Radio & Podcast News – Bill Evanov to be posthumously inducted into OAB Hall of Fame

Bill Evanov will be posthumously inducted into the Ontario Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame this October. The Evanov Communications founder and president passed away in March 2020 at age 77. Nominated by the board, the Ontario Hall of Fame Award is annually presented to individuals who’ve demonstrated a commitment to the highest standards of broadcast excellence. Evanov was previously inducted into the Canadian Music and Broadcast Industry Hall of Fame in 2011. The presentation will take place during CONNECTION 2022, at the OAB Awards Luncheon on Oct. 19. Read more here.

The CRTC has found that the Winnipeg market cannot support an additional commercial radio station at this time. The commission is returning an application filed by 888 Enterprises Inc. for a broadcasting licence to operate a new commercial ethnic FM radio station, however, the commission is publishing an application filed by U Multicultural Inc. for a broadcasting licence to operate a community ethnic FM radio station in this market as part of the non-appearing phase of an upcoming public hearing.

The CRTC finds that the market of Lunenburg County, NS, can sustain a new radio station at this time. Accordingly, the commission will publish the application filed by Scott Clements on behalf of a corporation to be incorporated for a broadcasting licence to operate a new English-language commercial FM radio station in the market as part of the non-appearing phase of an upcoming public hearing. Clements is the owner of national country music database, Trax Report, and Principle Projects Label Services. He’s previously held various roles in radio with Rawlco and Harvard Broadcasting in Saskatchewan, Corus Entertainment in Hamilton, and MBS Radio and Acadia Broadcasting in the Maritimes.

RNC Média is launching a new French-language sports talk network in Quebec. BPM Sports will launch Aug. 29 on 91.9 Sports (CKLX-FM) Montreal, as well as current Vibe music stations, 100.9 (CHXX-FM) Quebec City and 96.5 (CFTX-FM) Gatineau. Jean-Charles Lajoie will helm the morning show, joined by names in other dayparts like Gilbert Delorme, Benoît Roger, Georges Laracque, Maxime Truman, Maxime Van Houtte, Martin Lemay and Paul Houde. Other contributors include Tony Marinaro, Réjean Tremblay, former Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre, and former Montreal Alouette Matthieu Proulx, among others. The network holds the broadcast rights to CF Montreal and the Montreal Canadiens’ American Hockey League affiliate,  Laval Rocket, among other sporting. events. 

The BC Hockey League (BCHL) has renamed its Broadcaster of the Year award The Jim Hughson Award. Hughson, 65, retired last September from Hockey Night in Canada after 42 years of sports broadcasting that began in 1979 calling South Peace Hockey League games on CKNL Radio in his hometown of Fort St. John, B.C. Hughson is currently serving as the Chairman of the B.C. Hockey Hall of Fame.  

Accessible Media Inc. (AMI) has announced its AMI-audio lineup for the 2022-23 broadcast season, including four new podcasts. New AMI-audio podcasts available on YouTube include Tripping On Air, hosted by Fashion Dis host Ardra Shephard, along with Alex Hajjar, who adapts her confessional blog as a podcast on what it’s really like to live with MS; Raising Kindness with Becki Zerr features the former RN and her son, Bennett, performing acts of kindness in shelters, community centres and nursing homes in southern Saskatchewan; Blind Golf Canada, hosted by Gerry Nelson and Darren Douma, champions the evolution of the AMI-supported sport, including its recent partnership with ParaGolf Canada; Shaun of the Shed, hosted by Double Tap’s Shaun Preece from his shed, gives those new to the world of technology a helping hand with everything from using a screen reader or smart speakers to unboxing and starting up a new computer. Also new to YouTube are The Pulse, an in-depth discussion on issues impacting the disability community and Low Vision Moments with Jennie Bovard which presents funny experiences that happen when you are blind or partially sighted.

Edison Research’s quarterly “Share of Ear” study says agencies and advertisers underestimate AM/FM radio shares and overestimate Pandora and Spotify audiences. The just released Q2 2022 report reveals a gap in agency/marketer perceptions of audio audiences. A study of 300 media agencies and marketers, conducted in August 2021 by Advertiser Perceptions, found the perceived share of Pandora/Spotify is a combined 45%, much greater than the perceived share of AM/FM radio (28%). Edison says AM/FM radio’s actual share is three times larger than advertisers perceive with its Q2 report indicating AM/FM radio’s 18+ share of ad-supported audio is 75%, 13 times larger than Pandora (6%) and 19 times greater than Spotify (4%). 

LISTEN: Arguably one of the biggest radio stunts of the last decade happened earlier this summer with the launch of Rogers Sports & Media’s SONiC RADiO format in Metro Vancouver. A stunt that saw Rage Against The Machine’s Killing in the Name enable the transition from the former KiSS format. In the 30-hour space between, the ensuing theories about why went viral. On this episode of Broadcast Dialogue – The Podcast, alt rock radio veterans Christian Hall, SONiC RADiO’s Content Director and the National Content Director for JACK FM, and Angela Valiant, the host of the SONiC Vancouver morning show, take us behind the scenes of the launch. We also get into the nuances of alt rock programming, algorithm fatigue, and why Hall believes Vancouver just became the most exciting radio market in the country. Listen on your favourite podcast app or here:

LISTEN: Jeff Winskell is a bit of an anomaly in radio, going from film student to radio show producer in just a few years. Winskell joins the Sound Off Podcast to talk about his lengthy award-winning radio career that’s taken him from Vancouver to Ontario, including 14 years with Bell Media. He and Matt Cundill discuss the path he took across the nation, the differences he found between the East and West, and the logistics of being in charge of 21 radio stations at the same time. Listen on your favourite podcast app or here: