Media Beat: November 22, 2019

By David Farrell

Corus wins ‘power’ battle over format naming rights

A temporary injunction sought by Corus Entertainment has been granted, which will see a Harvard Broadcasting FM in Edmonton no longer be able to use the word “POWER” in its branding and advertising strategies.

“In my view, this evidence is sufficient to establish that POWER 92 was popular, was recognized, was enjoyed by its listeners and is remembered for its logo, its slogan, its contest, its on-air personalities and its music,” Justice Nancy Dilts wrote in her ruling. — Phil Heidenreich, Global News

Doug Ford’s threat to campus media quashed in court ruling

Ontario's Divisional Court has unanimously ruled to annul a measure by the government of Ontario Premier Doug Ford allowing post-secondary students to opt-out of paying for services deemed "non-essential."

Those services include student-led programs such as clubs, campus newspapers, food banks and other support services, as well as the provision of part-time jobs.

"Today the Ontario Divisional Court has confirmed what students already knew: the Student Choice Initiative is unlawful, and the Ford government acted beyond their authority," Kayla Weiler, Ontario representative of the Canadian Federation of Students, said in a news release Thursday evening. — CBC News

What's around the Corner for Hockey Night in Canada?

How does Rogers Sportsnet and the CBC/Hockey Night in Canada replace the irreplaceable Don Cherry? With another crusty character? A panel of punk pundits?

Will Ron MacLean survive the ugly break-up with Cherry and could his own days be numbered, with a younger host — possibly a woman or a visible minority — inheriting his chair in the coming weeks or months?

The Sun spoke to several industry people familiar with the talent and business side of hockey broadcasting who laid out some possible paths for the re-branding of an intermission segment that has been a Saturday night staple for nearly 40 years. — Lance Hornby, Toronto Sun

TSN has Sunday’s Grey Cup match

After 21 thrilling weeks of regular-season action, followed by four gruelling playoff matches, it has finally come down to this: the Winnipeg Blue Bombers taking on the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the 107^th Grey Cup presented by Shaw. CFL on TSN delivers exclusive coverage of the CFL championship game – one of 60+ iconic championships that live on TSN – this Sunday, Nov. 24, beginning at 6 pm. ET on TSN, live from McMahon Stadium in Calgary. TSN’s live coverage starts at 1 pm ET with the network’s five-hour pre-game show, Grey Cup Sunday.

As the exclusive home of the CFL, football lives here with TSN’s coverage, presented by Shaw, also available for live streaming and on-demand viewing to TSN and TSN Direct subscribers via TSN.ca and the TSN app. French-language coverage is available on RDS (radio station listings here). — TSN hype sheet

Canada’s richest billionaires

According to CEOWorld financial publication’s annual listing, 2019 saw the total wealth of the top 10 richest Canadian hits a new record high of $96B.

To identify the wealthiest people in Canada, the magazine reviewed numerous national and international media reports. Additional information about the billionaires came from Forbes global index, and all estimated net worth figures are in U.S. dollars.

Here’s the list’s Top 10 of 41 named (all figures in $US)

1.   David Thomson (Media): $39B

2.    Joseph Tsai (eCommerce): $10.2B

3.    Galen Weston (Retail): $9B

4.    David Cheriton (Tech): $6.4B

5.    James Irving (Diversified): $6.3B

6.    Jim Pattison (Diversified): $5.7B

7.    Huang Chulong (Real estate): $5.6B

8.    Emanuele (Lino) Saputo (Dairy): $5.1B

9.    Chip Wilson (Fashion): $4.6B

10.    Mark Scheinberg (Online gambling): $4.5B 

A Wonderful Life: A live radio play

The 1946 American Christmas fantasy drama film is given a new spin by a cast of creative minds at Thunder Bay, ON’s Magnus Theatre starting Dec. 5. That is when the stage is transformed into a 1940s-style radio station with the evergreen storyline spun as a live radio drama and the show's cast suited up and dressed as was the style in radio’s golden age. — Lake Superior News

US politicians are coming after Radio

As the NAB battles to prevent radio stations from having to pay for the music they air, legislation has been introduced that may pave the way for radio managers to have to dig deep into their wallets. It’s called the AMFM Act.

The Ask Musicians for Music Act gives music creators control of their own work by requiring broadcasters to obtain consent before playing their music. Under the AMFM Act, artists who want to allow terrestrial radio to continue to use their work for free can choose to do so. Artists who seek compensation for their work can exercise their right to negotiate rates for the use of their sound recordings from broadcasters. Both bills provide special treatment by protecting small, public, college, and other non-commercial stations. — Radio INK

Amnesty International: Facebook, Google surveillance an 'assault on privacy'

Amnesty International said Thursday that the amount of information controlled by Google and Facebook, along with other tech companies, was a threat to privacy rights around the world.

A report published by the human rights watchdog described the two companies as dominant over much of the Western world's online habits, which amount to much of Americans' daily lives. — John Bowden, The Hill

Enforce Antitrust an option over breaking up Big Tech

The federal antitrust statutes are broadly worded, designed to give the government the power to punish companies for anticompetitive conduct—or, as the original federal antitrust statute put it in 1890, any action “in restraint of trade.”

When it comes to Big Tech, there are plenty of alleged restraints to choose from, whether it’s Google manipulating its search algorithm to favor big advertisers or punish competitors (a charge Google denies) or Amazon undercutting third-party merchants by using their sales data to market its own imitative private-label products. Under existing law, antitrust enforcers in the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission have the authority to bring legal action against companies for that kind of conduct. — Gilad Edelman, Wired

How Conde Nast plans to make money from Instagram TV

. To date, Condé Nast has only brought one sponsor in to test this strategy, an integration of American Express into a Condé Nast Traveler IGTV series called “Say I Sent You.” Rather than sell ongoing sponsorships of the series, Condé is hoping brands will buy into integrations at the episode level of specific series and augment that with ads in other parts of Instagram that are creatively linked. — Max Willens, DigiDay

Spotify to host awards show driven by user data

Less than 24 hours after the Grammy nominees were announced, Spotify megaphoned its on gong show with categories and winners to be determined strictly by user-generated data, regardless of genre. "Your plays, patterns, and habits will help determine the award categories, finalists, and winners," it said. "You can get excited for an awards ceremony that actually speaks to what the people are streaming."

The inaugural ceremony takes place on March 5 in Mexico City.

Did you know NASA operates its own Rock music station?

Neither did we, but Sowny Board’s Radio Active gives the head’s up on this spacey exploration promoting its space station and having listened for a brief time, my verdict is it’s worth a look.

Here’s the spiel from its creators:

“Discovery powers the work of NASA.  It also drives music lovers to the Internet in search of something less ordinary.  The two came together in 2011 with the launch of NASA’s Third Rock Radio, produced and published by Houston-based RFC Media LLC under a Space Act Agreement with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Washington DC.

“The ongoing mission of Third Rock Radio is built around a blend of art and science designed to bring young adults closer to science, engineering and technology.  Through a high-energy connection to new music discovery, Third Rock Radio’s “explore and discover” theme spotlights the work of NASA and its private industry partners that seek to create a sustainable future for all.”

Listen here.

A former Fox News exec divides Americans using Russian tactics

The sites are the work of Ken LaCorte, the former Fox News executive who was accused of killing a story about President Trump’s affair with Stormy Daniels, the pornographic film actress, before the 2016 election.

Their content is written by a network of young Macedonians in Veles, a sleepy riverside town that was home to a collection of writers who churned out disinformation during the 2016 presidential election in the United States. Among Mr. LaCorte’s network was one writer who helped peddle a conspiracy theory that Hillary Clinton had ties to a pedophile ring.

The spreading of politically divisive content or even blatant disinformation and conspiracy theories by Americans is protected free speech. Security experts said the adoption of Russian tactics by profit-motivated Americans had made it much harder to track disinformation. — Nicole Perlroth, The New York Times