Commotion with Elamin Abdelmahmoud is now airing weekdays at 11 a.m. (11:30 NT) on CBC Radio One and CBC Listen, as of Jan. 30 as q with Tom Power moves to a shorter, hour-long format. Featuring a range of panelists, the live, half-hour show presents hot takes, anecdotes and analysis on arts and culture with topics spanning Canadian and international music, film, art, television, style, awards shows, and internet culture. Each Friday, Commotion will feature a wrap panel discussing the biggest pop culture stories of the week. Abdelmahmoud previously hosted CBC Radio’s Podcast Playlist, CBC Podcasts’ series Popchat, and co-hosted political pod, Party Lines, alongside Rosemary Barton.
Mike Luck & Craig Venn
94.9 The Rock (CKGE-FM) Oshawa morning show Rock Mornings with Craig Venn & Lucky is marking its 10th anniversary. The on-air duo joined the Durham Radio station in January 2013. Lucky (aka Mike Luck)can also be heard on NHL on Sportsnet as a play-by-play announcer on select Ottawa Senators and Winnipeg Jets broadcasts. He’s also called OHL Oshawa Generals games for 15 seasons. “Chemistry is everything and oil and water do mix,” 94.9 The Rock PD Doug Elliot told Broadcast Dialogue. “We have two very different strong personalities with sometimes blended opinion and sometimes very heated arguments. Both interactions make for a great show that make you want to cling to every minute…we’re really proud of what the boys have achieved together.”
Lynn Pickering, host/producer of The County Grapevine (Monday edition) on 99.3 County FM (CJPE-FM) Prince Edward County, will be joined by author, educator and activist Rosemary Sadlier throughout Black History Month. Sadlier, who spearheaded the drive to have the federal government declare February as Black History Month, will host a segment with guests including Toronto Centre MP Marci Ien; Toronto-St. Paul’s MPP Jill Andrew; and Jude Mary Cénat, who holds the Research Chair on Black Health at the University of Ottawa. The series will air Mondays, Feb. 6-27. The County Grapevine is heard weekdays on 99.3 County FM following the news at noon and repeated after the 6:10 p.m. farm report.
Triton Digital has released its Canada Podcast Ranker for December, reflecting the listening period from Nov. 28 – Jan. 1. Yet again, the top three Canadian-originating English-language podcasts are Front Burner (CBC/Radio-Canada) at #1, The Current (CBC/Radio-Canada) at #2, and Ideas (CBC/Radio-Canada) at #3. The top three Canadian-originating French-language podcasts included Sexe Oral (TPX Podcast Network) at #1, Radiojournal (CBC/Radio-Canada) at #2, and Richard Martineau (QUB) at #3. The top ranked podcast overall was Dateline NBC (NBCUniversal News Group). SXM Media earned the #1 spot again on the Top Networks Report with 3.98M Average Weekly Downloads, followed by CBC/Radio-Canada at #2 with 2.16M Average Weekly Downloads, and Wondery Network at #3 with 2.03M Average Weekly Downloads. Top-ranked debuts included Murder & Magnolias (NBCUniversal News Group) and Chasing Life (WarnerMedia).
CBC Podcasts’ Tai Asks Why is among the Canadian podcasts that received Ambies nominations this week. Tai Asks Why was nominated in the Best Podcasts For Kids category. Also nominated is Toronto Star pod It’s Political with Althia Raj, up for Best Politics or Opinion Podcast. Two Pacific Content-produced podcasts are also nominated: Work Check for Best Business Podcast and IRL: OnLife is Real Life for Best Knowledge, Science, Tech Podcast. Find the full list of nominees here. The Podcast Academy will host their third annual Awards for Excellence in Audio at the International Theater in Las Vegas on March 7 and streamed live on Twitch.
Jessi Cruickshank is launching her debut podcast, Phone a Friend, through a new partnership with Acast. Set to premiere Feb. 9, the first episode of the pop culture pod features special guest Dan Levy, her former co-host from MTV’s The Hills: The After Show — marking their first on-air reunion in over a decade. Cruickshank previously hosted Facebook Watch series New Mom, Who Dis? which garnered more than 100 million views. Launch advertisers for Phone a Friend include Peloton.
Corus Radio’s 640 Toronto(CFIQ-AM) is set to launch its first original podcast, Today in TO. Hosted by 640 personality Dani Stover, Corus says it will feature “a succinct overview of the stories that matter most to the GTA.” Stover currently hosts 640 evening show Let’s Talk with Dani Stover, whichdives into the major stories of the day, covered on both 640, as well as 980 CFPLLondon and 900 CHMLHamilton, where the show also airs. Set to debut Feb. 22, new episodes will be released every Wednesday. Read more here.
The Hot Docs Podcast Development Lab is open to applications from Canadian-based BIPOC creators until Feb. 28. The lab will offer eight fellowships designed to provide emerging BIPOC storytellers with non-fiction series ideas in development. Fellows will have the opportunity to develop their podcast ideas and create a proof-of-concept sample to help take their work to the next level. Throughout the fellowship, participants will meet as a group and one-on-one with seasoned audio creators to develop their project ideas and hone their skills. Each project will also receive a $1,500 creator grant.
Nielsen will market Edison Research’s Share of Ear and Edison Podcast Metrics services to advertising agencies. Edison has conducted Share of Ear studies each year since 2014, while Edison Podcast Metrics measures persons-based listening estimates. Edison says its services will be offered as part of Nielsen’s portfolio of audio and podcasting solutions, including Podcast Buying Power and Podcast Ad Effectiveness studies that support investment decisions in the podcast ecosystem.
LISTEN: Paul Jacobs is on the latest Sound Off Podcast discussing this year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. Among other topics, he and Matt Cundill touch on AI, the future of AM radio, public radio, and the recession. Listen on your favourite podcast app or here:
