Radio & Podcast News – Evanov plans ‘integration’ of Proud 103.9 and Z103.5

Evanov Communications says it’s planning to “integrate” its Toronto LGBTQ+ station Proud 103.9 (CIRR-FM) with Z103.5 (CIDC-FM), licensed to Orangeville, ON, on Sept. 1. Both stations play a Rhythmic Contemporary Hit Radio (CHR) format. Proud FM undertook a brand refresh in 2020 that saw Elvis Duran and the Morning Show added to the lineup, the widely-syndicated morning show originating from iHeartMedia’s Z100 (WHTZ-FM) in New York City. Evanov says Proud FM announcer Jaret Sereda, who has been helming afternoons, and Tyler Carr, who hosts Weekend Pop-Up Party (also doing double duty as a morning co-host on Energy 106 (CHWE-FM) Winnipeg), will both move over to Z103.5 as part of the integration. Sereda, also Proud FM’s brand manager, will host a daily feature weekday mornings and afternoons with entertainment news and community updates, while Carr will take on the weekend shows on Z103.5. Evanov has made repeated attempts to move or modify CIDC-FM’s signal over the years. The CRTC most recently denied a technical application in early 2020 that would have seen the stations swap frequencies to boost Proud’s signal in Toronto and have the lower power station re-focus on serving Orangeville. Read more here.

Stingray has announced it will launch Sports 1440 in Edmonton next month, bringing a dedicated sports talk radio station back to the city just months after Bell Media’s move to shutter TSN 1260 (CFRN-AM). Stingray plans to launch the new format on Sept. 5, which will air on CJKR-AM, licensed to the Edmonton bedroom community of Wetaskiwin. The station is currently branded as W1440 and carries an Oldies format. The effort is a collaboration between Stingray Radio, former NHL‘er Jason Gregor’s Just A Game Productions and digital sports media site The Nation Network, which was acquired by Playmaker Capital in 2021. Read more here.

Playmaker Capital has acquired La Poche Bleue, the Quebec-based podcast production house co-founded by former Montreal Canadiens players Maxim Lapierre and Guillaume Latendresse. Playmaker says with the acquisition of La Poche Bleue’s video-podcast series and branded lifestyle products (which span spirits to bbq sauce and t-shirts), it unlocks access to a new audience in Quebec, rounding out its regional and national hockey coverage in time for the upcoming 2023-24 NHL season. As part of the transaction, Lapierre and Latendresse, who host flagship podcast La Poche Bleue, as well as Managing Director Louis-Philippe Dorais, will remain with the business. La Poche Bleue’s video podcast portfolio includes eight shows, produced in both French- and English, focused on the Canadiens, NHL, MLB, NFL fantasy football, among other topics, including Game Over with former MLB pitcher and Cy Young winner Eric Gagne. Its podcasts are also syndicated on Quebec radio via a partnership with Cogeco Media. Read more here.

640 (CFIQ-AM) Toronto has added new program Toronto Threads to its weekend lineup, along with recent addition Toronto Tomorrow. Toronto Threads, hosted by author and speaker, David Peck, will air Saturdays at 10 p.m., beginning Aug. 19. Featuring in-depth conversations with those who shape Toronto and the GTA, the show promises to focus on “the diverse cultures, experiences and voices that make up the fabric of the city.” Toronto Tomorrow airs Saturdays at 8 p.m. It features Dan Speerin, Tamer Gargour and Jessie Lee from Toronto Metropolitan University’s Transmedia Zone in discussion with future-forward thinkers.

AMI (Accessible Media Inc.) has unveiled its AMI-audio lineup for the 2023-24 broadcast season, headlined by the debut of The Washington Post This Week and the return of its daily Double Tap program, discussing news, reviews and technology stories of interest to members of the blind, partially sighted and disability community. Read more here.

Hot Docs Podcast Festival’s two-day Podcast Creators Forum this October will feature a mix of creative masterclasses and career-building sessions. Executives, producers and hosts from studios and agencies including Conde Nast, Pushkin Industries, CBC, NPR, Canadaland, Acast, Bumper, and Media Girlfriends, among others will be featured this year. The Creators Forum Pass is available for a discounted early bird rate only until Sept. 11. This year’s Hot Docs Podcast Festival runs Oct. 18-23.

LISTEN: Charles Adler doesn’t have a lot of time or love left for radio anymore. The veteran talk host, who parted ways with Corus Radio in 2021, transitioned into podcasting earlier this summer with the launch of The Charles Adler Show, in partnership with Crier Media and the Sound Off Podcast Network, making his podcasting debut at #1 on the Canadian News Commentary chart. He joins us on Broadcast Dialogue – The Podcast to share his unfiltered thoughts on the state of Canadian media and why he thinks the big broadcasters are in trouble. We also get into his enduring love affair with Winnipeg.

LISTEN: Sam Sethi, the host of Podnews Weekly Review and a former programmer at Windows and Netscape, is on the Sound Off Podcast to talk about the launch of Podfans – part of a new wave of podcast apps. In this episode you’ll hear about Sethi’s time at Netscape and Windows, how he got involved with industry futurist and Podnews publisher James Cridland, and what exactly goes into building an app like Podfans.