BNN Bloomberg has announced the launch of BNN Bloomberg Radio, which Bell Media is billing as Canada’s first business news radio station. Launching Apr. 30 on what’s now TSN Radio 1410 (CFTE-AM) Vancouver, the station will feature a simulcast of BNN Bloomberg’s linear television broadcast and in-depth, live, long-form, specialty programming. Bell says TSN Radio 1040 (CKST-AM) Vancouver will retain its all-sports format and expand its live radio broadcast schedule to feature content previously delivered by TSN 1410. BNN Bloomberg Radio will be available for live streaming across the country through the iHeartRadio Canada app. Additionally, Bell Media Radio will integrate reports from BNN Bloomberg Radio into its news/talk stations across Canada, led by The Takeaway with Amanda Lang, a daily radio update on the most significant business news of the day.
Darren Dreger, Darren Pang, Rob Faulds, Chris Cuthbert, Gord Miller, Dave Randorf, Joey Kenward, Dean Brown, John Bartlett and Peter Loubardias are among the broadcast names who have volunteered to call Humboldt Broncos games in the wake of the crash that claimed the life of the team’s play-by-play announcer Tyler Bieber. Les Lazaruk, play-by-play voice for the Saskatoon Blades, issued a call on Twitter on Apr. 12 saying he’d like to honour Bieber’s memory by calling a game when the team resumes play for the 2018-19 season, encouraging 57 other broadcasters to do the same. That call was quickly responded to by a score of big names.
TSN 1150 (CKOC-AM) and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats have announced two new weekly shows and new addition to the broadcast team for the upcoming 2018 CFL season. TSN 1150 is set to launch The Most Interesting Man In Football with June Jones and The ‘X’ Factor with Lesley Stewart, beginning in mid-May. Former Ti-Cats receiver and two-time Grey Cup champion Mike Morreale is also heading to the broadcast booth as primary analyst for the station’s Tiger-Cats coverage.
Roundhouse Radio 98.3 (CIRH-FM) Vancouver is set to shut down on Apr. 30 after a 30-month run. The independent talk station officially launched in Oct. 2015. At launch, its on-air lineup featured former Much Music hosts Terry David Mulligan and Jana Lynne White with the current lineup including Janice Ungaro and Cory Ashworth, Jody Vance and Gene Valaitis. The station employs about 30 people. CEO and program director Don Shafer tells Broadcast Dialogue, the station is urgently seeking investors or a buyer.
Andrew Lawton, former host at AM980 News (CFPL-AM) London, has declared his intention to seek the Ontario Progressive Conservative nomination in London West. Lawton, who was laid off from his hosting gig last month, declared his intention to run in a video posted to Facebook last Wednesday.
SiriusXM Canada is the exclusive radio broadcaster of live performances and interviews from the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival for the fourth consecutive year. SiriusXM’s Coachella Radio, the limited-run channel broadcasting on channel 29 through Apr. 25, is providing continuous coverage of the festival with live performances, artist interviews, Coachella news and happenings. Select performances are also airing on other SiriusXM channels including Alt Nation, The Spectrum, SiriusXMU, Hip Hop Nation, The Heat and more. SiriusXM was the first radio broadcaster to broadcast Coachella live in 2015.
iHeartRadio Canada is the official radio partner of Boots and Hearts, Canada’s largest country music festival. As part of the partnership, iHeartRadio has launched Boots and Hearts Radio, featuring artists playing at the 2018 festival, including Florida Georgia Line, Alan Jackson, Dallas Smith and others. Anchored by Sophie Moroz and Jeff Hopper, hosts of the iHeartRadio New Country Countdown, Boots and Hearts Radio is available on the iHeartRadio app.
Network Media Group Inc. and Network Entertainment have partnered with GATHR to launch a Theatrical On Demand release for the feature documentary I Am MLK Jr., allowing audiences to screen the film in movie theaters across the U.S. Following the Apr. 4 television broadcast on Paramount Network and simulcast on BET, marking the 50th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King’s assassination, the release on the GATHR Theatrical On Demand platform will allow individuals to host screenings of the feature-length documentary.
REBEL 101.7 Ottawa’s Real Rock Search Finals saw local band Stynger take the $5,000 cash prize after People’s Choice Voting. Crowned before a large, enthusiastic crowd at the Algonquin Commons Theatre, the event saw eight playdown nights hosted by Moose McGuire’s Pub & Grill from Feb. through March. REBEL 101.7 is owned and operated by Torres Media Ottawa.
