Media Beat: July 27, 2018

By David Farrell

US media eyeing Canadian market

Politico and National Public Radio's announcements in the last month that they're expanding northward are just the latest in an uptick in American media outlets pouring more resources into Canada and hoping for more Canadian revenue in return. But press gallery journalists say they aren’t concerned the increasing interest in Canada will harm their jobs, though some acknowledge concern about how the influx could affect Canadian outlets' revenue streams in general.  The most recent wave of interest began — Emily Haws, Hill Times subscription needed

Canada: One of world’s most protected telecom sectors — and the rates show it

The Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development still ranks Canada’s sector as among the most restrictive alongside Iceland, South Korea, Mexico, Israel and Japan. — Emily Jackson, Financial Post

 CRTC hits two firms with fines totalling $250K

The regulator has imposed its first penalties against two companies for allegedly aiding in the installation of malware through the distribution of online advertising. This is the first time the CRTC has taken an enforcement action to combat the installation of malware under Canada’s anti-spam legislation – often referred to as CASL, or C.A.S.L. — Lexology

UK watchdog says Russia’s RT breached broadcasting code again

British media regulator Ofcom says Russia's state-funded international television network, RT, broke Britain's broadcasting code when it presented tweets and e-mails sent by its own staff as coming from viewers of a current-affairs program. —Radio Free Europe

The next frontier for tech giants: unleashing sports broadcasting potential

We’re at the precipice of a watershed moment in broadcasting. Over the past two years, Amazon, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Verizon and Yahoo have all picked up smaller nonexclusive rights to live sports packages. However recent indicators suggest tech players are now ready to expand rapidly.

Amazon and Facebook are both circling Premier League rights packages, with the former successfully locking 20 matches to air live online next season. In addition, Amazon recently posted a job ad seeking a UK-based executive to lead the development of Prime Video’s advertising-funded channels by working with major European broadcasters. —Aaron Goldman, The Drum

The Twitch streamers who spend years broadcasting to no one

When John Hopstad first descended into the virtual world of Dark Souls in 2013, his mission was to save a decaying world. Famed for its brutal and exacting gameplay, Dark Souls is a popular game to live stream: if you’re going to die hundreds of times, you might as well perish with some digital company to lighten the mood. What Hopstad didn’t know then was that this would be the start of an even more difficult journey to make connections with other people. Hopstad has been streaming to largely nobody for the last five years, and he’s not alone in this pursuit. — Patricia Hernandez, The Verge

Smart speakers are the hot new platform for news publishers

Early on, getting content on voice assistants was mainly the job of the product people. Just like with TV and the internet before it, media companies just took their existing news and information and put it on voice assistants with minimal reformatting. But now that publishers are getting more interested in making sure they have a unique voice and proposition on the devices, they’re adding editorial-side resources, too.

NPR has six people who are dedicated to voice assistants — Lucia Moses, DigiDay

Smart speakers challenge radio’s current id’s

Over the past several months I’ve gotten into surprising conversations with a lot of radio people. Programmers, jocks, even the head of a major radio chain – All had no idea what a smart speaker does. Most didn’t own one and had no plans on getting one. That wasn’t a total shock because I didn’t think anything of them either, until I was given one.  — Pat Holiday, FYIMusicNews

Podcast revenues soar

Advertising revenues are set to more than double the totals set in 2017 by 2020. 2017 podcasting ad revenues topped US$314 million in the United States and are projected to reach $659 million by 2020. —  Search Engine Journal

A new podcasting network run by women

Three women in Los Angeles are teaming up to create what looks to be the most exciting thing to happen to comedy podcasts in some time. Writers, actors, and podcasters Amanda Lund and Maria Blasucci, along with former producer-agent and current writer, director, and advice columnist Priyanka Mattoo, launched a Kickstarter today for a new project: a woman-run podcast network called Earios. The tagline? “Podcasts by women, for everyone, no creeps allowed.” — Megh Wright, Vulture

5 media lessons to learn from Kylie Jenner

With over 250 million social media followers and a $900 million dollar empire, there’s no denying that Kylie Jenner has mastered the art of social media storytelling to further her popularity and promote her makeup line. In doing so, she’s leveraged her personal brand with direct to consumer commerce to create engaging content and distribute it effectively across new media channels.

For those looking to be like Kylie and expand their brand and social media presence, here are five social media lessons to learn from her empire. — Kate Talbot, Forbes

Chart: These 6 companies control much of US media

Traditional media giants are racing to consolidate in the face of tech industry disruption. Can they retain control of the medium and the message? — Nicolas Rapp & Aric Jenkins, Fortune

7 ways to erase embarrassing old social media posts and clean up your digital footprint

James Gunn, director of Guardians of the Galaxy, was fired last week for a series of tweets he posted a decade ago relating to rape and paedophilia. Just days earlier, Josh Hader, a 24-year-old Milwaukee Brewers pitcher, was forced to apologise after old racist, homophobic and sexist tweets from his account re-surfaced. Old posts can come back to bite you — Matthew Field, The Telegraph UK subscription