Erin Davis has revealed that’s she’s a 2020 Canadian Broadcast Industry Hall of Fame inductee. Davis, who was an on-air staple at CHFI Toronto for decades and has also done stints with CKO Toronto, CKLW Windsor, and CFRA Ottawa, told Toronto Mike “it’s a tremendous honour and I never even dreamt of it really, honestly.” Davis left the CHFI morning show and Toronto for Vancouver Island at the end of 2016, following the sudden death of her 24-year-old daughter Lauren. She’s since penned memoir, Mourning Has Broken: Love, Loss & Reclaiming Joy, which will see a soft cover release Feb. 18. Davis will be inducted into the Hall of Fame during Canadian Music Week in May.
The CRTC has approved power reductions for two Maritime Broadcasting System (MBS) stations, with the company citing system failures, repairs, the ever-increasing costs of operating an AM radio station, and a steady decline in station revenues. CFBC 930AM Saint John, NB will see a reduction in daytime transmitter power from 50,000 to 2,000 watts, and a night-time transmitter power decrease from 50,000 to 150 watts, changing the antenna radiation pattern from directional to non-directional. CKAD Middleton, NS will see a nighttime transmitter power decrease from 1,000 to 400 watts. All other technical parameters will remain unchanged.
K1037 (CKRK-FM), Kahnawake’s community radio station, has made changes due to what the board says are financial issues. In addition to several programs being cancelled due to audience metrics, Station Manager Cheryl Deer has been laid off. In the interim, board member and former station manager Heather Bauersfeld will step in to handle administration and assess the station’s financial and operational status. The board is also delaying filling three seats until the end of March.
SiriusXM will offer multiple live broadcasts of the Super Bowl in various languages and a dedicated Super Bowl LIV pop-up channel. Coverage of the game from Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens will include broadcasts from Westwood One; the San Francisco 49ers radio broadcast; and broadcasts in Spanish, Mandarin, German, French, Hungarian, and Portuguese. SiriusXM will also offer listeners a live broadcast of the on-field musical performance by Jennifer Lopez and Shakira on both Pop2K (SiriusXM 10) and Super Bowl LIV Radio (SiriusXM 105). SiriusXM’s 24/7 NFL channel – SiriusXM NFL Radio (channel 88) – will broadcast live from Radio Row at the Miami Convention Center throughout Super Bowl Week. Hosts include Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee Gil Brandt, David Diehl, Bruce Gradkowski, Torry Holt, Pat Kirwan, Ed McCaffrey, Jim Miller, Kirk Morrison, Brady Quinn, Charlie Weis, Solomon Wilcots, Alex Marvez, Bruce Murray, John Clayton and Howard Balzer. Brett Favre will also host a special edition of The SiriusXM Blitz with Brett Favre, live on Friday, Jan. 31 at 11 a.m. ET.
The Health Sciences Centre Foundation Hope to Life Radiothon, broadcast on 680 CJOB Winnipeg on Jan. 24, raised $212,458.81, surpassing a goal of $175,000. Funds raised will support health care, medical research and hospital technology upgrades in Manitoba.
The 21st annual Corus Radiothon for Stollery Children’s Hospital raised $1,469,715. More than 30 families shared their stories on Jan. 22-23 with CISN Country 103.9, 630 CHED, and Global Edmonton, while over 150 volunteers answered phones.
Canadian Music Week has announced additional panels joining the Radio Active conference lineup, May 20-21. They include a panel discussion on improving spoken word content, moderated by Toronto talent coach Dave Farough; an exploration on the new working relationship between music and radio in the age of streaming, moderated by Sean Ross, VP of Music & Programming at Edison Research; and a radio and automotive town hall, moderated by broadcast and music industry exec Chris Sisam, and featuring Michael Hill, Managing Director, Radioplayer UK, and Julie Adam, SVP, Rogers Radio. Find the Radio Active agenda here.
Canadian Podcast Listener (CPL) explores the mythology of The Joe Rogan Experience in its latest blog post. Boasting more than 7,000,000 YouTube subscribers, the podcast stands out as a multi-media success story. Rogan also bucks the trend of catering to a well-educated audience, with data showing he’s reaching the young, male, everyman. Read more here.
LISTEN: Roger Nairn, CEO of Vancouver-based branded content studio Jar Audio, is our guest on the latest episode of Broadcast Dialogue – The Podcast. Nairn covers everything from the benefits of a virtual office to why 2020 is going to be the year of the branded podcast. Listen on your favourite podcast app or here.
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