Corus Radio is continuing the podcast to broadcast trend, announcing this week that its Curiouscast podcast network is partnering with Night Time, a Halifax-based mystery/true crime podcast which will air nationally across its Global News Talk Radio stations, starting in October.
In-house podcast This Is Why, hosted by Corus Vancouver producer and contributor Niki Reitmayer, is also set to be broadcast on various weekend day parts in five markets, including CKNW-AM Vancouver, CHQR-AM Calgary, CHED-AM Edmonton, CJOB-AM Winnipeg and CHML-AM Hamilton.
“Part of the Corus strategy when we launched the Curiouscast network was to fully integrate it, taking advantage of the strength of our radio audience, but also leveraging it digitally across Global News and our 39 radio station websites,” Chris Duncombe, director of streaming and podcasting for Corus Entertainment, told Broadcast Dialogue. “It’s an opportunity not only to create content from within, but to partner with great content from elsewhere.”
Duncombe says Night Time now has the opportunity to grow its mainstream audience, while original Global News podcast This is Why, which delves into big Canadian news stories with a younger audience in mind, was an opportunity to bring a voice to the Global News Talk stations that wasn’t there already.
“Not every podcast we bring in will be a candidate for a radio show, our intention isn’t to do that with every show,” said Duncombe. “We have a strong and robust podcast network that is sharing a tonne of shows…some will make sense for radio.”
“If there’s one thing that unites two very different shows it’s great storytelling. It’s as important to a radio show as a podcast, it’s the reason people connect to those shows and come back week after week. The one measuring stick for Curiouscast follows that same line…great stories that are being told in a unique way.”
Curiouscast now features 35 podcasts, including podcast versions of some Global News Talk Radio shows. Alan Cross’ Ongoing History of New Music, which started as a radio show on CFNY-FM Toronto in 1993, is consistently the network’s top performer, finding a new and younger audience in the podcast realm.
Corus’ move to bring more podcasts into the broadcast space follows Bell Media’s launch last weekend of The Business of Life, a podcast hosted by Canadian singer-songwriter Jann Arden and venture capitalist Arlene Dickinson, which will also air across Bell’s News/Talk radio stations. Funny 820 (CHAM-AM) Hamilton also started airing the Fred & Humble podcast, which while broadcast live, is following the morning show duo’s podcast format.
Duncombe says while podcasting is having a moment, discoverability remains a challenge with about 70-75 per cent of the population still not active podcast listeners.
“There’s still a lot of people who don’t know that purple icon on your iPhone can unlock a whole world,” said Duncombe. “Podcasting is on this incredible trajectory and the audiences are changing…eventually they will become ubiquitous like Facebook and Instagram as they were brought into the mainstream.”
Duncombe says more Curiouscast announcements will be forthcoming.
Night Time will make its broadcast debut the week of Oct. 22 on CKNW-AM Vancouver, CHQR-AM Calgary, CHED-AM Edmonton, CJOB-AM Winnipeg, CFPL-AM London, CHML-AM Hamilton and AM 640 (CFMJ-AM) Toronto.
Garnering five million downloads since its 2016 debut, Night Time has generated significant buzz, most notably for its episodes investigating the mysterious Nov. 2012 disappearance of 26-year-old Emma Fillipoff from in front of Victoria’s Empress Hotel.
Night Time will continue to release new episodes – which, along with its back-catalogue – will be available on all major podcast platforms under the Curiouscast umbrella.
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