OTTAWA – Seven months after former CBC chairman Guy Fournier "flushed himself" out of the job, the Corp. has a new chairman of the board.
Heritage Minister Bev Oda announced the appointment of Timothy W. Casgrain on Friday afternoon. It’s fair to say he is a complete outsider.
"The credentials Mr. Casgrain brings to the CBC will provide strong leadership," said Minister Oda in her release. "I am confident that his experience and sound judgement will greatly benefit the CBC."
Casgrain (pictured) is currently chair of charter airline Skyservice Investments. Prior to that position, he served as executive vice-president…
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TORONTO – An original member of the YTV management team and the founding general manager of TreehouseTV, Susan Ross spent almost two decades in kids TV.
On May 31 at the CBC Glenn Gould Studio, Ross will receive the Alliance for Children and Television (ACT) Outstanding Achievement Award for 2007.
Ross "has enjoyed an exceptional career in children’s programming in Canada," says the ACT press release. "ACT’s board of directors is recognizing her for her commitment to excellence in children’s programming, as well as her leadership and guidance in developing Treehouse TV into one of the world’s best preschool…
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OTTAWA – Calling the CBC the most important outlet for Canadian programming, representatives from the Canadian Film and Television Production Association (CFTPA) urged the government to provide the public broadcaster with long-term stable funding.
Appearing Thursday before the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage, CFTPA president and CEO Guy Mayson complained though that the CBC was asking for unduly long periods for the rights to programs under the its broadcast licences. He also noted multiple-platform rights were being sought, sometimes indefinitely, without fair compensation.
He added though that the CBC is not the only one seeking these kinds of deals;…
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STREAMING THE TORONTO MAPLE Leafs online seems like a no-brainer. The team seems to have an insatiable, unlimited fan base.
But, there is much to consider when turning a sports team to the web, especially one that is limited to its own region. Just like LeafsTV is limited to Ontario (except Ottawa), so must any games carried on line be limited to viewing in the same geographic area.
Plus, the web experience can’t be just a rebroadcast of the televised game, otherwise, what’s the point, asks Chris Hebb, Maple Leafs Sports & Entertainment’s senior vice-president of broadcast.
Hebb oversees…
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TORONTO – CBC Television has announced the appointment of Mary Quinn as executive in charge of development and production for TV Arts and Entertainment, effective April 23.
Quinn will be based in Vancouver, strengthening the network’s presence in this major production centre, and will work with CBC’s creative teams to identify new B.C.-based talent and programming opportunities, assess submissions and oversee projects from development through production.
Quinn comes to CBC after almost five years at Vancouver’s Brightlight Pictures, as their director of development. Quinn also has extensive international experience, having spent six years in the U.K. television sector.
“I’m…
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CLEVER TITLE, HUH? Maybe that’s why I’m writing about the ratings as opposed to participating in them.
Who am I? A 30 year veteran of nearly 120 books, and for the last year or so, an interested observer from the sidelines.
Okay, here’s a hint. My name rhymes with Mumble Foward.
In Toronto the story of the Spring/Winter book was as always, “The AC Domination Continues” – the never-changing saga of Adult Contemporary music and its’ strangle-hold on tuning.
CHFI, EZ-Rock, CHUM FM (Hot AC blend) and MIX Fm add up to nearly 25%! I’ve wondered for years why…
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MONTREAL and TORONTO – The Slaight family sold its company, Standard Radio, to Astral Media today for $1.08 billion.
The combined company will be the largest radio broadcaster in Canada and, says Astral, "achieves No.1 radio market position by number of stations and by weekly hours tuned.
The purchase makes Astral a national radio player, adding brands such as EZ Rock, Mix, The Bear and the CFRB newstalk format to Astral’s popular Quebec brand Radio Energie.
Astral did not purchase the Slaight’s interest in satellite radio company Sirius Canada nor Standard Interactive, which runs assets such as multichannel Internet…
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TORONTO – Pirate Radio and Television director Terry O’Reilly will discuss how to create powerful radio commercials at a Corus Entertainment-sponsored seminar on April 24 at The Eglinton Grand in Toronto. Also the host of the CBC Radio show, Age of Persuasion, he will cover such topics as writing dialogue versus monologue, why “structure” is so critical in radio, 30 versus 60 seconds, the importance of casting and why radio is one of the most powerful mediums.
More than 75 of the greatest radio spots from around the world will be played at O’Reilly’s annual all-day seminar. The $265…
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TORONTO – The CBC has acquired the broadcast rights, including video streaming, to Toronto FC, Canada’s first Major League Soccer (MSL) club, it was announced Wednesday.
CBC Television will broadcast 14 regular season Toronto FC games, including the expansion franchise’s April 28 home opener against the Kansas City Wizards, while cbcsports.ca will video stream all of the CBC broadcasts live and on-demand.
Toronto FC and MLS highlights will be available on-demand over the Internet as well.
CBC Sports acquires the exclusive rights to the MLS Playoffs, MLS Cup and July 19 MLS All-Star Game in 2007 under the deal,…
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TORONTO – It was a an open secret in media circles, as many have reported, including Cartt.ca, but today it was made official: Rogers Communications has signed a deal to purchase the chain of A-Channel stations and other assets put on the block when CTVglobemedia acquired CHUM Ltd.
In officialspeak: "Rogers Broadcasting, a Rogers Media subsidiary, would acquire certain Canadian conventional and specialty television services from CTVglobemedia Inc. These assets are currently under the control of Mr. John D. McKellar, C.M., Q.C., Trustee under a Voting Trust Agreement in respect of CHUM Limited. CHUM Limited and Mr. McKellar…
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