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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Airing from 7 to 10 p.m. on nine Hot AC and CHR/Top 40 stations across Ontario, Corus says the show will feature curated playlists spanning today’s hits and new releases, in addition to artist interviews and discussion about trending topics. Listeners will be able to dial in to join the interactive show.

The show will air on JUMP 106.9 (CKQB-FM) Ottawa, 104.5 Fresh Radio (CFLG-FM) Cornwall, 104.3 Fresh Radio (CKWS-FM) Kingston, 100.5 Fresh Radio (CKRU-FM) Peterborough, 93.1 Fresh Radio (CHAY-FM) Barrie, Energy 95.3 (CING-FM) Hamilton, Magic 106.1 (CIMJ-FM) Guelph, 91.5 The Beat (CKBT-FM) Kitchener, and 103.1 Fresh Radio (CFHK-FM) London.

Rickards has hosted various shows for Corus since 2005, including syndicated Saturday night mixshow, Turn Up!

“I’m very excited for the chance to connect with our amazing listeners across Ontario,” said Rickards, in a Corus announcement. “The opportunity to host a radio show airing on nine amazing radio stations five nights a week is truly an honour and a dream come true.”

“We are thrilled to launch @Night with Mr. D – there really is no one better to host this show,” added Regional Program Director Stephanie Hunter. “Mr. D has been entertaining and interacting with listeners across Canada for decades, and to have him share his energy, love for music, local communities, and our listeners across nine radio stations in nine different cities, is something we’re thrilled about.”

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Stingray Digital Group has made an unsolicited, hostile-takeover bid for U.S.-based multi-platform video and music network Music Choice. The offer is currently under review by the network’s unitholders including Charter Communications, Comcast, Cox Communications, Sony Corporation of America, Warner Media, Arris and Microsoft, and remains open for acceptance until Aug. 31. The move comes on the heels of Stingray’s commercial services division, Stingray Business, announcing the acquisition of Novramedia, a Toronto-based software/hardware developer focused on digital media solutions for industries from finance to hospitality and healthcare. Meantime, Stingray’s acquisition of Newcap Radio parent Newfoundland Capital Corporation Limited (NCCL) for $524,297,181 remains pending. The CRTC commenting period is set to close Sept. 4.

Mr. D has wrapped production on its eighth and final season in Halifax. Created, written and starring comedian Gerry Dee, the show launched in 2012 following an unsatisfied social studies teacher yearning to teach Phys Ed. The series earned Dee a Canadian Screen Award in 2013 for Best Performance by an Actor in a Continuing leading Comedic Role. Dee already has a new show in development with the public broadcaster.

DHX Brands, the brand management and consumer products arm of DHX Media, has signed nine new consumer products licensees for its Teletubbies brand in South Korea. The news follows the recent launch of the new Teletubbies series in South Korea on the country’s leading public broadcaster KBS and on streaming services Naver TV and Naver Junior. DHX Media’s distribution arm has signed 19 new broadcast and streaming agreements internationally for the new series, bringing the total number of platforms to 54, spanning more than 100 territories worldwide.

Thunderbird Entertainment, the Vancouver-based multi-platform entertainment company behind Kim’s Convenience, is set to go public following closure of a deal that will see publicly-traded Golden Secret Ventures acquire 100 per cent of the shares of Thunderbird via a reverse takeover. Subject to all necessary regulatory and shareholder approvals, the transaction is expected to close by Oct. 1. On a consolidated basis, for the nine months ended Mar. 31, Thunderbird generated (unaudited) revenues of $131 million, net income of $3.7 million and adjusted EBITDA of $8.3 million. The current production slate for the Thunderbird group of companies includes roughly 20 projects with aggregate budgets in excess of $150,000,000 including factual series High Arctic Haulers for the CBC and Netflix original animated series The Last Kids on Earth.

CTV has acquired The Conners, the spin-off of this year’s hit revival Roseanne which was swiftly cancelled by ABC in May following a racist Tweet from its star Roseanne Barr. The Conners will anchor CTV’s new Tuesday night lineup, starting Oct. 16, with a press release saying Dan (John Goodman), Jackie (Laurie Metcalf), Darlene (Sara Gilbert), Becky (Lecy Gorason), and D.J. (Michael Fishman) “are forced to face the daily struggles of life in Lanford in a way they never have before” after a sudden turn of events. Roseanne made its Canadian debut on CTV on Mar. 27, drawing 2.2 million viewers and nearly 27 per cent of total audience share, the second-highest broadcast debut of the year behind Young Sheldon. Read more here.

Netflix is one of the partners in The Pacific Screenwriting Program, a new initiative that will combine industry mentorship, workshops and bootcamps to help writers establish a career in B.C.’s screen industry. Supported by the Canadian Media Producers Association (CMPA), Creative BC, Writers Guild of Canada (WGC), Lark Productions, BRON Studios, Omnifilm Entertainment and Skybound Entertainment, its first offering is the Scripted Series Lab, a full-time, 14-week curriculum for six committed writers that will prepare them for entry-level series writing. The program is set to launch in Jan. 2019, in conjunction with the opening of a bricks and mortar location in downtown Vancouver. Read the full story here.

Bell Media’s The Harold Greenberg Fund has announced the first selections for its newly-created BC Shorts Program. Developed in partnership with Creative BC, it’s designed to finance short films from B.C. filmmaking teams, showcasing new creative visions and furthering the careers of writers, producers, and directors as they move towards feature filmmaking.

TIFF is organizing a rally Sept. 8 in downtown Toronto as part of its Share Her Journey campaign to help women take meaningful steps towards equality in the film industry. The rally will be streamed online for supporters outside Toronto. More info here.

CTV has announced another season of culinary competition series Masterchef Canada for the 2018/2019 broadcast season. Season 6 casting is now open with production set to begin this fall in Toronto on 12 new episodes from Proper Television. Bell Media says Season 5 averaged 1.2 million total viewers weekly.

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