Jay Switzer CM (July 11, 1956 – January 29, 2018) was a Canadian television executive, most noted as a longtime senior executive of CHUM Limited. Born in Calgary, Alberta and raised in Lethbridge, he was the son of broadcast executives Israel Switzer and Phyllis Switzer. He had his first job in broadcasting as a weekend switchboard operator for Citytv, and then worked as a cable installer for Maclean-Hunter, a director of television pilots and a research analyst for the Financial Post. He attained an MBA from the University of Western Ontario's Ivey Business School, before rejoining Citytv as director of programming in 1983. In that role, he also oversaw the launch and development of MuchMusic, the first of CHUM's forays into ownership and operation of cable channels.