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Industry News

Bell announces executive leadership changes at Bell Media

From a media release:

BCE Inc. (Bell) (TSX, NYSE: BCE) today announced the appointment of Randy Lennox as the new President of Bell Media following the departure of Mary Ann Turcke for a new opportunity with the National Football League.

Randy Lennox
As President of Bell Media effective today, Mr. Lennox leads all strategy and operations for Canada’s largest media company, including conventional, pay and specialty TV, radio, digital media, out-of-home advertising and special projects. He reports to Wade Oosterman, Group President of Bell and BCE, who oversees Bell Media, Bell Mobility, and Bell Residential and Small Business, and also serves as Bell’s Chief Brand Officer.

Mr. Lennox was promoted from his position as Bell Media’s President, Content and Broadcasting, responsible for the CTV Networks; all local radio and TV assets; English-language specialty channels, including Bravo, Comedy, E!, Gusto, Much and Space; all of Bell Media’s in-house and independent English-language content productions; and iHeartRadio Canada, the international brand he brought to Bell Media in 2016.

Previously, Mr. Lennox was President and CEO of Universal Music Canada, where he helped elevate homegrown talent, including Justin Bieber, Drake, Shawn Mendes, The Tragically Hip and The Weeknd, to the international stage while successfully leading Universal through a time of tumultuous change in the music industry. He has been honoured as a member of the Canadian Music and Broadcast Industry Hall of Fame and sits on the board of directors for Music Canada, CARAS and Canada’s Walk of Fame; the board of governors for Massey Hall and Roy Thomson Hall; and the culture advisory board of Ontario.

Mary Ann Turcke
Mary Ann Turcke has accepted a position with the National Football League as President, Digital Media and NFL Network, based in Los Angeles. Part of the Bell team for the last 12 years, Ms. Turcke was promoted to President of Bell Media in April 2015 from her previous role as Bell Media’s President, Media Sales, Local TV and Radio.

Joining Bell Canada in 2005 as Vice President, Customer Experience and Operations for Small and Medium Business, Ms. Turcke was promoted to Executive Vice President of Field Operations in 2008, leading Bell’s team of installation and service technicians in delivering Fibe TV, Internet and other Bell residential and business services. She is a member of the Women’s Executive Network Hall of Fame and was named 2015 Woman of the Year by Women in Communications and Technology.

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Industry News

Film, television and digital production in Toronto hits record-breaking $2 billion in 2016

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From a media release:

Domestic and foreign film, television, digital and commercials production investments in Toronto had a third record-setting year in 2016 and achieved the $2.01-billion level for the first time.

Some of the major highlights for 2016:
• Domestic and international screen-based productions exceeded the $1-billion mark for the sixth consecutive year, with a 33-per-cent increase over the $1.55 billion reported in 2015.
• Foreign major production investment in film and television grew to $794 million, a 49-per-cent increase from 2015. Since 2014, foreign production investment has increased by 129 per cent.
• Investment in animation and visual effects grew to $403 million, a 179-per-cent increase from the $144.5 million reported in 2015. Since 2014, investment in this area has increased by 363 per cent from $87.1 million.
• Television series, foreign and domestic, remains the dominant investment type in Toronto with an increase to $908 million in 2016.
• Investment in commercials production continued to rise to record levels, growing to $380 million, a 10-per-cent increase from the $345 million reported in 2015. Since 2014, investment in this area has increased by 95 per cent from $195 million. (Note that this type of investment is measured by Toronto but not by other levels of government.)
• The number of location filming shoot days has seen three record breaking years, with an increase to 7,280 shoot days in 2016.

The above numbers also help to show a larger Toronto industry success story. Combining the $2 billion in investment noted above with figures from broadcasters and the interactive digital media cluster results in a total investment figure of $3.26 billion for all of Toronto’s film, television and digital media production in 2016. That figure represents a 16 per cent increase from 2015.

The detailed report can be found here.

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Industry News

Link: 5×5 With The Hook: Sue Baldaro

From You’ve Been Hooked:

Link: 5×5 With The Hook: Sue Baldaro
“The coolest thing about the current Canadian television landscape is how strong the writing, acting and filmmakers have become over the past few years. And the Canadian conspiracy continues as actors, directors and writers have been able to work here, at home, while also infiltrating productions around the globe.” Continue reading. 

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Industry News, Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

CBC brings popular British bake off format to Canada with The Great Canadian Baking Show

From a media release:

On your marks. Get set. Bake! CBC today announced that it is bringing hit format The Great British Bake Off to Canada with new 8 x one-hour series THE GREAT CANADIAN BAKING SHOW. Produced by Proper Television, the Canadian version of the culinary competition will start production this month and launch on CBC in fall 2017. The original British series will also air on CBC this summer as THE GREAT BRITISH BAKING SHOW. The search for Canada’s best bakers is now underway, with further details available at www.cbc.ca/life/greatcanadianbakingshow for those interested in applying.

Based on the British format, THE GREAT CANADIAN BAKING SHOW will bring together 10 amateur bakers from across Canada to compete in a series of themed culinary challenges. In every episode, they’ll face three nail-biting rounds: the Signature Bake, the Technical Bake and the Show Stopper. Each week, the competitor who shows the most skill, creativity and finesse will be named Star Baker, while the weakest will be sent home until only three finalists are left vying for the Great Canadian Baking Show title.

THE GREAT CANADIAN BAKING SHOW is produced by Proper Television in association with CBC and Love Productions. The format is owned by Love Productions and distributed by Sky Vision. In addition to the original British series the format has been produced in 23 territories, including American, Australian, French and Irish versions.

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Industry News

TVO’s 8 over-the-air transmitters will continue to send signals

From a media release:

TVO has announced it will continue to transmit free broadcast signals across 8 over-the-air transmitters in Ottawa, Belleville, Thunder Bay, Chatham, Cloyne, Kitchener, London, and Windsor.

Based on feedback from these communities, from loyal TVO viewers and donors, and others, the announcement confirmed TVO will continue to maintain the transmitters.  TVO had previously announced a plan to decommission the transmitters, which would have resulted in an annual savings of $1 million required by TVO to meet its current financial targets.

“We listened to the concerns of people who rely on over-the-air transmission to enjoy TVO programming and we consulted with our primary funding partner, the Government of Ontario, about the concerns we heard. That resulted in the government’s decision to flow an additional $1 million to TVO to ensure we can continue to operate the transmitters, while still meeting our commitments to strategic priorities of digital learning and high-quality current-affairs journalism,” said TVO Chief Executive Officer Lisa de Wilde.

“We heard that Ontarians value TVO’s dynamic educational programming and our government is pleased to take this step to ensure that TVO will continue to be accessible over-the-air in these communities,” said Education Minister Mitzie Hunter.

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