L-R: Miguel Riveras and Emma Hunter of The Beaverton.
Corus requests spending flexibility in a CRTC filing
Corus Entertainment, in an effort to combat declining broadcast revenues, has filed a request with the CRTC to have its condition of licence amended. Filed last month, the request asks for the maximum allowable level of under-expenditure to be increased from 5% to 10%. The company said in the last two years, it has experienced “significant” revenue swings –2017 and 2018 saw declines while 2019 saw upticks of 8% in TV revenues – adding, “we do not expect our advertising revenues to remain on their current growth trajectory” anticipating new DTC platforms in Canada to impact viewership numbers and increase pricing on programming rights.
PopSugar shifts to new ownership
Group Nine Media announced this week it had purchased PopSugar, the multimedia digital property with a focus on Millennial women. The site launched in 2006 in San Francisco and in 2007 acquired fashion shopping search engine ShopStyle. Group Nine’s acquiring of the site is an all-stock transaction. The deal follows similar mergers among digital media companies in recent weeks including Vice’s acquisition of Refinery29 and Vox Media’s purchase of New York Media.
The Beaverton Mocks The Vote
Mere days before Canadians head to the polls, Bell Media satire news outfit The Beaverton will look at the top stories from the campaign trail in a one-hour special, The Beaverton Mocks The Vote airing Oct. 18 at 8 p.m. on CTV. Co-anchors Miguel Riveras and Emma Hunter will bring The Beaverton‘s unapologetic wit and wordplay to find the humour in everything from climate change to Andrew Scheer’s insurance broker controversy to Justin Trudeau’s brownface scandal.
Stingray lifts the price on its music app
Canadians now have free access to Stingray’s music app, previously only available for pay-TV subscribers. The company recently redesigned the app that includes more than 1,000 channels of international artists, 200 of which contain “homegrown music” and 100 Canadian radio stations. Users still have the option to upgrade to premium for $3.99 per month, but the free version includes unlimited skips, customizable options and a sleep timer. Stingray Music has been downloaded by nearly 5 million Canadians.