Media Beat: February 12, 2020

By David Farrell

Bell now taking orders for a line of 5G phones

Bell has announced that Canada's first 5G mobile devices, the Samsung Galaxy S20 5G, Galaxy S20+ 5G and Galaxy S20 Ultra 5G, can be pre-ordered now at Bell.ca and Bell stores now with first product deliveries scheduled for March 6.

"Bell is very excited to bring the first 5G-capable smartphones to our customers as we prepare to launch initial 5G service on Canada's best national mobile network," said Claire Gillies, President of Bell Mobility. "Samsung's Galaxy S20 5G series will deliver access to increasingly faster speeds and the best possible mobile experience for video streaming, gaming, and other high-demand applications. We're proud to begin Canada's move to the next generation of mobile communications alongside our partners at Samsung."

"We are focused on being a 5G leader in Canada. Putting the first 5G device in consumers' hands will ensure that Canadians are ready to experience the speeds and performance that 5G networks will offer," said Jennifer Safruk, Vice President, Mobile Division, Samsung Electronics Canada. "The Galaxy S20 5G series will offer new ways of communicating and  experiencing entertainment and gaming, powered by an impressive camera that pushes the boundaries of what AI can do."

Without a plan, the full price on the S20 is $1650 and the S20+ has a list price of $2K. An S20 Ultra has a sticker price of $2300.

How Oscar-winning Parasite undermines Canada’s cultural protectionism theory

If Koreans, Israelis, Icelanders, Swedes, Danes, Poles, the French, the Brits and many other nationalities are making money selling into the world market, what is it again about Canadian culture that requires such protective regulatory and fiscal cladding and coddling? World audiences are interested in the stories of so many different nationalities — Korea just won the Oscar, for Pete’s sake! — they might even be interested in ours. – William Watson, Financial Post

Carlos Benevides goes national with JACK

At the top of this week, listeners on Rogers Media’s JACK-branded stations across the country heard a new voice hosting its popular noon-hour show, JACK Up the ‘80s.

Carlos Benevides is no stranger to entertaining audiences over the air. He spent nearly ten years hosting the morning show on Kitchener’s 91.5 The Beat and prior to that held on-air positions at Dave 107.5 and 102.1. The Edge in Toronto.

In September 2019, Benevides stepped away from the mic to teach at Kitchener’s Conestoga College in the radio broadcast program.

The JACK brand operates in Halifax (JACK 92.9), London (JACK 102.3), Smith Falls (JACK 92.3), Victoria (JACK 103.1) and Calgary (JACK 96.9).

Penske ups its stake in Music Business Worldwide

Penske Media Corporation (PMC) announced Tuesday its strategic investment in Music Business Worldwide (MBW), which first entered into a global content partnership with Rolling Stone and Rolling Stone's owner PMC in November 2018.

With the addition of MBW to PMC's family of brands, PMC will further leverage MBW's expert business to business coverage of the music industry by enabling MBW to collaborate more closely with PMC's portfolio of 19 media brands, particularly Rolling Stone, PMC's music analytics platform Alpha Data, and Variety.com.

The deal expands PMC's investment in the music business, with the combination of MBW's editorial voice and Alpha Data's analytics. – CityBizList