Blue Ant Media CEO Michael MacMillan calls the company he co-founded in 2011 “the little engine that could.” On Wednesday in Toronto, he welcomed a crowded floor full of “partners and friends who help bring our stories to life” to celebrate 15 years as a company — the past year as a venture gone public.
MacMillan, of course, enjoyed a whole other career as co-founder and executive chairman of Alliance Atlantis. That company grew to become a force in Canadian film and television, striking gold with a 50 per cent interest in a little franchise called CSI. In 2017, MacMillan sold CSI and Alliance Atlantis for eleventy trillion-billion or thereabouts, freeing him up to launch Blue Ant a few years later.
Blue Ant, as outlined in a podcast conversation I recorded last year with MacMillan, has been steadily acquiring production companies. They include a 2025 reverse takeover of Boat Rocker Media. If you enjoy Cottage Life magazine, it is also a Blue Ant property.
I ran into several familiar faces at Wednesday’s event, including longtime CEO of Insight Productions John Brunton. His flagship reality show The Amazing Race Canada, renewed for another season, is now part of the Blue Ant Family. Brunton, who broke into the business as a young carpenter working on a TV office renovation, is working on a documentary salute to another of the beloved stars of SCTV. There is also his company’s annual production of The Juno Awards, to be held in Winnipeg in 2027.
Anthem and Hollywood Suite President David Kines was also at the event, as were executives from Paramount+, giving me an opportunity to thank two of my valued brioux.tv sponsors in person. Also ran into Netflix Canada’s senior manager of publicity Owen McCorquodale. Netflix is the streaming home of Blue Ants’ Crew Girl, a coming of age teen drama set in the world of competitive rowing.
Former Entertainment Tonight Canada host Cheryl Hickey also made the Blue Ant scene, as did Holmes Family Rescue host Mike Holmes.
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Blue Ant COO and Brioux TV favourite Jamie Schouela says his sales teams had a very good international market at the recent MIPCOM gathering in Cannes. Among the shows he won’t be selling there next year are the three 16mm comedy shorts from the ’40s I brought with me to the event in a private content deal with fellow film collector MacMillan. Do these old black and while two-reelers feature a slapstick comedy trio? Soitenly!
