Media Beat, Nov. 29, 2021

Pooja Handa and Gurdeep Ahluwalia named new CHFI morning show hosts

Covering some of Toronto’s most glamourous red carpets to the biggest cultural events, along with the latest breaking news, Pooja is a highly respected broadcaster with nearly two decades of experience informing and entertaining television audiences across Toronto and the GTA. She is passionate about mentoring young women in their career paths and has dedicated her time to many charities, most recently Muscular Dystrophy Canada. 

“I’m thrilled to have this amazing opportunity to join the CHFI family. It is such an institution in Toronto and comes with an incredible legacy that I’m honoured I will soon become a part of. While radio is something new for me, it’s so very exciting to be able to take on this adventure with my good friend Gurdeep, whom I’ve shared many mornings on TV with over the years. I’m looking forward to getting behind the mic at CHFI to connect with new friends (and old ones too!) to help start their day with a smile. And, my parents can finally tell their friends that I’m employed again!” said Pooja.

“I first got the radio bug in university, so it’s surreal to get behind the mic again all these years later with my television partner in crime Pooja. My first radio show was solo, so I guess I’m going to have to learn to be quiet sometimes. I’m also a

“Pooja and Gurdeep have earned a big following for their infectious and down-to-earth personalities,” said Troy Scott, Content Director for 98.1 CHFI and National Content Director, Adult Contemporary Music Brands, Rogers Sports & Media. “They have a special quality together, where you’re left feeling like you’ve been friends with them as long as they’ve been friends, and for our CHFI family, that’s incredibly important to us. The new show will continue to feature the same great variety of music, news, weather and traffic, with Pooja and Gurdeep offering a fresh take to start the day, engaging audiences with daily multiplatform content.”

Joining Pooja and Gurdeep on the new morning show is 98.1 CHFI news anchor Christine Cardoso, and Blair Bartrem, who will serve as Executive Producer for the morning show. No stranger to building winning audio brands and shows, Blair was instrumental in driving the content for Toronto’s Q107 and John Derringer in the Morning, where he worked for 12 years. An esteemed radio talent coach, Blair also led teams at Virgin Radio in Montreal, along with Pure Country and Bounce across Southwestern Ontario.

Audiences can also catch Pooja and Gurdeep each week on Breakfast Television, Citytv’s weekday morning show. - Press release

While CHFI Mornings with Pooja & Gurdeep officially starts on Tuesday, Jan. 4, listeners can get a small taste of the new duo on CHFI, starting Monday, Dec. 6, as part of the station’s holiday music programming.

CRTC wraps five-day public hearing into Rogers-Shaw merger

Following a five-day public hearing, Canada’s telecommunications watchdog is unlikely to rule on the proposed Rogers-Shaw deal until the new year.

Since Monday, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) has been hearing from critics and supporters of the proposed purchase of Shaw Communications by Rogers Communications.

Although the hearing finished today, the CRTC will continue to take submissions until mid-December and isn’t expected to rule on the estimated $26-billion deal before the end of the year. The merger needs the CRTC’s approval before it can proceed.

When asked by iPolitics when it expects to make its decision, the CRTC couldn’t say. – Jeff Labine, iPolitics

Job cuts are likely in Rogers’ $26-billion deal to acquire Shaw, critics say

The merger of Canada’s second and fourth-largest telecom companies will affect millions of consumers and also bring together two major employers: Shaw has 9,400 workers while Rogers has 24,000 employees, more than half in the GTA, which is home to its downtown Toronto headquarters.

But academics, public interest groups, a major telecom rival and one of Canada’s biggest unions say while Rogers is touting its investment plans to the broadcast regulator on the public stage, it is not talking about the inevitable job cuts that will come with the merger of two massive cable and wireless businesses with overlapping departments of almost everything.

Behind closed doors, Rogers is almost certainly telling the Competition Bureau how much money the combined company will save, including through the elimination of jobs… – Christine Dobby, The Toronto Star

Rogers fires back at Telus, Bell on last day of hearing over Shaw deal

Ted Woodhead, Senior Vice President of Regulatory Affairs at Rogers, said at the Friday hearing that competitors BCE Inc. and Telus Corp.’s opposition to the merger was in self-interest, not the public interest.

Woodhead drew attention to the hypocrisy in the rival telecoms’ raising of concerns about the size Rogers would reach if it acquires Shaw, given that both have tried to achieve comparable scale in the past. – Nehal Malik, iPhone in Canada

Media experts agree action is needed, but urge caution on how streaming is regulated

The CRTC supervises traditional broadcasters and enforces federal policies. This new legislation would empower the CRTC to do the same for online media services but is vague when it comes to how the regulatory body would perform that function. Critics have called this an unrealistic overreach, questioning how the CRTC could monitor all content published on the internet. – The Canadian Press

EU countries agree on common position on new rules to curb power of U.S. tech giants

Frustrated by the slow pace of antitrust investigations, EU competition chief Margrethe Vestager has proposed two sets of rules known as the Digital Markets Act and the Digital Services Act targeting Amazon, Apple , Alphabet unit Google and Facebook.

The DMA has a list of dos and don’ts for online gatekeepers – companies that control data and access to their platforms – reinforced by fines of up to 10 per cent of global turnover. – Foo Yun Chee, The Globe and Mail