Sportsnet 650 (CISL-AM) Vancouver has released its full lineup, ahead of the all-sports station’s Sept. 4 launch. In addition to the previously announced Sportsnet’s Starting Lineup with James Cybulski, Steve Darling and Mira Laurence, Satiar Shah and Jawn Jang will host The Playbook weekdays from 9 a.m. to Noon PT. Shah, is the former TSN 1040 morning show producer, while Sportsnet marks Jang’s first foray into sports after three years at 102.7 The PEAK (CKPK-FM) and 93.7 JRfm (CJJR-FM) Vancouver. Shah continues hosting into the noon hour with Canucks Central at Noon, featuring regular contributors Brendan Batchelor, John Garrett, Corey Hirsch, Dan Murphy and John Shorthouse. From 1 – 4 p.m., former CTV Vancouver sports director Perry Solkowski and Hockey Night In Canada: Punjabi Edition colour analyst Randip Janda host On Point. Andrew Walker and Scott Rintoul round off afternoons with The Program from 4 – 7 p.m. PT.
TSN 1040 (CKST-AM) has released the lineup they’ll be putting up against new competition from Sportsnet 650 (CISL-AM). The Bro Jake Show will continue to wake up listeners, but starting a half-hour earlier, from 5:30 a.m. – 9 a.m. PT. Donnie & The Moj move to an earlier noon – 3 p.m. PT time slot. Matt Sekeres and Blake Price will anchor a new drive-home show from 3 – 7 p.m. dubbed Sekeres And Price. Mike Halford and Jason Brough are also being added to the weekday lineup with new, mid-morning show Halford & Brough, airing 9 a.m. – noon PT.
With CISL 650 (CISL-AM) Vancouver set to relaunch as Sportsnet 650, Vancouver radio legend Red Robinson wraps up a six-decade broadcast career on Sunday with a final show. Starting at noon PT, Robinson will be joined by special guests Bruce Allen and Seattle radio legend Pat O’Day. Robinson plans to continue to entertain online at redrobinson.com, and via his YouTube and SoundCloud channels.
Country 103 (CJKC-FM) Kamloops has been rebranded New Country 103.1. All of the station personalities has been retained, with morning host Jody “Teddy” Tedford and afternoon host Louis “Big Rig” McIvor, joined by Casey Clarke and Roo Phelps’ syndicated show in the evenings. “New Country” is a national brand of Newcap Radio, which recently acquired CJKC-FM and sister stations Radio NL (CHNL-AM) Kamloops and 97.5 The River (CKRV-FM) Kamloops.
CHOE-FM 95.3 Matane, Que. has rebranded TO O 95.3. The moves sees the station join fellow Top 40 sister stations O 101.5 (CHEQ-FM) Sainte Marie and O 97.3 (CFJO-FM) Thetford Mines.
The CRTC has renewed the broadcast licence for CJSO-FM Sorel-Tracy, Que. for a two-year period, but has ordered the station to broadcast announcements regarding its non-compliance. The commission says given this is the third consecutive renewal the station is in non-compliance, surrounding its French-language vocal music requirement, it’s ordered Radio Diffusion Sorel-Tracy Inc. to air an announcement three times daily, between 6 a.m. and 10 a.m. or between 4 p.m. and 6 p.m., for five consecutive days.
SiriusXM Canada is launching two new channels: Turbo and PopRocks, starting Aug. 17. Turbo (ch. 41) showcases hard rock from the 1990s and early 2000s from artists like Linkin Park, Korn, Papa Roach, Godsmack, System Of A Down, Metallica, Nine Inch Nails, Limp Bizkit and Disturbed. PopRocks (Sirius satellite & SiriusXM streaming ch. 17) will feature pop rock from the ’90s and 2000s, including The Killers, Coldplay, Sheryl Crow, Goo Goo Dolls, Train, No Doubt and Matchbox 20.
CBC Ombudsman Esther Enkin has responded to a complaint about the Sept. 2, 2016 broadcast of As It Happens on CBC Radio. The complainant thought calling anti-gay statements “homophobic” was taking sides and showed bias. The story surrounded a student who played her bagpipes while a man was preaching and condemning homosexuals on a Florida campus. In her decision, Enkin writes “As many of my colleagues have been pointing out in the wake of the events of the last week, there is a difference between ensuring that facts are reported fairly, that one’s personal views do not distort them and some notion of equivalence; that all views and statements are equal and must be balanced out…The words and message were profoundly anti-gay, and that is homophobic. There is nothing in CBC’s journalistic standards and practices that says journalists must treat every view in the same way.”
Arlene Dickinson is hosting a new CBC podcast on the highs and lows of being an entrepreneur, called Venturing Out. Launched last month, guests so far include entertainer Jann Arden, IBM Canada president Dino Trevisani and CBC Radio host/serial entrepreneur Terry O’Reilly.
Podcast listenership is making gains with the latest Nielsen Insights research showing half of U.S. households are now podcast fans – equalling more than 60 million homes. Half of these households are fans of at least one podcast, while 22 per cent consider themselves “avid” fans, defined as someone “extremely interested” in a certain genre of podcast. Nielsen’s research looked at the value of the podcasting audience by cross-referencing the consumer spending of listeners in its Homescan Panel, across more than 300 key advertising categories.
