OTTAWA – Almost two-thirds (64%) of Canadians say that they watch video on a cell phone, and those who do are much more likely to have a newer model of phone purchased with the past two years, according to new research from the Media Technology Monitor (MTM).
Key topics this year, according to its free Sneek Peak report, include growth in OTT subscriptions, smart speakers, and online audio listening.
Highlights from the Sneak Peek Report include:
– Some 65% of Canadians now subscribe to an OTT service. This growth is partly coming from the smaller, more recent offerings, such as Crave and…
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MONTREAL – WAM Media has created a new scripted division that will be headed up by Misha Solomon.
With over 20 years in factual and lifestyle production leadership, this is the Montreal-based company’s first foray into scripted content production.
“The success of our award-winning hybrid factual series, CBC’s The Detectives, and Netflix and Investigation Discovery’s Real Detective, has opened the door for us to expand the company into the scripted space and we are truly pleased to have Misha Solomon lead this expansion,” said executive producer and partner Scott Bailey, in the announcement.
Formerly director of scripted development at Muse Entertainment, Solomon…
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VETERAN JOURNALIST AND CBC stalwart Anna Maria Tremonti reversed her iconic role as interviewer and was the guest – in the same Toronto studio where she hosts The Current – on a special “Ask Me Anything” 26-minute segment on the network’s radio national call-in show Cross Country Checkup, two Sundays ago.
Listeners asked Tremonti various questions, including what she would ask U.S. President Donald Trump in an interview (“I would not try not to argue with him”) and offered some personal anecdotes to Checkup host Duncan McCue, who sat in The Current seat Tremonti normally occupies. “I sing in the…
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BANFF – Ontario Premier Doug Ford's budget released last month unleashed major cuts to TVOntario… the provincial educational broadcaster created by the venerable former Premier Bill Davis – himself a Progressive Conservative.
The damage to TVO was roughly $2 million, a 4.5% cut; on top of a budget freeze since 2015 which, adjusting for inflation, leaves TVO diminished by 11%.
To the south of us, President Trump proposed for the third year in a row the complete elimination of federal funding for PBS.
As well, virtually all of Europe's public broadcasting services face similar challenges: Some combination of budget cuts, populist politicians,…
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TORONTO – CBC News foreign correspondent Nahlah Ayed is returning to Canada where she will take over as the new host of CBC Radio One show Ideas beginning in September.
Current host Paul Kennedy, who succeeded the legendary Lister Sinclair as host in 1999, announced earlier this year that he would step down at the end of the current season. This will mark the last week of his original episodes before he retires from the show.
Born and raised in Winnipeg, Ayed has been based in London for seven years. A veteran of foreign reportage, she's covered major world events over…
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OTTAWA – Total broadcasting revenues sank 1.2% from 2017 to 2018 as television distribution providers (BDUs) posted negative growth for the fourth consecutive year, according to the CRTC’s statistical and financial results for the industry.
The Commission’s 2018 Broadcasting Financial Summaries Highlights reported that overall BDU revenues dropped by 2.0% ($168 million), falling from $8.58 billion in 2017 to $8.41 billion for the broadcast year ended August 31, 2018. IPTV revenues grew by 4.5% in 2018 to surpass the $2 billion mark, albeit at a slower rate than previous years. Satellite (DTH) service providers reported total revenues of $1.9…
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BANFF – PBS president and CEO Paula Kerger is regularly included in Hollywood Reporter’s annual “Women in Entertainment Power 100” and has won accolades and awards for leadership and achievement throughout the U.S.
Not the least of her achievements since she took over PBS in 2006, has been moving the network from 14th most-watched to sixth most-watched in the course of a decade.
Kerger was part of the Banff World Media Festival Summit Series, and her session was moderated by Michael Schneider, senior editor, TV Awards, for Variety.
She opened with a confession on her travels as CEO, noting “ I’ve never…
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BANFF – It’s a tradition at the BWMF… CBC/Radio-Canada has a huge presence.
But with Catherine Tait, president and CEO, it’s almost personal. “The impact this festival has on our industry and on Canadian creators is unparalleled… here at Banff, and in the days and months beyond this festival, we look to you, the creators, for inspiration… our new three-year strategic plan ‘Your Stories, Taken to Heart’ – will be the engine of brilliant storytelling from Canada to the world,” she said Monday morning.
And we hadn’t even poured our orange juice yet!
At the CBC breakfast Tait continued. “What I’m selling…
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TORONTO – Capitalizing on Canadians’ surging interest in professional basketball, CBC Sports has announced plans to live-stream the remaining 39 games of the inaugural season of the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL).
The CEBL includes six teams – the Fraser Valley Bandits, Edmonton Stingers, Saskatchewan Rattlers, Guelph Nighthawks, Hamilton Honey Badgers, and Niagara River Lions – featuring top Canadian players as well as international talent.
Coverage tips off June 12 at 7:00 PM ET/4:00 PM PT and will stream within Canada at cbcsports.ca, CBC Gem, and via the CBC Sports app for iOS and Android devices. Coverage will also include the CEBL…
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BANFF – This year’s Rockie Awards Gala is hosted by our national treasure, Jann Arden.
A multi-platform, award-winning singer and actress in her own right (with her own namesake show, too!), she’s always had that special talent for combining serious messages with belly jiggling humour.
I caught up with Arden for a quiet one-on-one to get an artist’s perspective on the 2019 BWMF vibe.
Before I could get to anything approaching earnest talk about OTTs or Cancon, we had to cover off favourite sandwiches… I think she was famished and projecting onto the evening’s legendary BBQ Late Night Party. So for those…
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