StatsRadio has released insights from its ‘Phase 1’ post-pandemic analysis. The audience measurement startup looked at listener data following partial reopenings (May 25 – June 7), 18+, for all 65 StatsRadio-measured stations in Québec, Ontario and New Brunswick. Half of its clients saw an average increase in reach of 16% and half saw an average decrease in reach of 18%. Half of those stations that saw an increase continued to see increases during both confinement (Mar. 23 – Apr. 5) and afterwards while the other half rebounded from a drop during confinement. As for tuning, two-thirds of StatsRadio stations saw an average increase in listening time of 18%, while the rest saw a decrease on average of 13%. Of the stations that experienced an increase in tuning, two-thirds rebounded from a drop during confinement. StatsRadio says there were no clear patterns or trends when looking at specific markets.
CBC and Scandinavian production company Munck Studios are co-producing new true crime podcast The Conspiracy, investigating the 1986 murder of Swedish prime minister Olof Palme that promises to shed new light on one of the most notorious political murders in recent history. The announcement follows Swedish prosecutor Krister Petersson’s revelation last week pointing to the late Stig Engström as the murderer, thereby closing the preliminary investigation. The Conspiracy is set for release in Spring 2021. It’s being produced by the same team behind Hunting Warhead, winner of the 2020 New York Festival Grand Award for Best Investigative Reporting, and award-winning Dutch producers Jennifer Pettersson and Jair Stein.
CBC Podcasts has dropped the first two episodes of Uncover: Dead Wrong, Season 7 of the true crime series. Hosted by veteran Halifax reporter Tim Bousquet, who currently helms online startup, the Halifax Examiner, Uncover: Dead Wrong explores the murder of Dartmouth, NS sex worker Brenda Way and her former boyfriend Glen Assoun, who spent more than 17 years in prison in connection with her 1995 stabbing death, a crime he did not commit.
Arlene Dickinson has launched new podcast Reinvention, produced by her own marketing and communications firm, Venture Communications. With the prospect of change top of mind for many Canadians, the new series shares the entrepreneur’s insight on the importance of reinventing not only your business but yourself in the process. The podcast, which debuted June 17, will feature guests like chemical engineer turned Chicago Tribune columnist Rex Huppke, Canadian Olympian Tessa Virtue, and singer-songwriter k.d. lang, among others. It will draw from Dickinson’s latest book, Reinvention: Changing Your Life, Your Career, Your Future.
Kelly&Kelly, the Vancouver creative studio behind This Sounds Serious (which won the inaugural Best Podcast honour at this week’s BANFF Rockie Awards), is crowdfunding to launch a new kids podcast that will create gigs for 50 comedians. Hosted by Larry Dobbs (aka Peter Oldring), The Plop is a weekly sketchy comedy podcast for youth, aged 7-12, that promises to capture the spirit of SCTV, Mad TV, and Monty Python, but for kids. It aims to put comedians, especially those up-and-coming, back to work. Learn more, here.
Midnight in the Desert, one of the shows hosted by the late Art Bell, and the radio network he created, Dark Matter Digital Network, re-launched as an audio/video streaming network June 17, on what would have been Bell’s 75th birthday. Affiliates can now pick up the “Best of Art Bell” for national and international terrestrial radio and digital streaming syndication. Midnight In The Desert has been acquired by a private holdings group, and is now managed and directed by former show producer David Rubini, who has been tapped to run the network as Operations Director and Executive Producer, taking over from former colleague Keith Rowland. Dark Matter Digital Network will begin terrestrial syndication out of original flagship station, KNYE 95.1 FM in Pahrump, NV. Listeners can also tune in at DarkMatterDigitalNetwork.com, the Tune-In App or via the Paranormal.Radio App available from Talk Stream Live.
Radioplayer Worldwide has signed a new partnership agreement with AUDI AG as the lead developer of infotainment systems within the Volkswagen Group. The agreement is a renewal of an existing partnership Radioplayer has had with AUDI since 2017 to support development of their hybrid radio systems that have the ability to seamlessly switch between FM, DAB and internet streaming. The new agreement will ensure Radioplayer continues to support VW Group cars already in the market with hybrid radio, including AUDIs, VWs, Porsches and Lamborghinis, as well as collaborating on future integrations and radio features. Radioplayer will supply official broadcaster metadata to AUDI as well as technical support and input to the future radio user experience. This work will prioritize hybrid radio and also include a roadmap to provide visuals to enhance the radio experience on larger dashboard screens, on-demand content like podcasts, and development of a personalized radio experience for drivers and passengers.
Rush has premiered a new conceptual music video for “The Spirit of Radio” in celebration of the 40th anniversary of Permanent Waves, that pays tribute to some of the DJs that first spun their records. Among them are CFNY-FM Toronto programmer David Marsden, syndicated Rockline host Bob Coburg, legendary Southern California classic rock DJ Jim Ladd, and Donna Halper, who is credited with discovering the band while at WMMS Cleveland in 1974. Read more here.
X92.9 (CFEX-FM) Calgary personality Graham Mosimann revealed on YouTube this week that he’s just passed his one-year sobriety date after being unable to remember doing his June 13, 2019 show, the night the Toronto Raptors clinched the NBA Finals Championship. The video, entitled ‘Discovering I Was An Alcoholic Was The Best Thing That’s Ever Happened To Me’ was prompted, in part, by Mosimann’s concern about record high liquor sales in Alberta during the pandemic period.
LISTEN: On the latest Sound Off Podcast, Heather Osgood, the founder of California-based True Native Media, answers questions about podcast advertising, including how mid-level podcasters can access ad dollars for their show, what dynamic ad insertion is, who needs it, and what exactly IAB certified or compliant metrics are.
