Jim MacLeod, who served as President & CEO of BBM (Bureau of Broadcast Measurement) and its successor Numeris for 15 years, has passed away at the age of 78. The former Newcap and Telemedia executive unexpectedly died in his sleep Wednesday.
MacLeod started his broadcasting career in 1967 as an announcer at CKDH Amherst, NS. That same year, he joined CHUM Limited’s CJCH Halifax, before detouring to take on program director responsibilities at CFBC Saint John. He returned to CJCH in 1972 before taking a four-year break from broadcasting to serve as the National Executive Director of the Canada Jaycees, the Junior Chamber youth leadership organization.
MacLeod went back into broadcasting in late 1977 with Jack Schoone’s Eastern Broadcasting, serving as General Manager of CFOR Orillia and later CKGB/CFTI FM Timmins. The company was eventually acquired by Telemedia.
By 1981, MacLeod had returned to CHUM to helm three-station Alberta group – CKDQ Drumheller, CKSQ Stettler, and CIBQ Brooks. He went on to return east in 1987, where he was named President of NewCap, a role he served in until 1993 when he rejoined Schoone as a minority partner and president of Radiocorp Inc., which purchased CKLH FM/CKOC Hamilton and CJBX FM/CJBK London. Telemedia acquired the stations in late 1999, with MacLeod remaining with the company as Executive Vice-President.
In February 2001, he was appointed President & CEO of BBM Canada, staying with the measurement bureau through its rebrand as Numeris in 2014. He held the role until early 2016.
Longtime radio consultant Dave Charles, who worked with MacLeod at CKOC Hamilton, told Broadcast Dialogue that his radio legacy is immeasurable, particularly his work to improve measurement.
“Jim MacLeod left a giant footprint on the radio industry in Canada with his ongoing efforts to give radio a better ratings system,” said Charles. “Jim spent countless hours trying to make sure that radio ratings were improving and that every broadcaster he met with understood the ratings system better.”
MacLeod was also active as a board member and chairman of the Radio Marketing Bureau and the radio advisory board of the Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB), in addition to other community volunteer work.
