In a rare move in Canadian radio, Corus has replaced its morning drive show at JUMP! 106.9 (CKQB-FM) Ottawa with syndicated American programming.
Brooke & Jubal In The Morning, hosted by Brooke Fox and Jubal Flagg, hit the station’s airwaves this morning (Sept. 4). Based out of MOViN 92.5 (KQMV-FM) Seattle, the duo have been together since 2011, with the show launching into national syndication in 2015.
Corus confirmed to Broadcast Dialogue that the previous JUMP! morning show, hosted by Jesse Reynolds and Jenna Mosher, aired its final broadcast on Aug. 28, and the duo are no longer with the company. Reynolds had been with the morning show since 2015, while Mosher started on middays with the station in 2014 and had been part of the morning team since March 2016.
Social media backlash to the station’s move was swift with listeners tagging their posts on the station’s Facebook page with the hashtags #bringbackjesseandjenna, #boycottjump and #goodbyejump.
“I will not be listening to your new morning show coming from the States…but instead supporting our local shows. And I hope everyone else does too,” wrote one listener.
Chris Sarpong, communications for Global News & Corus Radio, says local news and traffic will be inserted into each hour of the show, from 6 – 10 a.m., in addition to local station promos throughout the show.
Sarpong didn’t wish to comment on negative social media reaction, other than to say “the changes made align with our continued efforts to make Corus Radio the #1 destination for Canadian audiences; the move will help maximize how we deliver content to listeners and further position radio brands for the future. Certainly these decisions are never easy and we’re on record in thanking Jesse and Jenna for their hard work and dedicated service,” he wrote in an email.
While syndicated morning drive programming is commonplace in the U.S., with Brooke & Jubal In The Morning heard on 40 stations alone, it’s a rarity in Canada. Prior to Howard Stern’s move to SiriusXM, The Howard Stern Show was heard briefly in place of local morning shows on Q107 (CILQ-FM) Toronto and CHOM-FM Montreal. The show was cancelled in Montreal in 1998 and Toronto in 2001 after numerous listener complaints to the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council (CBSC) and the CRTC.
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