Radioplayer Canada – the radio streaming app backed by a consortium of more than 500 Canadian radio stations – has surpassed one million downloads in the Apple App Store and Google Play Store, combined. Radioplayer says Canadians are now spending 3.7 million hours a month with the app, with time spent listening up five per cent in the past six months alone. Read more here.
The National Campus and Community Radio Association (NCRA) is applauding last week’s court decision effectively killing an Ontario government measure allowing post-secondary students to opt out of student services deemed non-essential, including student media. The Student Choice Initiative (SCI), introduced this past fall, resulted in a significant loss of funding for 19 Ontario campus stations leading to staff reductions and decreased training opportunities. Last Thursday’s Ontario Divisional Court ruling was brought about by a legal challenge from the Canadian Federation of Students and York Federation of Students. Read more here.
CBC/Radio-Canada has chosen Acast to sell its podcast slate internationally. The public broadcaster’s first official podcast partner for international sales, Acast will sell advertising and sponsorships to clients outside of Canada, including the U.S. and Europe. Founded in 2014, Acast is a Stockholm-headquartered host, monetizer and distributor of audio content with sales teams in 10 countries. It represents podcast publishers including the BBC, Radio New Zealand, Yahoo!, VICE, Vogue, The Financial Times, and The Guardian, among others. Read more here.
Kathleen Wynne
Kathleen Wynne, former Ontario Premier and current MPP for Don Valley West, is sitting in as a co-host this week on Newstalk 1010 (CFRB-AM) drive home show The Rush with Ryan Doyle & Jay Michaels. Wynne is sitting in for Doyle, offering insight on the news of the day. The Rush airs weekdays from 4 – 7 p.m. ET.
Stingray Radio has given away a $20,000 cash prize after holding a coast-to-coast search for Canada’s Biggest Country Fan. The seven week promotion ran across Stingray’s New Country network with listeners in each market challenged to identify as many country songs as they could by artist and title in 60 seconds. The leader from each market was invited to participate in the Canada-wide finals, which aired Nov. 22. Sarah Arsenault, representing Fredericton, NB, took the grand prize after correctly identifying 20 songs in 60 seconds.
Sadie Hesketh
89.5 The Drive (CHWK-FM) morning co-host Sadie Hesketh was part of the annual Chilliwack Gives Back Jail ‘n Bail event Nov. 26. Hesketh was one of 14 community personalities arrested for charity. Hesketh supported the Chilliwack Hospice Society, while 89.5 The Drive weekend host Trevor McDonald was also arrested in support of Coats for Kids. The 14 jailbirds blew the $10,000 goal out of the water, raising a total of $78,830.
iHeartRadio Canada has launched a new original podcast hosted by Jann Arden. The Jann Arden Podcast promises to explore “relationships, sleep, the supernatural and more of what connects people with a variety of special guests including musicians, actors, politicians, writers, and athletes.” Executive produced by CHUM 104.5 Toronto’s Caitlin Green, the podcast is also available for distribution to broadcasters through Orbyt Media. Arden previously hosted The Business of Life for iHeartRadio, with entrepreneur Arlene Dickinson.
SiriusXM’s streaming service will now come bundled with the Amazon Echo Dot. Eligible customers who subscribe to a SiriusXM Select, All Access or Essential Streaming subscription will also receive an Amazon Echo Dot free for a limited time. The satellite radio provider’s standalone streaming subscription offers more than 300 channels of content, including online-only channels, SiriusXM Video, and on-demand content. SiriusXM’s On Demand library is also now available to subscribers with Amazon Alexa and Echo devices, as well as several third-party devices with Alexa built-in.
Eric Leo Blais
FEATURE: In his latest Rethinking Media column, Eric Blais from StatsRadio reflects on his takeaways from #RadioShow2019 in Dallas and explores how experiential design can be applied to media.
LISTEN: The Canadian Country Music Association (CCMA) and Spotify Canada have kicked off a partnership, the foundation of which is an extension of the CCMA’s existing LIVE Country brand. On this episode of Broadcast Dialogue – The Podcast, Nathan Wiszniak, Head of Artist & Label Marketing for Spotify Canada, and CCMA President Tracy Martin on country’s growing streaming audience and elevating Canadian country music in the global space.
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