Chris Pearson, President of Acadia Broadcasting, has announced his transition to retirement, with Senior Vice-President Shelley Snodgrass to succeed him, effective Dec. 1. Pearson, who has spent nearly four decades with the company and held the role of president since 2016, will remain on in an advisory role to support the transition. He’ll also continue as President of the Ontario Association of Broadcasters (OAB) and continue to serve on the Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB) CEO Radio Council. Based in Saint John, NB, Snodgrass has been with the company since 2016, holding roles including Vice-President, Sales. Read more here.

Tracey Connolly has been named Global Director of Broadcast Sales at Nautel, as longtime Senior Director of Broadcast Sales Wendell Lonergan retires after more than 47 years with the company. Based in Metro Halifax, Connolly’s sales background includes more than 17 years with Sysco in Atlantic Canada. Lonergan first joined Nautel in 1978 in research. Successive roles included Project Leader, Medium Wave Transmission, before being named Sales Manager, Middle East and North Africa in 2005. He’d been in his current role since 2012. Read more here.

Mike Crawley is headed to Washington, D.C. to cover the U.S. capital for CBC News. Crawley has been with the public broadcaster since 2005, initially as a reporter in Saint John, before joining the Toronto bureau where he’s been a Provincial Affairs reporter for the last 16 years.

 

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Damian Rickards (aka Mr. D), who recently announced his departure from JUMP! 106.9 (CKQB-FM) Ottawa, has joined 91.5 The Beat (CKBT-FM) Kitchener in middays from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. weekdays. Rickards has previously done two separate stints hosting evenings on 91.5 The Beat.

Danger (aka Darren Grieve) is joining Rock 101 (CFMI-FM) Vancouver on weekends. Grieve has been working with the Canadian Traffic Network (CTN) for the last decade, heard on Rogers Sports & Media’s NewsRadio 1130 (CKWX-AM), and was the host of ResurreXtion Radio on the former SONiC RADiO (CKKS-FM). He rejoins Corus Radio, where he was a host on CFOX for nearly a decade.

Brenden Escott is the new host of Edmonton Oilers hockey on CHED 880. Escott will be heard during the Face-Off Show, each intermission, and on Oilers Overtime, in addition to hosting Inside Sports weeknights from 6 – 8 p.m. He’s been with CHED since 2018, initially producing Oilers Now with Bob Stauffer.

Leah Camenzind is now Executive Director of the TELUS Fund, overseeing finance, operations and program design. With TELUS since 2017, she previously led the TELUS originals film program and co-founded the TELUS independent film program, stewarding the investment of over $15 million into the production of more than 100 social-purpose films and series. She succeeds Elizabeth Friesen, who has retired from the position after 12 years.

Jinny Howe has been named Head of UCAN (U.S.-Canada) Scripted Series at Netflix. She’ll succeed Peter Friedlander – one of the company’s longest-serving creative executives – who will be leaving the streamer after almost 14 years. Howe joined Netflix in 2018, holding the title of VP, Original Series, Drama, helping develop series like Bridgerton, Inventing Anna, The Night Agent and The Diplomat.

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Pearson, who has spent nearly four decades with the company and held the role of president since 2016, will remain on in an advisory role to support the transition. He’ll also continue his role as President of the Ontario Association of Broadcasters (OAB) and continue to serve on the Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB) CEO Radio Council.

“It has been the privilege of a lifetime to serve Acadia Broadcasting and the communities we are in,” said Pearson, in a company announcement. “I’m incredibly proud of what we’ve accomplished together, and I have full confidence in Shelley’s leadership. Her passion for our industry and her strategic insight will guide Acadia into an exciting new chapter.”

Based in Saint John, NB, Snodgrass has been with the company since 2016, holding roles including Vice-President, Sales.

“She has been instrumental in supporting Chris in the growth of the company through radio station acquisitions and the launch of a new digital brand, RoundTable Creative,” the company said. “Shelley is poised to lead Acadia Broadcasting with a focus on growth, digital transformation, and local community impact.”

“I’m honoured to step into this role and build on the legacy Chris leaves behind,” added Snodgrass. “Acadia Broadcasting has always been about connecting people and telling the stories that matter. I look forward to working with our talented teams to continue delivering exceptional content and service to our listeners and partners, and results to our many advertisers.”

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James Cridland, Sherry O’Neil, Chris Pearson, and Troy ReebThe Ontario Association of Broadcasters (OAB) Connection/18 Conference happens Nov. 8. Among this year’s highlights, radio futurologist James Cridland will moderate a panel entitled “Is Canadian radio fit for the future?” with panelists Sherry O’Neil, director, cairns oneil strategic media inc.; Chris Pearson, president, Acadia Broadcasting Limited; Geoff Poulton, president, Vista Radio; Troy Reeb, SVP, News, Radio & Station Operations, Corus Entertainment; and Susan Wheeler, VP, Regulatory Media, Rogers. Find the full conference schedule here.

The Broadcasting and Telecommunications Legislative Review Panel has decided to extend the deadline for submissions to its Call for Comments until Jan. 11. Find more info here.

The CRTC Communications Monitoring Report for 2018 has been released revealing that the average monthly wireless bill in Canada is $70.11. Based on the prices of basic television, basic wireline telephone, internet and wireless (unlimited voice & SMS and 5GB of data) the average, nationwide monthly reported price for the four services combined in 2017 was an average of $207 – 1.6 per cent lower than in 2016. The report says the decrease is attributable mainly to lower average prices for mobile services (specifically, plans that include unlimited voice and SMS, and 5GB of data) across Canada as well as lower internet service prices in the North. Across Canada, except in the Atlantic provinces, average prices decreased slightly or remained constant from 2016 to 2017. The most notable decrease was in the North, where average combined prices decreased by 16 per cent. In the Atlantic provinces, the average combined price increases were largely attributable to a number of providers now offering internet service at minimum speeds higher than 25/3 Mbps, thereby raising the reported price of services meeting these speeds. Quebec, Manitoba and Saskatchewan continued to report the lowest average combined prices. Average combined prices in urban centres ranged from $161 in Quebec to $265 in the North.

BCE Inc. has released its Q3 financial results reporting 3.2 per cent growth in consolidated revenue; 2.2 per cent higher adjusted EBITDA and net additions of 266,000 total broadband wireless, Internet and IPTV subscribers, an increase of 41.5 per cent. Total wireless net additions amounted to 178,000, with growth in wireless revenue of 5.9 per cent and 4.5 per cent in adjusted EBITDA. Broadband Internet and IPTV market share grew with 88,000 net additions, up 8.7 per cent. Wireline revenue growth accelerated to 1.9 per cent on improved organic residential and business top-line results. Net earnings grew two per cent to $867 million; net earnings attributable to common shareholders increased 1.4 per cent to $814 million, or $0.90 per common share; adjusted net earnings of $861 million were up 4.5 per cent, driving a 5.5 per cent increase in adjusted EPS to $0.96.

TVA Group recorded net income attributable to shareholders in the amount of $14.0 million or $0.32 per share in the third quarter of 2018, compared with a net loss attributable to shareholders of $15.3 million or a loss of $0.35 per share in the same quarter of 2017. Third quarter operating highlights included $16,710,000 adjusted EBITDA in the Broadcasting & Production segment representing an unfavourable variance of $3,192,000 due primarily to a 30 per cent decrease in TVA Network’s adjusted EBITDA and an 11 per cent decrease in the adjusted EBITDA of the specialty channels. The company recorded $8,531,000 adjusted EBITDA in the Film Production & Audiovisual Services segment representing an unfavourable variance of $1,313,000 due to lower soundstage and equipment rentals and visual effects. That was partially offset by increased post-production profitability and the addition of mobile unit rental activities. TVA Group’s market share was up 1.0 points year-over-year, largely because of the strong performance of its specialty channels, particularly LCN, which gained 0.7 points.

Xplore Mobile has introduced “Rollover” in Manitoba, allowing customers to rollover their unused data from the previous month. The wireless division of New Brunswick-based Xplornet Communications recently launched by welcoming about 20,000 mobile customers transferred from Bell MTS, as a result of an agreement with the Competition Bureau. Xplore Mobile will start welcoming new customers on Nov. 14. Three Xplore Mobile retail locations in Winnipeg and Brandon are now open, with three more opening this week.

CBC/Radio-Canada has shared its latest Environmental Performance Report, highlighting the public broadcaster’s “green” scorecard covering the period from April 2017 to March 2018. The latest report marks the 10th anniversary of CBC/Radio-Canada environmental reporting. The public broadcaster says over the past decade, it’s recycled 1,450.2 metric tonnes of e-waste and 926.8 metric tonnes of scrap metal; decreased air emissions by 45.5 per cent; and reduced carbon dioxide emissions in fleet vehicles by 35.3 per cent, equivalent to 1,164 passenger vehicles driven for one year. The report is available online at cbc.radio-canada.ca/green.

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