REVOLVING DOOR:
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Alessandra Carneiro has accepted a new role as a reporter and producer with CityNews Toronto. Carneiro arrives from CTV News Barrie where she’s been a reporter and weekend anchor for the past four years.
Cruz Mornings with Grant & Jimmy, the morning show on Harvard Media’s CRUZ FM (CKEA-FM) Edmonton, is no longer on-the-air. Grant Johnson posted to Instagram on Tuesday that his “12 years in radio went by in a flash and came to an end today.” Johnson had been hosting the morning show alongside Jimmy P. White since March when Lochlin Cross was released from the show’s former The Locker Room lineup.
Anthony Gallace, Harvard Media’s Edmonton-based Director of Sales, Northern Markets, has announced his departure from the company. A former Postmedia sales director, Gallace had been with Harvard since 2023.
Kayla is among those caught up in restructuring at Rogers Sports & Media. She was heard on KiSS 92.5 (CKIS-FM) Toronto in various dayparts over the last eight years, including her entertainment segment “Kayla’s Pop KiSS” and Sunday evening countdown show “Canada’s Most Requested,” in addition to weekends, evenings and middays.
Mell Dahl is retiring from Q92 in Sudbury, concluding a more than 40-year broadcasting career, nearly 35 of those with the Q. Dahl began working with Q92 at station launch in 1990 as a morning host. She also hosted noon-hour show, Midday Q, for a number of years, and more recently Sunday morning show, The Church of Rock. Dahl is widely known for her charity work in Greater Sudbury, working with organizations like the Sudbury Food Bank, of which she serves as president. Her final show will be Friday, Nov. 29.
Michelle Sawatzky-Koop has left Golden West Broadcasting after 27 years to take up a new role as Director of Communications, Marketing & Sales with the Southeast Event Centre in Steinbach, MB. The former Olympian and Volleyball Canada Hall of Famer had been a co-host on the Radio Southern Manitoba morning show since 1997, heard across AM 1250 (CHSM-AM) Steinbach, CFAM 950 Altona and CJRB 1220 Boissevain.
Noah Fuchs has joined 680 CJOB Winnipeg as a news anchor. Fuchs arrives from Golden West Broadcasting’s Portage La Prairie stations CFRY 920 AM, Mix 96.5 (CJPG-FM) and Country 93.1 (CHPO-FM).
Amrit Gill has stepped away from her reporting, producing and hosting duties on Hockey Night in Canada: Punjabi Edition. With the program since 2015, Gill co-founded her own production company and media consultancy, Tell a Story, earlier this year.
Sarbraj Singh Kahlon has joined OMNI Television in Vancouver as a community reporter. He arrives from the multilingual Radio Punjab in Surrey where he’d served as News Director since 2023.
Phil Figueiredo is moving over from 980 CKNW Vancouver to join sister station CFOX as the producer and digital content creator for The Jeff O’Neil Show. Figueiredo had been a producer and technical producer with CKNW since 2021.
Charmaine Wong has a new job with The Canadian Press (CP) as Supervising Producer – Video Content. Wong formerly spent almost two decades with Rogers Sports & Media, including stints as Senior Manager, Production at TSC and Supervising Producer at OMNI Ontario.
Paul Bielby is the new Executive Director of Vernon, BC community radio station 97.9 Valley FM (CFAV-FM), as the not-for-profit continues to work towards final CRTC technical approvals. Bielby, the founder of Vernon’s Benefit Auctions, which helps non-profit organizations raise funds, takes over from local singer-songwriter Marv Machura.
Nicholas Schiavo has joined the Canadian Media Producers Association (CMPA) as Director, Government & Stakeholder Relations. With a background in public affairs and government relations, Schiavo was most recently Director of Federal Affairs at the Council of Canadian Innovators. Prior to that, he held roles with Impact Public Affairs Corp., and Fisheries and Oceans Canada.
Alice Bernier is the new Director of Partner Relations at the Canadian Communication Systems Alliance (CCSA). Bernier was most recently SVP, Customer Engagement and Delivery at RSG Media, but prior to that, spent 15 years with Rogers Communications, leaving in 2020 as Senior Director, Content Acquisition. Bernier’s duties at CCSA will include leading negotiations, finalizing and administering master agreements with Canadian and international media and entertainment companies, and overseeing group purchasing activities on behalf of the membership.
Simon Ma has announced his departure from TikTok, where he’s most recently held the title of Integrated Marketing, North America. He’ll be joining Bumble as the new Country Lead for Integrated Marketing in Canada. Ma formerly worked in brand strategy and marketing for Bell Media and Shaw Media.
RADIO & PODCAST:
My Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) has entered into an agreement with Rogers Sports & Media to acquire two of its stations in Southwestern Ontario and another in the Ottawa Valley. Pending CRTC approval, MBC will take over 101.3 CKOT-FM and 107.3 CJDL-FM Tillsonburg, and 92.3 CJET-FM Smiths Falls. 101.3 CKOT-FM is currently branded as Easy 101.3 and carries and carries an Adult Contemporary format, while CJDL-FM carries Rogers’ Country brand and CJET-FM the JACK FM format. Read more here.
Corus Entertainment has launched The Ben Mulroney Show, airing across its AM news/talk radio stations, as part of network changes tied to last week’s “programming refresh.” Making its debut this past Monday, Ben Mulroney is being heard from 9 a.m. – noon on 640. The first hour will focus on topics directly impacting those living in the Greater Toronto, Hamilton Area, and Ontario, with the following two hours to be syndicated across Corus’ talk network. The show will be heard from 9 a.m. – noon on AM 980 (CFPL-AM) London, noon – 2 p.m. on QR Calgary and 880 CHED Edmonton, 2 – 4 p.m. on 680 CJOB Winnipeg, and 6 – 8 p.m. on 980 CKNW Vancouver. Read more here.
Radioplayer has unveiled a new app ecosystem, allowing users to listen seamlessly to radio and podcasts between devices, among other enhancements. In addition to being able to switch between devices – including car dashboards, smartphones, and smart TVs – without interruption, the improved listening experience includes personalized recommendations based on listening habits; the ability to sync favourite stations across all devices; and voice control for in-car listening. Radioplayer has also introduced an Integrated Data Platform, offering broadcasters access to real-time insights into listener behaviour. Read more here.
Quu, the car tech research and dashboard solutions provider, has released its inaugural 2024 In-Vehicle Visuals Report, looking at the prevalence of radio in the top 100 best-selling new American vehicles. Its latest survey, based on data collected between Nov. 2023 and Jan. 2024, finds AM radio is still present in 98% of car dashboards, while FM radio is present in 100%. The report says while rumours of AM/FM radio disappearing from the dashboard have been greatly exaggerated, AM/FM no longer has a monopoly. Ninety-eight per cent of new vehicles also have Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, and SiriusXM is installed in 92% of new vehicles and radio stations need to drive home their value proposition to listeners who have several other choices at the touch of a button.
Dean Blundell has announced he plans to wind down his podcast network, Crier Media, in the New Year. The former 102.1 the Edge (CFNY-FM) and Sportsnet 590 The Fan (CJCL-AM) morning host, had more than 60 podcast collaborators under his initial digital venture DeanBlundell.com, before rebranding in early 2023 as Crier Media. Blundell told Broadcast Dialogue that after seven years in the digital space, he’s “shelving the publishing aspect of Crier for the time being and reassessing the digital media ‘landscape.’” The veteran host said podcasting and content creation “to feed an algorithm” doesn’t excite him at the moment, leading him to focus more on the consulting and brand building side of his business. Read more here.
LISTEN: Ian March, Program Director of Indie88 (CIND-FM) Toronto is on the Sound Off Podcast, discussing his 25-year radio career. Among other things, March talks about focusing on digital integration and targeting a broader audience, the station’s recent ownership change to Local Radio Lab and the challenges posed by CRTC approval delays, as well as the evolving nature of radio programming.
SIGN OFFS:
Deborah Birmingham, 61, on Nov. 19, following a battle with cancer. One of the former voices of the highly-rated OZFM Dawn Patrol on OZFM (CHOZ-FM) St. John’s, NL, Birmingham was a longtime co-host alongside Larry Davis (aka Larry Jay, who was married to Birmingham for a decade) and the late Randy Snow, who passed away just three months ago. Remembered for her larger than life personality and quick wit, Birmingham was working in a bank when she was scouted by the station in 1984. Alongside her rado duties, she also hosted hour-long news magazine NTV Newsday with Fred Hutton. Watch NTV’s tribute here.
Grant Kennedy, 89, on Nov. 15. Originally from Amhertsburg, ON, Kennedy joined the Canadian Navy at the age of 18 as a trombone player in the Navy band. Stationed mostly in the Maritimes, he retired in 1978 after 25 years with the Navy, while concurrently helping his brother Vern co-found Audio Atlantic, one of the first recording studios in the Maritimes that saw groups like Ryan’s Fancy, McGinty, Sylvia Tyson, and the cast of CBC’s Singalong Jubilee pass through its doors, among other productions. Kennedy joined ATV (now CTV Atlantic) in 1983 as an audio engineer, recording musical programs including “Up Home Tonight,” “The Joan Kennedy Show,” “Maritime Country,“ and the daily musical acts appearing on Breakfast Television. Also a pilot, he was known for flying CTV reporters and other media around the Maritimes to news events. He retired from CTV in 2003 and joined the Commissionaires as a fire warden in HMCS dockyard until 2021. Watch CTV Atlantic’s tribute to Kennedy here.
Dan Hennessey, 82, on Nov. 13, of complications from Parkinson’s disease. Born in New Jersey, Hennessey was an English teacher, prior to moving to Toronto where he started taking on acting roles in THOG’s psychedelic rendition of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the Red Barn Theatre and Gryffon Theatre, as well as CBC’s “Coming Up Rosie,” alongside John Candy, Catherine O’Hara, Gilda Radner, John Stocker, Rosemary Radcliffe and Dan Ackroyd. He eventually moved into voice acting, best known for his roles as Braveheart Lion in the Care Bears, Father Bear in Little Bear, and Chief Quimby in Inspector Gadget. He was also heard as Chef Truffles in Babar, Ruckus in X-Men: The Animated Series (for which he also served as voice director), and various roles on Star Wars: Droids, and Beetlejuice, among many other roles.
Bree Tiffin, 50, on Nov. 3, of cancer. Hailing from Prince Albert, SK, after obtaining her Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and Communications at the University of Regina, Tiffin began her broadcasting career with CBC-TV in Regina as a researcher on Utopia Café in the mid-1990s. A job with Discovery Channel in Toronto followed as a segment producer on The Daily Planet, and then a three-year stint as an associate producer with CTV, working on programs like W5 and 21c. Various director, story editor and producer credits followed on series like Late Night Eats, Vintage Tech Hunters, Beyond Corner Gas: Tales from Dog River (2005), Decked Out (2011) and Property Brothers Forever Home (2019). Tiffin ascended to the role of VP of Content at Boat Rocker Media’s Crooked Horse, before joining Scott Brother Entertainment in 2020 as a programming executive.
Herby Moreau, 56, on Nov. 3, of complications from myeloma. Haitian-born, Moreau arrived in Montreal at the age of five. After studying at École Supérieure de journalisme de Lille in France, he worked at France 2, TV5, and M6. He eventually returned to Montreal and started as a production assistant for Julie Synder in 1989 on the set of “Sortir.” He would go on to work with Snyder for 18 years, before hosting his own shows, including “Flash” on TQS, “Star Système” and “Star Académie.” He also established himself on the red carpet of A-list events like the Oscars and Cannes Film Festival. Moreau additionally worked as a reporter for La Première, Elle Québec, and served as a culture reporter for TVA. In 2009, he created his own internet video channel, herby.tv. He published “Glamour et faux pas” in 2014, recounting his many celebrity encounters.
TV & FILM:
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CP24 relocated from the iconic 299 Queen St. West building in downtown Toronto to Bell Media’s Agincourt studios in Scarborough on Tuesday, Nov. 26 to join a news hub, alongside CTV National News, CTV News Toronto, CTVNews.ca, and CTV News Channel. Bell Media says CP24 will still have a presence at 299 Queen St. West, ensuring continued coverage from downtown Toronto. A spokesperson also confirmed there are no plans at this time to remove a holdover from the building’s Citytv days, the former City Pulse Chevrolet G-Series truck, which was eventually rebranded with the CP24 logo.
Sheridan College has paused 40 of its programs in the wake of the federal government’s international student cap. In the Faculty of Animation, Arts & Design, Journalism, Visual and Creative Arts – Advanced Diploma, Visual Merchandising Design, Game Level Design and Honours Bachelor of Photography are being suspended. Current students will have the opportunity to graduate from the programs in which they are enrolled, with programs to close on a rolling basis over the coming months and years as the college anticipates a 30% drop in enrollment. Centennial College has also cancelled 2025 enrollment for its Children’s Media program, scheduled to start in January.
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UBCP/ACTRA celebrated the best in film, television, and new media in British Columbia at the 13th Annual UBCP/ACTRA Awards at the Commodore Ballroom in Vancouver. Michelle Harrison won Best Lead Performance, Motion Picture for Re: Uniting, while Jewel Staite claimed Best Lead Performance, Series for Family Law. In addition to eight performance awards, the John Juliani Award of Excellence was presented to actor John Cassini for his contributions as a performer and significant accomplishments within the industry. Find the full list of winners and nominees here.
ACTRA Manitoba announced the winners of the 2024 ACTRA Manitoba Awards on Nov. 23 at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights. Adam Hurtig led this year’s performance wins, claiming both Outstanding Performance in a Feature for Melaleuca, and Outstanding Performance in a Short for Playing Life. Outstanding Performance in a Series honours went to Paul Essiembre for The Porter and Darla Contois for Little Bird. The Wayne Nicklas Award was presented to Kenny Boyce, the City of Winnipeg’s Manager, Film and Special Events for more than two decades, for his outstanding contribution to Manitoba’s film & television industry. The ACTRA Manitoba Award went to Kistikan Pictures (Acting Good) for their dedicated commitment to Manitoba performers.
Canada’s Walk of Fame has announced the first round of Inductees for 2025, including actress, advocate and producer Tonya Williams. She’ll be joined by guitarist Liona Boyd, golfer Mike Weir, pioneering cardiovascular surgeon Dr. Tirone David, children’s wellness champion Dr. Samantha Nutt, and Our Lady Peace. Canada’s Walk of Fame will host its annual Awards Show and Gala Celebration Event on June 14 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre.
The Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS) has announced that Michael Bublé will host and perform at the 2025 JUNO Awards broadcast. The 15-time JUNO-winner returns as host for a third time, live from his hometown of Vancouver. The 54th Annual JUNO Awards, produced by Insight Productions, will broadcast and stream live across Canada from Rogers Arena on March 30 at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on CBC TV, CBC Gem, CBC Radio One, CBC Music, CBC Listen, and globally at CBCMusic.ca/junos and CBC Music’s YouTube page. Sum 41 will be inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame during a special presentation and performance, while Live Nation Canada’s Riley O’Connor will be presented with the Walt Grealis Special Achievement Award.
CBC has announced streaming and broadcast premiere dates for its winter 2025 slate of new and returning programming on CBC Gem and CBC TV. New Allan Hawco drama Saint-Pierre (10×60) premieres Monday Jan. 6 (9 p.m.). Hawco co-stars alongside Joséphine Jobert (Death in Paradise) as seasoned officers with different policing skills and approaches, forced to work together to solve crimes in Saint-Pierre et Miquelon, the French territory just off the coast of Newfoundland. New comedy series North of North (8×30) premieres in Canada on CBC Gem, CBC TV and APTN on Tuesday, Jan. 7, prior to its global launch on Netflix in spring 2025. Filmed in Iqaluit, the series stars Inuk actor Anna Lambe (True Detective, Trickster, The Grizzlies) as a young Inuk woman who dreams of reinventing herself in her tiny Arctic community of Ice Cove. Comedy Small Achievable Goals (8×30) debuts Tuesday, Feb. 25 (9 p.m.) featuring Baroness von Sketch Show’s Jennifer Whalen and Meredith MacNeill as two wildly different women in the throes of menopause, thrust together to produce a podcast.
Crave has ordered a second season of its popular original docuseries, The Rebuild: Inside The Montreal Canadiens. Currently in production, Season 2 takes viewers behind the scenes of the Bleu-Blanc-Rouge’s 2024-25 season, to witness the team’s growth as new players and promising young talent join the roster. Season 1, which premiered in September in English and French, was one of the most-viewed French titles on Crave and the #1 Crave Original factual series since Crave became a bilingual TV and streaming series in 2020. The premiere season is set to make its linear TV debut on RDS, beginning Friday, Nov. 29, and on TSN, Saturday, Nov. 30.
Asian Television Network (ATN) has acquired and renewed broadcast rights for New Zealand Cricket for three more years. ATN will have the exclusive Canadian rights for all home matches, including international games featuring the Blackcaps (men’s team) and the White Ferns (women’s team), as well as domestic competitions like the Super Smash. All games will be aired live on CBN and ATN Cricket Plus, both available nationally on various cable and satellite platforms across Canada.
ONLINE & DIGITAL MEDIA:
YouTube now ranks second in overall TV usage in the U.S., according to Nielsen’s “Media Distributor Gauge” for October, which offers a cross-platform view of total TV consumption across broadcast, cable and streaming. YouTube, with a 10.6% share, was behind Disney (11.7%), which reclaimed the top spot buoyed by bumps in ESPN and ABC sports viewing. NBCUniversal came in third with a 9.2% share, followed by Paramount (8.7%) and Fox (8.4%). Netflix was ranked sixth with a 7.5% share. YouTube has also overtaken Spotify as the preferred podcast listening service, according to Edison Podcast Metrics’ data indicating 31% of weekly podcast listeners age 13+ choose YouTube as the service they use most to listen to podcasts, surpassing Spotify (27%) and Apple Podcasts (15%).
✨💞MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENT💞✨
Introducing: Bubble Pop with Rachel Gilmore.
Here’s a little story of the path that brought me here ✨ pic.twitter.com/tvSnmncVqE
— Rachel Gilmore (@atRachelGilmore) November 21, 2024
Rachel Gilmore has launched her own video-driven Substack and weekly newsletter, Bubble Pop with Rachel Gilmore. The former national online reporter for Global News stipulates on her “about” page that she’s not producing content from a neutral perspective. “I operate from the perspective that racism, transphobia and other forms of hate are bad. I won’t both-sides those issues,” writes Gilmore. “I check all my facts — and yours — so we can participate in this world without undue influence from bad actors and grifters who tell us what to think.”
REGULATORY, TELECOM & MEDIA:
Mark Gerretson, the Liberal MP for Kingston, has introduced a petition in the House of Commons, calling on the federal government to prop up local radio and television news following another string of layoffs. The petition asks the government to extend the Canadian Journalism Labour Tax Credit to include radio and television; dedicate 70% of federal government advertising dollars on local radio, TV, print and digital media; and eliminate tax-deductions for advertising purchased on foreign-owned, internet-delivered media sites and services.
The CRTC is launching three public consultations on internet and cellphone plans, allowing the public to share their experiences with the commission. The CRTC is considering new measures to ensure Canadians get notified when their plans or discounts are about to end to avoid bill shock by knowing in advance when prices are about to change. Second, the CRTC is looking at stopping providers from charging fees when Canadians cancel or change their plans. Third, the CRTC is exploring how self-serve options could help Canadians when they need to change or cancel plans. The CRTC is accepting comments until Jan. 9. In the coming weeks, the commission says it will launch additional consultations, including a proceeding designed to make it easier to compare plans when shopping for internet services.
Taylor Swift fans on the Rogers 5G network shattered previous sharing and streaming records at Rogers Centre on Nov. 21.
“Swifties” set a new record for sharing and streaming the most content ever at a single event at the venue, using 7.4 terabytes (TB) of mobile data in just a few hours – the equivalent of uploading 182,000 photos and 1,600 hours of video streaming. The previous record at Rogers Centre was set by Indian entertainer Diljit Dosanjh in July of this year when fans consumed 5.4TB of data. Read more here.
CBC and RTDNF Canada have announced Tharsha Ravichakaravarthy as the inaugural recipient of the CBC David Suzuki Scholarship. The $5,000 scholarship recognizes students from racialized communities with a demonstrated interest in science journalism who are in their final year of a college or university journalism program. Ravichakaravarthy has an Honours Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Toronto, with a double major in Global Health and Statistics, and recently completed a journalism diploma at Seneca Polytechnic, where she made the President’s Honour List and received the Susan Anton Clark Award, Bob Hesketh Memorial Award and the Canadian Journalism Foundation’s Narcity News Creator Fellowship. She worked as a clinical researcher in oncology and planetary health before pursuing a career in journalism.
The International Student Broadcasting Championship (ISBC) has announced its 2024 winners, recognizing exceptional student talent and innovation in radio, podcasting, digital content, and esports casting. Bringing together participants from universities and colleges spanning five continents, this year’s Best Sports Play-by-Play honour was claimed by Queen’s University student Zayden Vergara, who has served as a sports reporter at campus radio station, CFRC 101.9.
BROADCAST TECH & ENGINEERING:
NAB Show has opened its Call for Speakers for its 2025 edition, April 5-9, in Las Vegas. NAB Show is accepting proposals and abstracts for conference sessions, panels, show floor theatres, speakers, and more on trends and topics, including Artificial Intelligence, Creator Economy, Sports, Streaming/OTT (FAST, SVOD, AVOD), Cloud Virtualization, Media Business Strategies, Advertising and Monetization, Audio Entertainment and Podcasting, Cinematography and Lighting, and Engineering/Technical. The submission deadline is Dec. 20.
