director on PBS series Meeting of Minds, which earned an Emmy and George Foster Peabody Award. He more recently executive-produced, When Jews Were Funny, named best Canadian Feature Film at the 2013 Toronto Film Festival. Rosemond was appointed a Member of the Order of Canada in 2003.
TV & FILM:
Global News has unveiled its refreshed fall schedule that includes the expansion of Global News at Noon to all of its local markets. Starting Sept. 8, the hour-long broadcast will debut in Central Canada and the Maritimes, while adding an additional half-hour to the existing broadcast in Ontario and Quebec. Following the noon newscast, the previously-announced TMS2 debuts in the 1 p.m. ET time slot – a new daily lifestyle and entertainment news program. Read more here.
Nina Roza, the sophomore scripted feature film from Quebec filmmaker Geneviève Dulude-De Celles, will represent Canada in the nomination process for Best International Feature Film at the 99th Academy Awards next spring. A co-production between Canada, Italy, Bulgaria and Belgium, the film follows a major art collector who returns to his home country of Bulgaria, 30 years after leaving, confronting the ghosts of his past. Read more here.
CBC/Radio-Canada has officially launched its national search for the artist who’ll represent Canada for the first time at the Eurovision Song Contest. The public broadcaster – which obtained full membership in the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) in June, making it eligible to participate in the contest – says its year-one approach is to first select the artist who will represent Canada. That artist will then collaborate with top music industry talent to create Canada’s Eurovision song and performance. Read more here.
CBC has announced 13 new participants for the fourth year of AccessCBC: A CBC Initiative for Creators with a Disability, a national program that provides pre-development training, mentorship and financing support for creators with disabilities. For its fourth edition, AccessCBC will support seven participants across four projects selected for the scripted comedy/drama and kids streams, as well as a participant for the podcast stream working on Sickboy, and three unscripted projects from five creators across the country.
CBC has secured the broadcast rights for the second season of Canada Super 60, bringing professional T10 cricket to audiences across the country. Under the newly-announced partnership, every match of the tournament will stream on CBC Gem from Sept. 29 to Oct. 4. Select marquee matches, including the women’s championship final, will also air nationwide on CBC TV. Read more here.
APTN, CBC and Netflix have announced that Season 2 of Arctic-set comedy series North of North (8×30) will include Canadian actor and comedian Bruce McCulloch. He’ll guest star as “Military Mitch,” an instructor hired to teach first-aid at the Ice Cove Community Centre. Season 2 premieres in Canada on APTN+ beginning Tuesday, Sept. 1, followed by CBC Gem, CBC TV and APTN TV on Sept. 8. The series will then launch globally on Netflix later this fall. Singer-songwriter, documentarian and Inuk activist Elisapie is also set to guest star.
Crave original comedy series Slo Pitch premieres with two episodes on Friday, Sept. 25. The mockumentary style series follows the Brovaries – a queer, beer league softball team determined to defy the odds in pursuit of a championship season. The 10-episode series has already been acquired by Sky in the UK and Ireland, and New Zealand, as well as HBO Max in Australia. It’s produced by Shaftesbury in association with Crave, Boss & Co, and Elliott Page’s PageBoy Productions.
Crave Original Heated Rivalry continues to expand its cast with news that Daniel Diemer (Percy Jackson and The Olympians, The Half of It) is set to star as Ryan Price, and Shaheen Jafargholi (War, The Agency, Lost Boys and Fairies) as Fabian Salah. The pair join Hudson Williams, Connor Storrie, Justice Smith, and Charlie Gillespie in leading roles for the upcoming season, scheduled to premiere in Spring 2027.
Fifth Ground Entertainment has announced the upcoming premiere of its latest TVOkids Original series, The Screen Team. The tech-focused docuseries for kids, aged eight to 12, pulls back the curtain on the digital technology shaping everyday life and how it impacts youth. The weekly series will make its digital debut Oct. 9 on the TVOkids YouTube channel, website, and mobile app, followed by a broadcast premiere Oct. 10.
Serial Maven Studios has acquired worldwide distribution rights to The County, a 10×60’ HD lifestyle docu-series produced by RTR Media for HGTV in Canada. The County follows interior designer Sarah Keenleyside as she trades city life for country charm, launching her design firm while restoring her own 1860s Victorian “forever farmhouse” in Prince Edward County.
ONLINE & DIGITAL MEDIA:
Harbinger Media Network has added four new outlets to its independent journalism community at Unrigged.ca. They include Xtra Magazine, local journalism initiative Documenters/Documentalistes, West Coast journalist cooperative De Facto Media, and LGBTQ2S+ info outlet Script Health. Unrigged.ca now encompasses 36 local, regional and national media outlets from across Canada.
REGULATORY, TELECOM & MEDIA:
The CRTC’s newly-released 2024–25 Communications Market Report indicates structural shifts in the Canadian media landscape reached a critical milestone in the 2025 broadcast year, with online services capturing 40% of total broadcasting revenues while traditional television and radio faced accelerating financial pressure. According to the report, overall commercial broadcasting revenues managed a modest 2.4% gain, driven almost entirely by a 13.9% surge in online service revenues. Conversely, traditional broadcast platforms saw revenues drop 4.1% across the board. The data underscores a fundamental transformation in how Canadians access news, sports, and entertainment, with streaming-only households rising to 33% nationwide. Read more here.
The International Student Broadcasting Championship (ISBC) opens to entries on Sept. 1. ISBC spans radio, podcasting, digital and TV content, and esports broadcasting, with participation from close to 1,000 institutions worldwide.
Q&A: Nine articles, one argument, and a $600 million question: what should it actually fund? Brad Danks reflects on why he wrote the Beyond the Walled Garden series that asks what’s actually changed about how Canadian content gets funded? Where he thinks the policy debate goes next? Read the series outside the CARTT.ca paywall here.
BROADCAST TECH & ENGINEERING:
ADVERTORIAL: Radio has never operated under more competing pressures. Multi-market groups run multiple stations, often across borders and languages. Talent records from home studios, satellite offices, and everywhere in between. Engineering teams are stretched across ever-larger station portfolios. And management teams are asking the same question in every market: how can we do more without spending more? WideOrbit built WO Aurora to answer that question. It’s radio automation designed for broadcasters who need to move fast, operate across geographies, and keep capital spend under control. Read more here.
WildBrain has acquired Personality AI, the Los Angeles-headquartered tech developer that uses generative AI to bring licensed characters and IP to life. Founded in 2025, Personality AI has previously worked on projects for brands like Amazon Kids+, developing a generative AI platform for the children’s subscription service; and an interactive voice experience with Hasbro that lets kids talk with Peppa Pig via games and activities inspired by the series. Under the $11M USD deal, John Goscha, founder and CEO of Personality AI, joins WildBrain’s Executive Leadership Team with the title of Executive Vice President, Personality AI. Read more here.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has announced the six scientific and technical investigations it’s launched for 2026, ahead of its Scientific and Technical Awards in April. The investigations invite individuals and companies with devices or claims of innovation to submit achievements for review: Artist-friendly tools for the construction of large-scale water simulations; Audio spectrum segmentation and editing software; Colour-accurate LED lighting suitable for on-set photography; Digitally-controlled performer flying systems; Rigging systems for direct manipulation of CG characters; Solvers for markerless facial capture. Read more here.
WABE (Western Association of Broadcast Engineers) is hosting a Media Meet & Greet in Calgary on Thursday, Sept. 3rd. Taking place at SAIT Polytechnic’s MacDonald Hall, a panel discussion will tackle the topic: AI is here, now what? that includes representation from CBC, Rogers Sports & Media, Diversified and FrameSmiths.AI, discussing how AI is being used and deployed, the challenges faced and what polices are being talked about. Learn more here.
