Christensen passed away Thursday afternoon, according to a Facebook post from his partner of 43 years, Ingrid, who worked alongside him on Broadcast Dialogue for almost three decades – growing its reputation as “the broadcast industry publication of record.”

Christensen’s career as an anchor, editor and reporter started at CHAM Hamilton in 1972, with stops at CKJD Sarnia, CHYM Kitchener, CHUM Toronto, CJAD Montreal, and CKVR-TV Barrie to follow. He joined the Broadcast News (BN) wire service in Toronto as a reporter/editor in 1977. When network newscasts were launched, Christensen was one of the six original newscasters who helped take BN into a new era of Canadian news audio delivery. In 1981, he was promoted to General Executive – Eastern Canada with responsibility for all Canadian radio and TV stations east of the Ontario/Manitoba border.

In 1989, the entrepreneurial bug bit. He started by writing, producing, and voicing corporate videos and writing and designing company newsletters, including one for BN.

Recognizing a lack of timeliness in the dissemination of broadcast industry news, Christensen launched Broadcast Dialogue in May 1992. Sent out weekly by fax, before long the Canadian broadcast community couldn’t live without their Thursday morning “fix.”

In 1998, Broadcast Dialogue was expanded to a monthly magazine. Together with editor Barry Hamelin, a colleague from his time at BN, they reimagined the publication.

In 2013, anticipating the tectonic changes about to take place within the broadcast industry, Christensen combined the weekly Broadcast Dialogue with the monthly magazine. Following the announcement of his retirement in 2016, the publication was acquired by publisher Shawn Smith, President of Vancouver-based Momentum Media Marketing.

“Howard Christensen was the north star for all of us who work in the Canadian broadcast industry,” said Smith. “Through Broadcast Dialogue, he kept us informed and current, fostering a community of professionals from coast-to-coast, starting at a time before the internet, FaceTime, and social media. Meticulous, passionate, and endlessly funny, Howard will be greatly missed. His legacy will last long into the future. Our love and condolences go out to Ingrid and family.”

Over the years, Christensen was honoured with “Friend of the Industry” awards from the Atlantic Association of Broadcasters, the Central Canada Broadcasters Association (now the OAB), the Western Association of Broadcasters (WAB) and the British Columbia Association of Broadcasters (BCAB), Radio-Television News Directors Association (now RTDNA), Central Canada Broadcast Engineers (CCBE) and the Western Association of Broadcast Engineers (WABE). In 2020, Broadcast Dialogue dubbed its new Canadian Radio Awards program “The Howards” to honour the publication’s founder. Broadcast Dialogue celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2022.

Following their retirement, the Christensens spent the majority of the last decade near the shore of Lake Simcoe at Lagoon City, ON.

Howard Christensen was a guest on Broadcast Dialogue – The Podcast back in 2016. Listen to that episode here:

The post Broadcast Dialogue founder Howard Christensen dead at 80 appeared first on Broadcast Dialogue.

Wayne Webster is set to retire from Stingray’s boom 97.3 (CHBM-FM) at the end of the summer after nearly five decades in Toronto radio. Webster started his 48-year career in 1977 as an intern at Q107 (CILQ-FM) after graduating from Humber College. His internship eventually turned into a full-time job as Music Director at CHUM-FM from 1979-87. From there, he joined CKFM as music director and Assistant Program Director, which evolved into Mix 99.9 where he spent a total of 21 years. He additionally programmed the music on SiriusXM Canadian rock channel, Iceberg Radio. Webster has been boom 97.3’s Music Director since 2009. Read more here.

Jack Miller is retiring from Quinte Broadcasting on Aug. 8 after a 51-year career in broadcasting. Miller, 71, has served as Sports Director for Quinte’s Belleville area stations – CJBQ, MIX 97 (CIGL-FM), and  ROCK 107 (CJTN-FM), since 1974. Among other regional sports work, Miller has served as the voice of the Belleville Bulls and Belleville Senators, hosted Global’s Ontario Hockey League Game of the Week, did colour commentary for the Ottawa Senators and has been part of World Junior Hockey broadcasts from Europe. He was previously celebrated on April 22, 2022 when the City of Belleville declared it Jack Miller Day and officially dedicated the press box at CAA Arena as the Jack Miller Broadcast and Media Centre.

Mike Letourneau has joined Torres Media as Technology Consultant to assist the company and its radio properties with IT and Engineering strategy, processes, and project management. Letourneau most recently led on-air support for Corus Entertainment’s conventional and specialty television from 2019, up until earlier this year. He previously served as Director of IT at Astral Television / Bell Media, and Enterprise Projects Director at BroadView Software. He started his broadcast career as the first dedicated IT hire for Q107 (CILQ-FM) and AM640  (CFMJ-AM) Toronto.

Leah Holiove is joining 1130 NewsRadio (CKWX-AM) as a traffic anchor. Holiove is a veteran on-air talent, who most recently was heard on CKNW contributing to “The Wrap” segment on The Jas Johal Show. She previously anchored traffic on CKWX from 2013-16.

Fatima Raza has joined the Visuals Desk at The Canadian Press (CP), following her successful CJF-CP News Creator Fellowship. In her new role, she’ll produce and edit news videos from pitch to publication, monitor live events, and contribute to visual storytelling. Raza has previously worked with Metroland Media Group as a reporter under the Local Journalism Initiative.

Kevin Ma has been appointed Network Media Group’s new Chief Financial Officer. Ma is currently the principal of corporate finance advisory firm, Calibre Capital Partners Corp., and has over 19 years of financial management and public company experience.

Nishant Grover is the new president of Ericsson Canada. Grover replaces Jeanette Irekvist, who had held the position since 2020 and will be transitioning to a global leadership role at Ericsson’s headquarters in Sweden. With 18 years of Ericsson experience, Grover most recently served as Head of Network Product Sales within Ericsson’s AT&T Customer Unit based in Dallas-Fort Worth, where he led key strategic initiatives and drove growth in the U.S.

RADIO & PODCAST:

The CRTC has approved an application by Cabin Radio to operate a new English-language commercial FM radio station in Yellowknife, while turning Vista Radio down for a second licence in the market. Cabin Radio has operated online since March 2018, broadcasting via its website and app as though it were a commercial FM station. The outlet was previously denied an FM licence in 2023, but that was before that summer’s wildfires threatened the community of roughly 20,000 highlighting the importance of local news, prompting the commission to re-open applications after Cabin Radio appealed for an exception. In a release, the CRTC said the decision would “help Yellowknife residents have better access to local news and community-focused programming, including Indigenous voices while reflecting the realities and priorities of people in the North in our broadcasting system.” Read more here.

Shushma Datt, the founder of Metro Vancouver’s RJ1200/Sp!ce Radio (CJRJ-AM) and the first Indo-Canadian woman to be granted a broadcast licence, has announced the sale of the station pending CRTC approval. Datt worked at The Times of India and the BBC before moving to Canada in 1972. Facing significant racism from mainstream outlets because of her Indian accent, by 1984 she started her own radio station, Radio Rim Jhim, which carried South Asian content and broadcast on a sub-carrier frequency. She launched Sp!ce Radio, licensed to Burnaby, in 2005. Datt said in an announcement Thursday she and son Sudhir Datta would step away from their leadership roles with the station “to pursue new directions in their personal and professional journeys.” Read more here.

Durham Radio’s Hamilton/Burlington Country station KX 94.7 (CHKX-FM) celebrates 14 years on-air this Friday, Aug. 1. Durham Radio President Doug Kirk tell us that even more noteworthy is the fact that morning show team, Bill Toffan & Melissa Forsyth, midday host Linda Martelli, afternoon drive personality Derm Carnduff and weekend and evening host Mike Fuller, are there in the same positions they were on Aug. 1, 2011. CHKX-FM originally launched on Sept. 1, 2000, as CIWV-FM with a smooth jazz format, prior to its flip to Country.

The National Campus and Community Radio Association (NCRA/ANREC) says a new national survey it’s commissioned affirms that campus and community radio is a growing source of trusted media. Conducted by Abacus Data from June 26 to July 2, the survey of 1,500 Canadians found that nearly one-third (32%) regularly (10%) or occasionally (22%) listen to campus or community radio—a significant increase from 2017 when that number was at 19% and up from 26% in 2022. Among Canadians aged 18-29, regular (15%) and occasional (33%) listenership rises to 48%. Read more here.

The Indigenous Screen Office (ISO) has announced the nine podcasts funded through the second year of its Podcasting Program. Through the ISO Story Fund, a total of $200,000 is being invested in the 2024–25 fiscal year, supporting the development and creation of podcasts by Indigenous screen-based and audio storytellers. This year’s recipients include six projects based in Ontario and three in B.C. Among them are Season 3 of Auntie Up!, hosted by Tanya Talaga, Kim Wheeler and Jolene Banning, as well as Criminals on Patrol, a podcast from Mi’kmaq lawyer, professor and author Dr. Pam Palmater diving into the seedy underbelly of law enforcement in North America. Find the full list of supported podcasts here.

Media Technology Monitor (MTM) has released new data from its MTM Newcomers report finding just one in three newcomers to Canada listens to traditional AM/FM radio, significantly lower than the seven in 10 Canadian-born respondents. More than nine in 10 newcomers listen to some form of online audio, a stark contrast to three in four Canadian-born individuals. Streaming music on YouTube is the most popular online audio destination for newcomers, with nearly four in five engaging with the platform for audio content.

Triton Digital has released the latest Canada Podcast Ranker for the June 2025 reporting period (June 2-29), as measured by Triton’s Podcast Metrics measurement service. In June, the overall Top Sales Network was once again CBC/Radio-Canada with 2.2M Average Weekly Downloads, followed by Audioboom with 1.1M Average Weekly Downloads, and NPR at #3 with 758K Average Weekly Downloads. The three Top Canada Podcasts ranked overall – also overlapping with the three Top Canada-Originated English-Language Podcasts – were CBC/Radio-Canada’s Front Burner at #1, The World This Hour at #2, and World Report at #3. The three Top Canada-Originated French-Language Podcasts were again La revue de presse de Paul Arcand (Cogeco Media) at #1 and Le Radiojournal (Radio Canada) at #2. Jumping to #3 in June was Alexandre Dubé (QUB).

StanLand is a new scripted comedy audio series from The Sonar Network launching this week, featuring some big Hollywood names (Rhea Seehorn, Bobby Moynihan, Jon Hamm, John Waters, Steve Little), but built from the ground up by a small, independent team with deep roots in Toronto. The limited series takes place in a surreal fantasy world overrun with vape shops and gated golf resorts and Toronto’s comedy community is all over it. Alongside the cast are familiar Toronto voices James Hartnett, Kris Siddiqi, Mark Little, Alexa Steele, Devon Hyland, Shannon Lahaie, and Cody Crain.

LISTEN: Norma Jean Belenky, the host of Podbiz, is on the Sound Off Podcast. She and Matt Cundill explore her life before PodBiz, from teaching English in South Korea to creating music and working at Podbean, which ultimately led her to launch her own podcast focused on how creators can make money in this evolving medium. She and Matt look beyond simple download numbers, discussing niche audiences and creating genuine value for listeners, emerging trends like video podcasting and community building.

SIGN OFFS:

Matt O’Neill, 55, on July 25. O’Neill is best known for his run on JACK FM (CJAQ-FM) mornings in Calgary, alongside co-host Eric Francis. “The Matt and Eric Show” started airing in May 2003, shortly after the station’s launch, running for 12 years before its cancellation in 2015. O’Neill was vocal about his struggles with both mental health and alcoholism, and returned to the morning show two years later alongside Sarah Crosbie where he opened up on-air about his personal life after getting sober. O’Neill, who moved to Calgary in 2000, formerly spent five years at Mix 99.9 (CKFM-FM) Toronto, in addition to stints at CKNS Espanola, among other stations. He was diagnosed with cancer in early 2024.

TV & FILM:

Bell and Rogers have announced an agreement to distribute each other’s specialty channels across platforms, ending a carriage dispute stemming from changes in the content licensing rights landscape that saw Rogers scoop rights to Warner Bros. Discovery’s suite of English-language U.S. lifestyle and factual brands from Bell and Corus Entertainment last year. Under the agreement, Bell Fibe TV and Satellite TV subscribers will now have access to Rogers Sports & Media channels HGTV, Food Network, Discovery, Magnolia Network and Investigation Discovery, along with continued access to Bravo. Conversely, Rogers Xfinity customers will continue to have full access to Bell Media’s Specialty portfolio, which includes USA Network, Oxygen True Crime, and CTV specialty channels, including CTV Comedy Channel, CTV Drama Channel and CTV Sci-Fi Channel. Read more here.

Bell Media’s entertainment and sports bundles featuring Crave, TSN, and RDS are now available via Prime Video Subscriptions in Canada. The bundles offer savings when services are combined compared to individual subscriptions.

George Stroumboulopoulos is undertaking a cross-country tour on behalf of collaborative industry effort, MADE | NOUS, asking Canadians “What Canadian film and television MADE you?” The MADE | NOUS campaign is shining a spotlight on the achievements of Canadian storytellers across film, TV and digital media, encouraging audiences to discover and celebrate their work. Starting in Vancouver last week and concluding in Toronto in September, Stroumboulopoulos will journey across Canada, accompanied by a film crew, making stops along the way in Edmonton, Calgary, Montreal, Saint John, Moncton, P.E.I., and Nunavut. Read more here.

Lilith Fair: Building A Mystery, the feature-length documentary from director Ally Pankiw (I Used to Be Funny, Black Mirror, The Great), will premiere in Canada on Sept. 17 on CBC and CBC Gem and Sunday, Sept. 21, on Hulu and Hulu on Disney+ in the U.S., as well as Disney+ internationally (excluding Canada), following its world premiere at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival. The doc tells the untold story of the groundbreaking music festival featuring only women artists, started by iconic Canadian singer-songwriter Sarah McLachlan and her team in the late 1990s, in opposition to systematic industry barriers that limited women from playing together on a concert bill and getting back-to-back radio airplay. The film is produced with the support of original Lilith Fair founders Sarah McLachlan, Terry McBride, Dan Fraser and Marty Diamond. 

CBC documentary Under the Arbor from writer and director Hayley Morin (Joe Buffalo, Smudge the Blades) will be premiering nationwide on CBC Gem starting Aug. 15, and CBC TV the following day. A version of the film in Cree will also be available on CBC Gem. Under the Arbor is a journey through the heart of the Powwow trail, told by the dancers, singers, and families who live it. Filmed over one summer across Treaty 6 territory, the doc follows champion dancers, grassroots drummers, and proud aunties as they gather in celebration, competition, and connection. 

Coastal Carvings (13 x 30′), a new docuseries for APTN, features Métis brothers Jeremy and Jerett Humpherville, who work together at the Coastal Carvings Fine Art Gallery in Coombs, BC, renowned for its contemporary and historic Indigenous art. Each episode focuses on different personal stories and inspiring art pieces. Produced by Rogue River Films, the series premieres on APTN lumi starting Aug. 25, with its broadcast premiere on APTN on Sept. 1, with a new episode airing every week. The Blackfoot version also premieres Sept. 1 on APTN Languages. 

Oasis headlines Hollywood Suite’s August programming with the exclusive Canadian premiere of Oasis: Live at the City of Manchester Stadium (2005) on Aug. 24. Also premiering on Hollywood Suite is Skeet (2024), a drama set in St. John’s, NL, about a recently-released convict played by Sean Dalton of The Trews. It’s set to premiere on the Hollywood Suite 2010s+ Movies channel Aug. 6. The channel is also premiering The Legend in Me (2024) on Aug. 27, a documentary following Chas Conacher, the great-grandchild of Canadian sports legend Lionel Conacher, and the challenges they face while exploring both the weight of their family’s star-athlete lineage and the evolving landscape of queer identity. 

Fifth Season has inked a wave of global sales, including for the UK and Ireland, across the first and second seasons of Sight Unseen (10 x 60’ each), the crime drama produced by Blink49 Studios and Front Street Pictures for CTV  and The CW.  The new deals include 5 and Paramount+ UK & Ireland picking up the first and second season. Additionally, Play Media (Belgium), AXN Asia (Pan Regional), Nine Network (Australia), yes (Israel), Disney Bulgaria, Action Channel (Japan) and Talpa TV (Netherlands) have also acquired both seasons. Further deals for season one include Warner Bros. Discovery (New Zealand) and Disney Middle East. The series stars newcomer Dolly Lewis and Agam Darshi (DMZ), alongside Jarod Joseph (The 100) and Daniel Gillies (Virgin River).

Corus Entertainment’s Nelvana and Toikido, a London-based entertainment company specializing in digital design and toys, have announced a partnership with ITV in the UK for animated series Piñata Smashlings (26×11). The highly-anticipated series based on the popular gaming IP will launch on ITVX this September. It will also premiere on NOGA in Israel early next year, in addition to a previously-announced rollout on YTV and STACKTV in Canada with new episodes launching this fall.

The CaribbeanTales International Film Festival (CTFF) has announced its 20th anniversary edition, Sept. 3-13 in Toronto and online Sept. 3 – Oct. 3. Under the theme “Resilience in Motion,” the milestone festival will celebrate two decades of transformative storytelling from across the Caribbean region and its global diaspora with 49 films. Festival highlights include Opening Night film: Bankie Banx: King of the Dune (Nara Garber, Anguilla/USA), featuring reggae icon Bankie Banx (aka Anguillan Bob Dylan), singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffet, actor Kevin Bacon, and Stephen “Cat” Coore (founding guitarist with Third World). 

ACTRA Toronto, in partnership with Ontario’s Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development, has announced an amendment to the Occupational Health and Safety Act’s (OHSA) Diving Operations Regulation, formally recognizing the unique nature of diving in the screen industry, covering film, television, advertising, live broadcast, web-based, and video game production. Effective July 1, the regulation now reflects the realities of underwater work in screen-based storytelling, often involving highly choreographed, shallow water, and time-limited sequences. Previously, film and TV productions were subject to the same rules as commercial or industrial diving operations.

REGULATORY, TELECOM & MEDIA:

The CRTC has upheld a finding that OneSoccer is owned, operated and controlled by Canadians, refuting a claim by Rogers that the cable giant was effectively negotiating a carry agreement with Spain’s Mediapro. Rogers filed the complaint with the CRTC last summer, disputing an earlier finding by the commission that OneSoccer was operated by Canadians. Prior to that in March 2023, the commission found Rogers was giving itself undue preference by refusing to carry the sports streamer in competition with offerings from Sportsnet and Bell. The CRTC on Monday found that parent company, Timeless, was, in fact, the one pulling the strings at the time of the filing of the undue preference complaint and all the way through to its March decision, effectively resolving any outstanding issues preventing negotiations. Read more in our sister publication, CARTT.ca (paywalled).

Videotron workers (SEVL-CUPE 2815) have voted in favour of a tentative agreement, following an early bargaining mandate granted to the 2,500-member union last spring. After an intensive round of negotiations, the new five-year contract is set to take effect on Jan. 1, 2026, and run through Jan. 1, 2030. It includes annual wage increases of 4% for each of the first three years, followed by a fourth-year adjustment tied to the consumer price index (CPI) with a minimum of 2% and a maximum of 3%, and 3% in the fifth year. The union says the increases are intended to protect members’ purchasing power in the face of inflation. The current collective agreement expires on Dec. 31.

Cogeco Communications has launched  its mobile service in Canada. Cogeco Mobile is now available to new and existing Cogeco internet subscribers who bring their own device in Québec (Alma, Magog, Rimouski, Saint-Georges, Saint-Hyacinthe, Saint-Sauveur, Sept-Îles and Trois-Rivières) and Ontario (Brockville, Chatham, Cobourg, Cornwall and Welland). A complete rollout to all Cogeco markets is planned for the fall.

Journalists for Human Rights (JHR) has joined the call led by over 100 humanitarian organizations, demanding an immediate end to Israel’s policy of restricting aid to Gaza, which has led to mass starvation, including of journalists. According to the International News Safety Institute (INSI), lack of food and clean water has severely impacted journalists’ ability to do their jobs. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) warns that Israeli restrictions on humanitarian aid are “starving Gazan journalists into silence.” JHR is also amplifying INSI’s call to allow international journalists into Gaza. Since the start of the conflict, more than 186 journalists have been killed, including 178 Palestinian, six Lebanese and two Israeli media workers – the deadliest conflict for journalists in CPJ’s 33 years of data collection.

BROADCAST TECH & ENGINEERING:

LISTEN: Broadcast archives and the original tech they were recorded on is the kind of material collectors Barry Silverthorn and Hamza ‘Betamax,‘ as he’s known, are on a mission to preserve as part of their project, Mediatheque: The Museum of Broadcast Technology. Currently located in Belleville, Ontario, we welcome Barry and Hamza to Broadcast Dialogue – The Podcast to talk about fostering their shared passion for nostalgia and raising awareness of the importance of preserving Canada’s broadcast heritage. 

Bell Canada and AI-driven security company Cohere have announced a strategic partnership to provide full-stack AI solutions for government and enterprise customers in Canada and within Bell. Cohere will make its secure enterprise-grade AI solutions available through Bell AI Fabric, including leveraging North, its agentic AI platform for both customers and Bell employees. In turn, Bell will become Cohere’s preferred Canadian AI infrastructure provider.

The post The Weekly Briefing appeared first on Broadcast Dialogue.

Jeffrey Orridge, CEO of TVO, is leaving the Ontario public broadcaster on Aug. 15 for another opportunity. Chief Operating Officer Jennifer Hinshelwood will assume the role of Acting CEO. Orridge, a former CFL commissioner and CBC executive, took up the role in late 2020. Read more here.

 

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Vicki Shae has departed Corus Entertainment’s Country 99 (CFPG-FM) Winnipeg, posting that she’s leaving for a yet-to-be revealed opportunity. She had been helming afternoons on the station since October of last year when Corus moved to rebrand Power 97 (CJKR-FM) as Winnipeg’s Iconic Alternative. She was formerly heard on Power Mornings alongside Jay Richardson.

Tia Rodgers has joined Stingray Halifax as a Media Sales Strategist. Rodgers previously worked with Bell Media for 23 years in the market, holding roles from Traffic Coordinator and Commercial Producer to Advertising Sales.

David Akin, Global News’ Chief Political Correspondent, is now acting Ottawa Bureau Chief while Mercedes Stephenson is on maternity leave. Stephenson, 44, is expecting her first child in September.

Bob Kane has announced his departure from Libsyn Ads, where he’s been Country Manager for Canada for the last three years. Prior to Libsyn, Kane served as VP of Sales at The Podcast Exchange (TPX) and was Senior Manager of Brand Partnerships for CBC. Kane says he’s seeking “new partnerships to help podcast creators make money.”

Matt Hird has been upped to Vice President at Signal Hill Insights. Hird has been with the audience insights company as Senior Research Director since 2023 and prior to that worked with the company from 2017 to 2022 as an Insights Consultant. He’s also held research and audience development roles with CBC, Pacific Content, Rogers Sports & Media and Bell Media.

Lori Rosenberg succeeds Carol Cooper as head of the Canadian Retransmission Commission. Cooper, who had led the organization for 33 years, remains in an advisory capacity during a transitional period. Rosenberg is a Toronto-based media and content consultant, who most recently served as Vice President, Contracts for the Canadian Communication Systems Alliance (CCSA). She also sits on the board of directors for Friends of Canadian Media and CTAM Canada.

Laura Crowson has been hired as Senior Vice President of Global Development for Great Pacific Media (GPM), the unscripted arm of Thunderbird Entertainment Group. Reporting to GPM CEO David Way, she’ll be based in L.A. Crowson arrives from Warner Bros. Discovery, where she served as VP of Development and oversaw series and specials for Discovery Channel, Science Channel, Animal Planet, and Max. 

RADIO & PODCAST:

SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITY: As we prepare for the annual Broadcast Dialogue Canadian Radio Awards, we invite you to join us in 2025 in acknowledging and supporting this vibrant industry. Your involvement is more than just a marketing opportunity; it’s a statement of support for an industry integral to the cultural and social fabric of our country. Read more from Rob Brimacombe, our VP, Sales + Partnerships, here.

The Canadian Country Music Association (CCMA) has unveiled the official nominees for the 2025 CCMA Awards. Edmonton’s CFCW goes into the awards with three nominations, including Radio Station of the Year (Large Market), Country Music Program or Special of the Year for Heartstrings & Honky Tonks and a Country Personalities of the Year nod for morning show duo Dan Davidson and Stella Stevens. Pure Country 106 (CICX-FM) Orillia earned two nominations – Radio Station of the Year, Medium or Small Market, and Country Personality of the Year for Jason McCoy. The syndicated Pure Country Top 50 Countdown also received a nomination. Read more here.

SiriusXM Canada has confirmed the satellite radio provider’s ad-supported subscription tier, announced by the company’s U.S. counterpart last week, will be available on this side of the border. SiriusXM Play marks the introduction of the company’s first low-cost, ad-supported subscription package, available for $7 USD/month, significantly less than its other tiers which range from $14.99 to $24.98 stateside. Similar plans in Canada, currently run $16.80 to $28.80 monthly, with an app-only subscription priced at $9.99/month. SiriusXM said in its U.S. announcement that ads would be “limited” (half the ad-load of traditional radio at launch). Read more here.

Amazon Alexa users in Canada are invited to join a proposed national class action to recover compensation for Amazon’s (alleged) misuse of data collected from Alexa users. If you live in Canada and had a user account with Amazon’s Alexa between 2014 and July 19, 2023, you may be eligible for the class action. The claim alleges that Amazon’s Alexa products and services collected significantly more personal information about users than was disclosed, retained that information indefinitely, even after users attempted to delete it, and then used that information for Amazon’s profit to train algorithms, AI and machine learning software. 

JAZZ.FM91 (CJRT-FM) Toronto is presenting the fifth season of Discover Women in Jazz, in collaboration with the Pat and Tony Adams Freedom Fund for the Arts and the Brian Facey and Julie Soloway Fund for the Arts. The concert series features five artists from the Greater Toronto Area, with this year’s cohort including Micaela Rae, Racha Moukalled, Grace ‘JiJi’ Gayle, Aretha Tillotson and Madeleine Ertel. One concert will be broadcast live to air and live-streamed to YouTube each week from Thursday, July 31 through Thursday, Aug. 28. Listeners can also tune in to Jazzology every Wednesday at 9 p.m. and Sunday at 8 a.m. ET to get to know more about this year’s artists leading up to their concerts. 

The Pro Bono Group’s Pro Radio Project is ongoing, with its latest PSA “Kick” affirming research that social media advertising used in combination with radio ads gets better results for businesses than social ads alone. Pro Bono Group says the goal with “Kick” is to change the conversation from “Digital OR Radio” to “Digital AND Radio.” Stations can air the new PSA in conjunction with other spots under the Pro Radio Project. Learn more here.

Just For Laughs organizers have confirmed the Handsome Podcast, hosted by Tig Notaro, Fortune Feimster, and Canadian comedian Mae Martin, will receive the Podcast of the Year Award at the Just For Laughs Awards Show on July 25 as part of ComedyPRO 2025. Comedian, writer and actress Sabrina Jalees will present the award.

LISTEN: Jon Pole, President of My Broadcasting Corporation, believes some of radio’s best days are still ahead. The second-generation broadcaster joins Broadcast Dialogue – The Podcast to talk about MBC’s continued growth, now positioning the company as one of the biggest independent radio operators in Ontario. We also get into the Canadian content debate and regulatory burden on stations, and why Pole says his radio group is bucking downward sales trends.

LISTEN: Paul Ferguson, VP of Programming and Operations at Starboard Communications in Belleville, ON is on the Sound Off Podcast, discussing radio in a very unique market – one free from corporate ownership. Paul and Matt Cundill talk about how they keep radio relevant by focusing on local content, like the “Good News in Quinte” newsletter and a robust news website that keeps listeners informed and engaged. They also discuss the challenges of adapting to new radio regulations and why it’s crucial to own digital platforms to stay connected with audiences. 

TV & FILM:

Prime Monday Night Hockey is back this fall with a national spotlight on Canada’s biggest hockey cities. The 2025–26 season begins with a late afternoon game on Thanksgiving (Monday, Oct. 13) when the Toronto Maple Leafs host the Detroit Red Wings at 4 p.m. ET, before moving west for the second matchup of a doubleheader, with the Vancouver Canucks taking on the St. Louis Blues at 7:30 p.m. ET. Canadian matchups take centre stage on multiple nights, including an all-Canadian tilt between Ottawa and Winnipeg on Dec. 15, a primetime faceoff between Vancouver and Montreal on Jan. 12, and a Battle of Alberta on March 30. Prime Monday Night Hockey will also host a marquee Atlantic Division rivalry between the Leafs and Tampa Bay Lightning on Dec. 8.

SwearNet, the Trailer Park Boys’ video streaming site, has been rebranded as TrailerParkBoys+. The Trailer Park Boys (Mike Smith, Robb Wells and John Paul Tremblay) previously teased the move more than a year ago. The trio initially launched the service in March 2013, featuring content from the Trailer Park Boys universe.

MEM (McGillivray Entertainment Media), in association with Corus Studios, will begin principal photography on Season 3 of Home Network’s Renovation Resort in Ontario this August. This time, Scott McGillivray and Bryan Baeumler head to the lake, to turn a long-neglected resort into a vacation destination. They enlist four all-new contractor-designer duos to battle it out and create one-of-a-kind vacation homes in just eight weeks, with the winning pair receiving a $100,000 prize and the coveted title of Renovation Resort Champions. Season 3 is slated to premiere in spring 2026.

Crave all-new original docuseries, The Christine Jessop Story, debuts Friday, Aug. 8 with all three episodes available to stream. Produced in partnership with Alibi Entertainment, the one-hour true-crime series explores the decades-long case of nine-year-old Christine Jessop, who was tragically murdered in a small, rural Ontario town in 1984. 

BBC Earth has reimagined its landmark 1999 docuseries, Walking with Dinosaurs, premiering Tuesday, Aug. 26 in Canada. The six-part, one-hour series will take viewers on a journey back through time bringing to life the dramatic story of an individual dinosaur whose remains are being unearthed by leading dinosaur experts, including Alberta-based paleontologists Emily Bamforth and Mark Powers.

The Big Up Kids Incubators & Producer Residency is accepting applications until Aug. 8. The program is seeking Black women-identifying producers working in kids & family content who are pitch-ready. The residency includes $5,000 CAD in pitch deck development funding, mentorship from industry professionals, strategy sessions and masterclasses, travel to the Ottawa International Animation Festival, MIPJunior (Cannes), and the Kidscreen Summit (California), and the opportunity to pitch to global buyers and broadcasters. The residency is powered by Black Women Film & Media and made possible through the support of the Canada Media Fund and Telefilm Canada.

WIFT+ Toronto members are invited to nominate exceptional leaders in their sphere with a minimum of 10 years of experience in the screen-based industry for a 2025 Crystal Award. Award categories include: Creative Excellence, Innovation Trailblazer, International Achievement, Mentorship, Outstanding Achievement In Business, and the Special Jury Award of Distinction (as chosen by the jury). The deadline for nominations is Aug. 29.

ONLINE & DIGITAL MEDIA:

The Line is soft launching its first provincial bureau, The Line: Alberta. The online commentary and opinion site has created a standalone platform that will focus explicitly on Alberta stories, columns, and podcasts. Calgary-based broadcaster Rob Breakenridge – best known for his 20 years as a talk-show host with Corus Radio and 17 years as a columnist with the Calgary Herald – will continue to write columns for The Line, and will also host the new The Line: Alberta Podcast. 

Village Media has launched its 27th local news site, DundasToday.com. DundasToday is being helmed by longtime Flamborough Review Editor Brenda Jefferies, who has been working with Village Media since 2022. Joining Jefferies are reporters Cara Nickerson and Reagan Spencer. 

Bell Media has introduced new YouTube channel, Much Rewind, featuring classic MuchMusic content from the channel’s tape archive. Content will include full interviews from the ‘80s, ‘90s, and 2000s, with the initial videos posted featuring Noel Gallagher, Eminem, Aaliyah, and Christina Aguilera.

REGULATORY, TELECOM & MEDIA:

Rogers Communications has announced unaudited financial and operating results for the second quarter ended June 30. Total revenue and total service revenue increased by 2%, with service revenue growth across all businesses. Wireless service revenue increased by 1% primarily as a result of continued subscriber growth, while Wireless equipment revenue increased by 13% as a result of higher device sales to existing customers. Cable service revenue increased 1%, primarily as a result of retail internet subscriber growth. Media revenue increased by 10%, primarily as a result of higher sports-related revenue due to the success of the NHL playoffs and the launch of the Warner Bros. Discovery suite of television channels. Media adjusted EBITDA increased by $5 million, primarily due to higher revenue, partially offset by higher programming costs and Toronto Blue Jays expenses.

CBC/Radio-Canada has confirmed it’s been asked to participate in a federal government expenditure review that would require the public broadcaster to cut up to 15% of its total budget over the next three years. A CBC/Radio-Canada spokesperson told Broadcast Dialogue that the efficiency exercise is separate from Prime Minister Mark Carney’s commitment to invest an additional $150 million in the public broadcaster. Read more here.

OP-ED: Broadcast news veteran Tina Cortese, now Academic Chair of the School of Media at Seneca Polytechnic, reflects on the challenges journalism faces and why journalism education is still crucial as many institutions shutter their media programs. “Journalism schools are no longer just training grounds — they are incubators of civic literacy, ethical reasoning, and inclusive storytelling,” writes Cortese. Read more here.

The Trebek Initiative, a partnership between the Royal Canadian Geographical Society and the National Geographic Society, has announced six new recipients of its 2025 grants supporting research and storytelling projects in Canada. This year’s grantees include scientists, filmmakers, conservationists, and photographers examining some of the most pressing environmental issues across Canada.

BROADCAST TECH & ENGINEERING:

NLogic has announced a new partnership with Denmark-headquartered AudienceProject that will see the introduction of a new cross-platform campaign measurement solution in Canada. Built on the AudienceReport platform, which is currently active in multiple European countries, the solution will be integrated with NLogic tools like Video Planner with a goal to helping advertisers assess digital campaign performance and make better-informed planning and optimization decisions. Read more here.

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