John Ashbridge’s legacy of support for Royal Columbian Hospital Foundation (RCHF) will carry on with the establishment of the John Ashbridge Memorial Fund, in memory of the late CKNW-AM Vancouver news anchor and Vancouver Canucks PA announcer. Ashbridge, who passed away June 5, served on the foundation’s board of directors from 2006-15, in addition to being an ambassador and volunteer. A special website for donations has been created at www.rchfoundation.com/ash. A private memorial for Ashbridge was held last Friday at the Vancouver Golf & Country Club where a few hundred friends and colleagues gathered to remember “Ash” including former broadcasters Brian Antonson and John McKitrick; RCHF board chair and CBC Vancouver reporter Belle Puri; Canucks PA announcer Al Murdoch and former Canucks play-by-play guy Jim Robson.
The CRTC has returned an application for a new FM station in Lloydminster from Vista Radio, saying the market can’t sustain another radio station. The commission’s decision notes that revenues are decreasing in the market at a rate faster than the provincial average and have yet to recover even though the Alberta economy has rebounded.
Torres Media has received CRTC approval to launch new Classic Hits station CKOU-FM in Georgina, ON. The new station will operate on 93.7 with 26,000 watts. The commission rejected competing applications from My Broadcasting and Radio Markham York.
Durham Radio has been granted a broadcasting licence to operate a new commercial FM radio station serving Grimsby and Beamsville, ON, giving Durham a second commercial radio station in the Numeris Hamilton Central Area (Hamilton CTRL). Durham is proposing a Classic Hits/Oldies format targeting adults 25-64.
Newcap has received approval from the CRTC to acquire the assets of CKEC-FM and CKEZ-FM New Glasgow, NS from Hector Broadcasting. The transaction is expected to close after Stingray Digital Group acquires all of Newcap’s issued and outstanding shares, which is anticipated over the next three to six months.
CFWE-FM Edmonton is now rebroadcasting in Grande Prairie. The Aboriginal Multi-Media Society country music station is testing in the area at 105.7 FM on the dial at 100,000 watts erp. The coverage area for CFWE-FM and CJWE-FM Calgary now includes Lethbridge, Lloydminster, Cold Lake, Lac la Biche and Ft. McMurray, among other communities.
Rogers has been cleared to acquire CJCY-FM Medicine Hat from Clear Sky Radio for $4 million. The move is anticipated to leverage Rogers’ operating and marketing costs in the market, joining its existing rock station 105.3 FM (CKMH-FM).
CKWR-FM Kitchener, CKMN-FM Rimouski and Mont-Joli, Que., CHOC-FM Saint-Rémi, Que., and CKUN-FM Christian Island, ON have been granted short-term licence renewals until the end of this year. The CRTC has given the community radio stations temporary extensions due to non-compliance issues, including failure to file annual returns, inaccurate monitoring and issues surrounding implementation of the National Public Alerting System.
The Canadian Broadcast Standards Council (CBSC) has found a breach of the Canadian Association of Broadcasters’ (CAB) Code of Ethics after Buckcherry’s “Crazy Bitch” containing the f-word was broadcast on the Crash & Mars morning show on NOW! Radio (CKNO-FM) Edmonton on Jan. 24. During the show, hosts mentioned an online video of a woman leaving her wedding to the song and then commented that their co-host was trying to edit out all the f-words before playing it. When they did play the song, all but two instances of the word were edited out. The hosts joked that they had 90 per cent succeeded and hopefully the audience would mistake the word for “rock.” The CBSC received a complaint from a listener who was primarily concerned about the use of the word “bitch” in the song. The CBSC’s English-Language Panel noted its previous decision which found the word “bitch” was acceptable at any time of day, but given the failure to edit out all instances of the word “fuck,” the station breached the code. The panel also noted hosts had the opportunity to apologize, but instead chose to make light of the situation.
CBC Radio One can now be heard on the FM dial in Marathon, ON. The Radio One signal is now live at 107.5 mhz. Listeners can still tune in to 1090 AM.
Audience Insights has released a tease from early returns from its Canadian Podcast Listener 2018 survey which indicates weekly listening in Canada is up from 15 to 18 per cent over the last 10 months. Audience Insights promises to publish the full report this fall.
Dusty Discs Radio has launched online from BC’s Okanagan Valley, specializing in rare and unique hidden Canadian classics from the 60s, 70s and 80s. Founded by radio veterans Lori Dean and Heather Prescott, the station also features vintage commercials, TV show themes and archived interviews. Listen via DustyDiscsRadio.com or through the TuneIn and Simple Radio apps.
Jim Duce is celebrating 45 years on air at CHAT 94.5 FM Medicine Hat. Duce joined what was then 1270 CHAT AM in 1973 and has been one-half of the morning show since 1974, in addition to acting as the public address announcer for Medicine Hat Tigers games. Duce’s anniversary was marked with a barbecue where donations were collected for the SPCA.
Saskatoon Media Group has extended its contract as the official radio broadcast rights holder for the Saskatoon Blades for another four years, but is moving the broadcasts from 92.9 The Bull (CKBL-FM) to 98 Cool FM (CJMK-FM). Les Lazaruk will remain on as the team’s play-by-play announcer, entering his 25th season as the voice of the Blades. He’ll open the season in Swift Current on Sept. 21 calling his 1800th career game. Beginning this season, Lazaruk will also host a live, one-hour pre-game show prior to home games. Players and staff will also be featured every Thursday morning on 98 Cool FM.
Sportsnet 650 (CISL-AM) Vancouver has acquired the radio rights to the Vancouver Giants of the Western Hockey League (WHL). Sportsnet 650 will broadcast all Giants games live, in addition to all 82 Vancouver Canucks games. Live game coverage will be complemented by regular appearances from the team’s head coach Michael Dyck and general manager Barclay Parneta on the station’s various shows, as well as weekly player profiles and features. Giants play-by-play announcer Dan O’Connor will call the games, beginning with the regular season opener on Sept. 21.
Dan Marshall, who has done play-by-play for the Nanaimo Clippers for nearly 11 seasons, has been honoured with the Bernie Pascall Media award by the BC Hockey Hall of Fame. The award is presented annually to a hockey personality who “demonstrates commitment and dedication to the promotion within the game of hockey.” Marshall, who is also the voice of the morning news on 106.9 The Wolf (CHWF-FM), was the play-by-play voice for the Penticton Vees for eight years before arriving in Nanaimo in 2007. Marshall has called more than 1,000 BCHL games and has two BCHL Broadcaster of the Year awards to his name.
TSN 1150 (CKOC-AM) Hamilton has extended its partnership with McMaster University as the Official Radio Partner of McMaster Marauder Athletics and Recreation. The new agreement includes complete coverage of the McMaster football season, beginning with the 2018 home opener when the Marauders face the Guelph Gryphons on Aug. 26. McMaster magazine show Talkin’ Mac, hosted by Ken Welch, will move to a bi-weekly schedule on Saturday mornings from 11 a.m. to noon ET. TSN 1150’s live coverage of McMaster men’s and women’s basketball will also continue in Jan. 2019.
On this week’s Broadcast Dialogue podcast, publisher Shawn Smith talks to Canadian country superstar Terri Clark. 2018 is shaping up to be a great year for the Medicine Hat, Alberta native…in addition to releasing a hit duet with Dallas Smith, and touring both solo and as part of the Chicks with Hits Tour with Suzy Bogguss and Pam Tillis, Clark is about to be inducted into the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame.
Clark also continues to host the Country Gold with Terri Clark, heard on 145 stations in the U.S. and Canada.
