TIME re-launches in Canada
Puck reports that OVO is shopping around for buyers, More parents are putting kids in private schools.
Good afternoon everyone.
It was a rocky lead up to the World Cup, but as the tournament enters a second week it feels like any concerns have been swept to the side as Canada embraces the benefits that comes with being a host country for the world’s most-watched sports tournament. It’s so fun to watch my neighbourhood come alive, even if I have questions about how so many people were able to make it to a patio to watch Portugal play DR Congo in the middle of the workday.
On that note, I hope you all have your reservations sorted for the Team Canada game tomorrow night.
In today’s newsletter:
—TIME Magazine is launching in Canada, again
—More parents are putting kids in private schools
—Puck reports that OVO is in talks to sell to ABG
Milk Bag covers the business stories you won’t find on Apple News. If you have a story tip or want to work together, email me.
TIME re-launches a Canadian edition
One of the most interesting characteristics of the Canadian media landscape, to me at least, is our heavy reliance on foreign titles. A recent Reuters survey found that just 10% of respondents pay for subscriptions to local media outlets, while 43% subscribe to international ones. That is already the highest proportion in the world, and U.S. media giants like The New York Times and the Wall Street Journal have made no secret of plans to further expand their market share.
That’s why when TIME Magazine announced a re-launch into Canada through a licensing deal with ArtsHouse last week, people paid attention. On one hand, more competition is a good thing: Canadian media outlets are up against falling advertising revenue and a news ban on Meta platforms, but they also have not done enough to engage the next generation of subscribers. I think the best editors have realized this, and you can see it in how they’re shifting coverage.
On the other hand, this deal is different because it’s not TIME that will be running a Canadian newsroom, but ArtsHouse, which has made a business of buying the rights to expand U.S. titles, like Billboard and Rolling Stone, into Canada. They pay for the right to monetize a name, build a small editorial team, then layer in events and sponsorships—because they’re in the music journalism business, I would guess that’s where the bulk of their revenue comes from.
Running the same playbook with a hundred-year-old news magazine (that left Canada in 2008) will be a huge leap. Founder Mo Ghoneim told CTV News he’s hiring ten people (though there are no postings up) to produce an annual edition and quarterly digital covers. A news release says coverage will span business, politics, culture, tech, and climate, while “highlighting the people and issues” shaping Canada’s role in an “increasingly interconnected” world. I wonder if that means we should expect more Canadians on the Most Influential list.
If you read Shinan Govani’s reporting from the announcement party (I suggest you all do), the event reflected this disconnect. He wrote:
“It’s always good to see people trying things, and taking big swings, so on that level, at least, it was great to see this start-up. But looking around the room, I also had my share of skepticisms: this was a room full of influencers—like so many. The very ones I see out on the town every night at restaurant openings and “brand” pop-ups. It also tilted towards “marketing people.” Where, in fact, were all the journalists? The writers, the artists, and the newsmakers? The intelligensia (or what’s left of it), if you will?”
I too noticed that the people I would expect to be at the top of the list to be included in or write for the magazine were not invited, which is strange. Where I do see a gap, and where ArtsHouse can probably shine, as they do with their buzzy Billboard events, is probably around parties that bring together influential-type business people (Michele Romanow was there). Maybe they’re saving those invitations for the actual launch event happening in the fall.
SKIM THIS
CPP Investments, the investment arm of the Canadian pension plan, will put $1 billion into building data centres in India. Other investments in the country include funding toll roads, green energy, and national banks.
TD Bank is shuffling around its capital markets leadership by promoting Dan Charney to TD Securities president, Geoff Bertram to lead corporate and investment banking, and Lisa Thomas to lead global research.
Foodtastic, the restaurant franchisor that owns brands like PitaPit, Milestones and Second Cup, has bought the rights to Kinton Ramen. This is the same company bringing Dunkin’ Donuts back to Canada this year.
Koho Financial, a challenger bank, became Canada’s newest unicorn after raising $130 million from investors including Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund Mubadala, U.S.-based Savano Capital, and Shopify CEO Tobi Lütke.
NovaRed Mining, a B.C. mineral exploration company, hired former U.S. Homeland Security secretary Kristi Noem as an advisor for her experience
”working across government and industry” as it looks to grow the firm.
Puck reports that Drake’s OVO is in the process of selling a 50% stake to Authentic Brands Group. The story hasn’t been confirmed by either team, but if it’s true, it would offer interesting licensing opportunities for OVO, a record label and clothing company co-founded by Drake, Oliver El-Khatib and Noah Shebib in 2008. The company represents a healthy roster of artists and sells OVO-branded T-Shirts and hoodies priced between $58 and $248.
A tough job market has more parents paying for private schools. Bishop Strachan School (BSS) says it’s seeing a record number of applications, and enrollments across the country are up about 9% between 2020 and 2024.
The Globe and Mail spoke to David McKay about the AI brief he reads to start every morning. When I worked at BMO Capital Markets, half of my job was to produce daily briefings for executives covering what was happening in the business news cycle. I’m sad this is no longer a job, because it taught me so much of what I know about business nearly a decade later, but it would be interesting to know the specifics of what these AI agents are serving up to the chief executive of RBC, like the external and internal data they track.
Two interesting points about the Bell Media layoffs this week. The first is that employees on Reddit called it nearly a week before they happened, and the second is a conversation I had with an executive that suggested we stop referencing layoffs as a percentage of the total workforce (1% in this case) because it fails to reflect that about 8,000 jobs have been lost in since 2023.
The deal that kept NHL games on CBC, for free, has ended. Last year, Rogers reached an $11 billion, 12-year agreement to broadcast NHL games exclusively on Sportsnet, which it says have been a key subscription driver.
A moment of appreciation for Toronto’s new floating convenience store.
