Media Beat: January 16, 2019

By David Farrell

CMF crunches a lot of data in its annual report

Is it possible to remain creative and innovative in a world of similarities powered by algorithms? How do we stay competitive in a media sector dominated by technological titans? How do we adapt our business models in a space where automation is taking over?

The Canada Media Fund (CMF) hopes to help answer these and other questions in its newly released 2019 Trends Report, entitled Hold My Hand.

“New alliances, new collaborations, new opportunities—we’re here to help professionals in the screen industry navigate through it all,” CMF Director and report co-author Catherine Mathys says. “We’re calling this report Hold my Hand because we’re all in this together and no one can pretend to go through these major transformations on their own.”

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Stingray fans Breeze format to Halifax

After launches in Edmonton and Vancouver, Stingray launches its contemporary easy-listening format Thursday (17^th) in Halifax when it rebrands Mix 96.5 (CKUL-FM) as 96.5 The Breeze.

The format is to feature staples by artists such as Lionel Richie, Elton John, Ed Sheeran, Whitney Houston, Sara McLachlan, Billy Joel, and Adele.

 “We’re offering an escape – a place to relax and revisit … great songs that listeners know and love. They were all huge hits, and for some reason, radio in Halifax seems to have forgotten about them,” said Dan Barton, Stingray’s Director of Contemporary Programming for Nova Scotia. “96.5 The Breeze is bringing those fantastic songs – and that relaxing, familiar feel - back to the radio.” – Stingray Media

CRTC approves $21M TVA purchase of Évasion and Zeste TV channels

Groupe TVA must meet certain conditions set by the regulator, including paying $1.8M in tangible benefits to the Canada Media Fund, Telefilm Canada and the Quebecor Fund to support Canadian French-language programming. – The Canadian Press

Freedom drives Shaw’s revenue growth

Shaw Communications Inc. beat analyst estimates with a 68.5 percent increase in its Q1 net income as growth at Freedom Mobile and its business services unit offset flat results at its core residential services. – Dave Paddon, The Canadian Press

SiriusXM subscribers increase, but what about autonomous cars?

With the news that the platform added 1.3M new subscribers in the US last year, the future looks rosy, right?

Forbes muddies things up by asking the question: Will we stop buying new cars for our personal use in favour of services like Lyft and Uber? That scenario would mean that Sirius would end up selling its service to just a few fleet operators, and probably at a considerable discount. Does that mean that the subscriber numbers plunge from 34 million-plus down to maybe dozens? – Bob Owsinski, Forbes

Podcast Movement 2019

The world's largest conference and trade show for podcasters returns in its 6^th year, welcoming nearly 3,000 podcasters from around the world Aug. 13-16 in Orlando, Fla. Register today to save a few hundred $s on the cost of attendance!

RIP

– Doug Cameron, a veteran five-decade broadcaster with CHAM and later at Jewel 92, died Jan. 14 following an aneurysm shortly before Christmas. No other details available at this time. – Source: Sowny.net

– Mark Elliot aka Nils Fleming Johanson died after a short battle with pneumonia, surrounded by his family, in the early morning hours of January 11, at the age of 65. He will be remembered for his dedicated work with People Helping People (from 1995 – 2016), his work within the recovery community and the LGBTQ+ community. He was known for his “golden voice” in radio in Winnipeg, Ottawa, Windsor, Quebec City, and Toronto.

– Brian Henderson:Hired as the sportscaster for 1050 CHUM in 1977, he took over the newscasts a decade later, and eventually got the morning show to himself—and he even survived 1050’s first detour into sports. That run came to an end while he was on medical leave in 2004. Henny claimed that his plan to return to CHUM was overruled when he was presented with an envelope at a Tim Hortons next to the hospital. – Source: Twelve Thirty Six

– 1950s CJOR and CKWX Vancouver broadcaster Bob Gillies died from cancer December 15 at age 84 in Atlanta.  Following his work in Vancouver, he was prominent at CKGM and CFCF radio and TV Montreal in the late 1950s and '60s before moving to the U.S., where he enjoyed a successful career as a writer and singer of commercial jingles for radio and television and wrote and performed songs for motion pictures in Los Angeles.  He was an actor and comedy writer for many Hollywood television shows, most notably for Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In in the late 1960s.  – Northwest Broadcasters