REVOLVING DOOR:
View this post on Instagram
“Tarzan Dan” Freeman is set to return to his BOUNCE Radio network midday show on Thursday, Oct. 23 after being cleared by his doctors and pronounced in full remission. Following a cancer diagnosis last fall, Freeman successfully underwent a stem cell operation in June.
Ray Grover is hanging up his headphones after 46 years in radio. Grover has been hosting the MOVE Radio (CHQM-FM) afternoon drive show in Vancouver since 2009, following stops at CKXL and CKRY Calgary, CHSU-FM Kelowna, and CHBE-FM Victoria. He’s also been the voice behind numerous TV and radio commercials, including serving as the daily show announcer on The Marilyn Denis Show.
Simone Grewal has departed Stingray Radio, where she’s been Program Director and the afternoon host on 104.3 The Breeze (CHLG-FM) Vancouver and 96.3 The Breeze (CKRA-FM) Edmonton. Grewal has yet to announce her next destination. She had been with the station group since 2010, through Stingray’s acquisition of Newcap, holding roles including hosting afternoons on CISL 650, and middays on Z95.3 (CKZZ-FM).
Ciara Yaschuk is no longer with Global Edmonton where she’s been a weather forecaster and reporter for the last seven years, following changes at the station. Yaschuk joined Global Edmonton in 2018 as an anchor on the morning show.
Sarah Schmidt has been promoted at Rogers Communications to Vice-President, Communications. Schmidt has been with Rogers off and on since 2017, most recently as Head of External Communications.
Anthem Entertainment has rolled out a new organizational structure, highlighted by expanded roles for Julie Johnston, Senior Vice-President, Marketing & Content Distribution, and Sharon Stevens, VP of Programming. Johnston will now lead Marketing for both Game TV and Hollywood Suite and Content Distribution in Canada for Game TV, Hollywood Suite, GameTV+, Fight Network, AXS-TV, and Anthem FAST Channels, GameTVGO and Fight Network IMPACT/TNA, as well as Hollywood Suite in-house production unit, Sruki Films. Stevens will shape the content strategy for Hollywood Suite and now Game TV, supporting Maria Donatelli, Sr. Director of Programming, GTV; Suzanne Marshall, Sr. Manager of Programming, HS; and Eileen Gaudet, Manager of VOD & Traffic, HS.
Josée Bidal Thibault will become the new Commissioner and CEO of the Commission for Complaints for Telecom-television Services (CCTS), effective Jan. 1. She’ll succeed Howard Maker, who is set to leave the organization on Dec. 31. Bidal Thibault has been with CCTS for the last 17 years, serving as Assistant Commissioner for the last 12. Prior to that, she was Manager, Regulatory Affairs at Bell.
RADIO & PODCAST:
The Broadcast Dialogue Canadian Radio Awards, presented by Xperi, close to entries on Monday, Oct. 27. Free to enter, nominate your station team or self-nominate across 16 categories including Station of the Year, Program Director of the Year, Music Director of the Year, Best Promotion, Community Builder Award (formerly Best Community Service Initiative), Best Podcast, and Engineer or Technician of the Year. Find all the rules and regulations, listen to winning audio from past years, and check out this year’s jury lineup at CanadianRadioAwards.com.
The CRTC has approved Surrey-based multilingual broadcaster Akash Broadcasting’s application to acquire Bell Media station, CFRW-AM Winnipeg. The station most recently carried Bell’s “Funny” comedy format, after the company dumped TSN Radio in Winnipeg, Calgary and Hamilton in early 2021. The commission concurrently denied Akash’s bid to take over CKMX 1060 AM Calgary and its transmitter CFVP-SW, finding “the applicant did not demonstrate that the Calgary transaction is the best proposal under the circumstances.”
Vista Radio has rebranded its Yellowknife station, CJCD-FM, as GO FM 101.1 – The North’s Feel Good Pop Station. Formerly branded as True North 101.1, the station had previously been playing Classic Hits since December 2020. It’s now carrying a mix of pop hits from the ‘90s, 2000s, and today. Brock Cullen continues to host Mornings in the North, while Regional PD Joel Lamoureux takes on afternoons.
Corus Entertainment’s talk radio network has debuted new late night show, Crime Time, that draws upon true crime offerings from the Curiouscast podcast network. The two-hour show promises to feature “uninterrupted true crime stories” pulling from Curiouscast’s crime-related series, including true crime and dark history podcast, Dark Poutine, whose host Mike Browne serves as host of Crime Time. Read more here.
Newstalk 1010 (CFRB-AM) Toronto and AM 800 CKLW Windsor have added Story Studio Network’s Ontario politics podcast On the Ledge to their weekend programming lineups. Hosted by Dave Trafford, the podcast’s contributors include pollster John Wright, CHCH TV commentator Keith Leslie, former Ontario PC leader Tim Hudak and former Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne.
Rick Hansen and Grammy-winning singer/songwriter Dan Hill are the latest Canadians to lend their voices to the Pro Bono Group’s Pro Canada Project, urging consumers to buy Canadian. With the PSA campaign now in its ninth month, after launching in February at the outset of the Canada-U.S. trade war, Pro Bono Group creative leads Mike Occomore and Larry MacInnis say they continue to hear from participants just how important the initiative is. Read more here.
The Canadian Podcast Awards (CPA) are now open for nominations. Podcasts eligible for consideration must have released at least five episodes between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31, 2024. Spanning more than 30 categories — from comedy and current affairs to arts, sports, and culture — nominations are open at canpodawards.ca until Nov. 1.
ADVERTORIAL: In this special, sponsored episode of Broadcast Dialogue – The Podcast, our U.S. partner Warren Kurtzman of Coleman Insights sits down to talk about how Cox Media Group is using Validate to show advertisers the measurable impact of their campaigns, connecting streaming and broadcast listening to actual website visits and conversions. If you’re in Canadian radio, this is your cue. The tools are here, the proof is here and the stations using them are already winning the ROI conversation.
LISTEN: Alan Zweig’s new podcast Tubby explores conversations about weight, body image, and self-esteem, but it’s not a typical self-help podcast. Zweig, together with Alan Black of Left Of Dial Media, are on the latest Sound Off Podcast talking about their goal to create something that feels like a documentary, with raw, unpolished conversations that make people feel less alone. They also discuss the challenges of podcasting, the importance of originality, and avoiding the generic, overly-produced feel of many current podcasts.
SIGN OFFS:
John Sexsmith, 63, on Oct. 17, following a 13-year battle with prostate cancer. A graduate of the NAIT Radio & Television program, Sexsmith started his broadcast career at Edmonton’s K-97 (CIRK-FM) in 1990, serving as the station’s sports director and co-hosting the morning show. In 1995, he joined 630 CHED as a host, before quickly moving on to Global Edmonton/ITV in 1997. Sexsmith was a sports reporter and anchor with the station for 26 years. He received his initial cancer diagnosis in 2012, and went on to take an extended leave for much of 2016 and 2017. In 2023 he left television and joined the Alberta Cancer Foundation as a philanthropy officer.
Bryn Matthews, 86, on Oct. 13. While raised in Toronto, Matthews started his television career across the pond as a trainee television director on Coronation Street in Manchester. After returning to Canada in 1965, he went on to work with CFTO Toronto as a producer and director on the 6 p.m. news and a director on CTV’s W5. After taking a break to study at the Sorbonne, he once again returned to Canada in the 1970s to take on an executive role at CJOH / CTV Ottawa, serving as president and general manager. Among the shows he produced were youth programs like You Can’t Do That on Television, High School Confidential, Marie-Soleil and Denim Blues.
Broadcast Dialogue Publisher Emeritus Howard Christensen, who passed away on Sept. 11 at the age of 80, was celebrated this past Sunday. Among those who paid tribute were Terry Scott, former Director of Broadcasting at The Canadian Press (CP), and fellow Broadcast News (BN) alumni Mike Omelus and Malcolm Morrison.
TV & FILM:
Sportsnet has released audience data for Game 7 of the American League Championship Series between the Toronto Blue Jays and Seattle Mariners, revealing that 8.3M Canadians tuned in as Jeff Hoffman struck out Julio Rodriguez for the game’s final out. An average of 6 million Canadians watched the Jays punch their ticket to the World Series across Sportsnet and Sportsnet+, breaking a previous ALCS final audience record for Game 6 in 2015, which averaged 5.1 million viewers. Read more here.
The Directors Guild of Canada (DGC) has announced the winner of the first-ever DGC Green Award, celebrating a DGC signatory production and crew for their impact in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and other waste during production. The inaugural winner is Québécois filmmaker Anne Émond’s climate crisis romcom, Peak Everything. This year’s recipient of the DGC Impact Award, presented to a DGC Member in recognition of outstanding service and leadership to the production community at large, is R.T. Thorne for his work in the area of equity and inclusion. Both awards will be presented in Toronto on Nov. 8.
Telefilm has unveiled its Annual Report for the 2024-25 fiscal year. The agency administered a total of $144.5 million in support of the Canadian audiovisual industry, investing in 164 feature-length fiction and documentary films. Telefilm also supported 111 Canadian film festivals and 71 industry events through its national promotion programs. Telefilm will hold its Annual Public Assembly virtually on Nov. 26 at 2 p.m. ET to be broadcast on the Telefilm Canada YouTube channel.
The Canadian Ethnic Media Association (CEMA) is calling for inclusion in the upcoming federal budget on behalf of independent third-language community television producers, warning that their sector “is on the brink of collapse.” CEMA is calling for $10.52 million in annual funding over a two-year period, saying the investment would help producers transition online and preserve multilingual local news across more than 85 language communities serving over 800,000 weekly viewers. Read more here.
CBC has expanded its free ad-supported streaming portfolio with the launch of a new Schitt’s Creek channel. Joining the public broadcaster’s other entertainment FAST offerings, which include channels dedicated to CBC Comedy, Heartland and Murdoch Mysteries, the Schitt’s Creek channel will feature all six seasons of the Emmy Award-winning CBC original comedy, in addition to one-hour finale, Best Wishes, Warmest Regards: A Schitt’s Creek Farewell. The new channel is available now on CBC Gem, and will launch on LG Channels and The Roku Channel in Canada this fall. Read more here.
Netflix has greenlit The Granville Girls, an eight-part romantic drama from showrunner Adriana Maggs (Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent) and Shaftesbury, based on Cat Cahill’s The Gilbert Girls novels. Set against the Canadian Rockies, the series follows Emma Daniels as she joins the staff of the elegant Granville Hotel.
Marie Clements Media and Screen Siren Pictures have announced that Tombs from the award-winning Indigenous director has gone to camera in Vancouver and the Okanagan. The film features the talents of Amber Midthunder (Novocaine), Cara Jade Myers (Killers of the Flower Moon), Alyssa Wapanatâhk (Peter Pan & Wendy), Isabel DeRoy-Olson (It: Welcome to Derry), Eric Johnson (Fifty Shades Freed), Darren Mann (1923), Gary Farmer (Reservation Dogs), and Gil Bellows (Ally McBeal). Tombs weaves together the triangular story points of three Oklahoma sisters and their mother who travel to L.A. as a part of a relocation program in the 1950s that gave Native Americans the opportunity to become “civilized” by getting jobs in urban centres.
Crave’s new 10-episode, romantic reality series, Temptations Under the Sun: Cyprus, is an adaptation of French-language reality series OD: Tentation Au Soleil, the #1 French-language reality series on Crave. Currently in production on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus and set to premiere in 2026, the series is hosted by sexologist Shan Boodram, host of the Lovers By Shan podcast.
The Mediapro Studio US & Canada and Telemundo Studios have announced a new strategic partnership to jointly develop and produce original movies tailored to Hispanic audiences in the U.S. and global markets. The agreement follows the announcement of their film co-production, Atrápelo quien pueda. Mediapro says the collaboration brings together two industry leaders in international production and Spanish-language entertainment, creating a pipeline for high-quality, culturally resonant storytelling.
On Screen Manitoba (OSM) and the National Directors Division of the Directors Guild of Canada (NDD) have struck a new agreement that will provide funding for Manitoba-based filmmakers to attend major film festivals and markets in Canada and Europe, as part of the NDD Market Accelerator program, which selects delegations of DGC Directors with active projects in advanced stages of development and prepares them for the most influential markets in the industry calendar. Applications for Series Mania in Lille, France will open soon.
ONLINE & DIGITAL MEDIA:
Cineplex has agreed to sell its digital place-based media division, Cineplex Digital Media (CDM), to Creative Realities Inc., a U.S.-based digital signage solutions and experiences company. CRI will acquire all issued and outstanding common shares of CDM for a total purchase price of $70 million in cash. Cineplex says the offer will strengthen its balance sheet and provide capital for opportunistic share buybacks, debt reduction and bolster resources for general corporate purposes. The transaction is expected to close in the coming weeks, subject to regulatory approvals. As part of the transaction, Cineplex has entered into a long-term agreement to continue as CDM’s exclusive advertising sales agent for CDM operated digital-out-of-home networks across Canada.
REGULATORY, TELECOM & MEDIA:
The CRTC announced Thursday it’s launching a public consultation to help ensure broadcasters, including online streaming services, make their content more accessible for persons with disabilities. Specifically it’s identified barriers, like set-top boxes without screen readers, that are preventing consumers who are blind, partially sighted, or with fine motor skill disability, from independently accessing programming. Read more here.
The CRTC is launching a public consultation to help ensure Canadians with unresolved telecom and TV service provider complaints get clear and timely information about the Commission for Complaints for Telecom-television Services (CCTS), which helps consumers resolve issues with their providers. Data collected by the CRTC shows Canadians could benefit from learning about the CCTS earlier in the complaint resolution process. The CRTC is accepting comments until Nov. 17.
Ontario Association of Broadcasters (OAB) annual conference will be focused on the theme of collaboration as the association co-locates for the first time with the association of Central Canada Broadcast Engineers (CCBE), Oct. 27-28. While OAB and CCBE will continue to provide their own distinct program streams, the centrepiece of the two shows will be a combined vendor showcase and networking opportunity. Read more here.
Western Association of Broadcast Engineers (WABE) recent convention in Calgary heard from a panel of media leaders that the nation’s regulatory framework is dangerously obsolete and threatening the domestic industry’s survival. Moderated by Broadcast Dialogue Editor Connie Thiessen, the discussion featured Steve Jones, President of Stingray Radio; Damian Petti, International Vice President for IATSE; Kirk Nesbitt, representing the Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB) Technical Steering Committee; and Adnaan Wasey, Calgary Film Commissioner. The general consensus among panelists was that the current regulatory structure places a heavy burden on licensed Canadian broadcasters while allowing international streamers to operate with few restrictions. “I think we’re being regulated when it’s 1985,” Jones told the room, criticizing the CRTC’s focus on outdated cultural mandates over economic reality. “We need to evolve our regulatory side to match up with some of the challenges that are in the industry space.” Read more here.
NAB Show unveiled a new visual identity ahead of NAB Show New York this week. The organization said in an announcement that the refreshed brand honours its legacy “while embracing the creativity, innovation and constant change that define our global community.” Inspired by signal bars – a universal symbol of connection and amplification – the logo is built from three simple, repeating shapes. Read more here.
CBC/Radio-Canada is inviting Canadians to its Annual Public Meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 28 at noon ET. This year’s event takes the form of a digital content festival to launch the public broadcaster’s 2025–30 Corporate Strategy. The virtual event will be broadcast on CBC/Radio-Canada’s corporate website, as well as its corporate YouTube channel.
BROADCAST TECH & ENGINEERING:
Bell Media has partnered with Environics Analytics (EA) to launch a new Outcomes Measurement solution for TV campaigns. Combining Bell’s first-party data – fed by 22 million customer connections across more than eight million households – with EA privacy-compliant clean room technology, the solution helps advertisers measure the return on ad spend (ROAS) of their TV campaigns, including how many ad-exposed customers made a purchase or took action, alongside other insights to adjust future campaigns. Read more here.
Xperi subsidiary DTS has announced the launch of an updated version of the DTS AutoStage Broadcaster Portal, it’s hailing as the world’s first global, in-car radio audience insights platform. Delivering audience listening analytics across 250 U.S. markets, the new portal – which goes live on Nov. 1 – will enable stations to view precise audience listening data at the station level by time of day, market, rank, and geography in their core markets and beyond to see how their stations perform in adjacent markets where their signal carries. Read more here.
Hollyland has launched Vcore, a wireless video transmission system that revolutionizes the “lightweight” shooting experience, allowing users to transform their smartphones into camera monitors while providing seamless wireless video transmission. By connecting the camera via HDMI and the smartphone via USB-C, users can access the HollyView App for real-time 4K video monitoring at 30 frames per second. The system supports a 1-transmitter-to-4-receiver configuration, transmits signals over the 5 GHz frequency, delivers range of up to 350 feet (100 meters) and maintains ultra-low latency of approximately 65 ms.
