Blue Ant Media’s Sam Linton to depart

Blue Ant Media’s Sam Linton is leaving the Canadian group in the latest rejig of its senior ranks.

Linton had been with the company for more than a decade and was most recently vice president of production and development at the Toronto-headquartered firm, which went public just over a year ago after a reverse takeover of Boat Rocker Media.

Having secured a warchest for growth, it then acquired streamer Magellan TV and prodco Thunderbird, before rejigging its operations by bringing its channels and distribution teams together in February.

Blue Ant Studios is led by co-presidents Mark Bishop and Matt Hornburg, with the latter overseeing content strategy, development and production, and the former heading content monetisation, rights and commercial strategy.

The reshuffle saw senior execs including Carlyn Staudt and Thunderbird sales boss Richard Goldsmith among those to depart.

Linton’s exit was put down to “organisational changes which impacted a few roles” the company told Canadian trade RealScreen, which broke the news.

New positions include a global commissioning exec who will oversee Canadian and international programming as part of the new-look structure.

Linton had appeared at Banff World Media Festival in June alongside senior execs to discuss the company’s ambitions and also spoke about its content needs with Broadcast International earlier this year.

Blue Ant’s first year on the Toronto Stock Exchange has proved somewhat tumultuous, after shares bowed at C$7.20 apiece in early September 2025. They had dipped to C$4.89 in July but have since improved, closing at C$6.19 on Friday.