On Thursday, Aug. 10, 1876, Alexander Graham Bell made the first long-distance call, from Brantford ON to Paris.  

-- Numeris gets a great shout-out from Paragon Media Strategies founder Mike Henry, who adds his voice to a chorus of radio researchers calling for changes in how radio listening is measured in the US. Henry suggests that if U.S. radio wants to find a better way to measure its success, the industry need look no further than to our broadcast friends north of the border. “Canada’s Numeris is a non-profit entity that uses the same PPM methodology, but they have adequate sample sizes and greater ratings stability,” he notes, “Why can’t American radio groups follow that model?”

-- Corus Entertainment, which owns Global TV, and Rogers Media, which owns City TV, have each decided that in light of recent changes in local television policy, they are willing to accept the requirement that their stations in Montreal produce the standard 14 hours per week of local programming, and have withdrawn requests that their quota be reduced to 10 or seven hours a week. -- Fagstein

Labour strife is escalating concerns for the future of Toronto’s Now magazine. Employees at the left-leaning weekly have been without a contract since December, and talks have broken down after a failed attempt at reconciliation. – Globe & Mail

-- On Sept. 7 the CRTC starts   broadcasting licence renewal hearings for terrestrial (BDUs) that will expire in 2016. The agenda includes reviews of how Bell, Rogers, Shaw, and Videotron have adhered to their respective conditions of licence, and the practices employed in regard to skinny and flexible cable packages.

-- The video of former Toronto mayor Rob Ford smoking crack has finally been released and it’s a bit of a yawn.

 

-- On Aug. 29, Montreal-based MusicMax becomes Max, “the new television destination for TV show and movie fans!” Quoting president Maxime Rémillard, from a statement posted on the Groupe V Média website: "When we acquired MusiquePlus and MusiMax in 2014, it seemed quite obvious to us that there was no room in the Quebec market for two music channels (editor’s note--the other being Stingray Music). That’s why we decided to realign MusiMax. We envisioned a channel that was bold, distinctive and refined with content that was complementary to the other Groupe V Média properties.  And that’s how Max came about. After months of hard work putting together an outstanding product from every viewpoint, the entire team is proud and excited to be launching the newest family member…”

-- Tarzan Dan announced on Facebook yesterday that he’s returning to Calgary, after four years off-the-air, to host the afternoon drive show at Q107.

-- Facebook's plan to stop ad blockers has already been foiled. Adblock Plus has found a way to strip ads from Facebook, even when they're served up in Facebook's new ad blocker-proof format, according to The Verge.

-- Verizon entered Canada quietly last year via its acquisition of AOL and its media properties, which includes Huffington Post Canada. Verizon now stands to expand its presence in Canada through its $4.8b acquisition of Yahoo, which includes Yahoo Canada. AOL has more than 100 employees in Canada, while Yahoo Canada has between 25 and 30 editorial staff, as well as an unknown number of support employees. -- Alphabeatic

-- And finally, for your viewing pleasure, Journalism: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver

 

Worth Noting

Google vs. the cable guys: the big fight over the little set-top box in your home – CNN Money

 

Price comparison study of Telco services at home and select foreign jurisdictions – CRTC

People thought Peter Mansbridge was a total Debbie Downer during the opening ceremony -- BuzzFeed

Canadian businesses have yet to brace themselves for a digital future, study says – Mobile Syrup

Cord cutting malaise continues in Q2: Pay-TV operators in US drop 1.3m subs in past year – Variety

The cable industry thinks cord cutting’s a fad that will end once millennials procreate -- Techdirt

I'm sick of the so-called "news" in this country. If you turn on MSNBC or CNN any morning, all you'll hear is the hosts and guests arguing about the latest absurd thing that Donald Trump has said -- Thom Hartman blog