Radio & Podcast News – CBC rebrands flagship evening newscast ‘The World at Six’

CBC News has undertaken a rebrand of its flagship evening radio newscast as it moves to make the broadcast simultaneously available as an on-demand podcast. Your World Tonight debuts in place of the long-running The World at Six and The World This Weekend. Anchored by Susan Bonner, Monday to Thursday, and Tom Harrington on Fridays, Your World Tonight will air on CBC Radio weekdays at 6 p.m. in all regions (6:30 p.m. in NL). Stephanie Skenderis will helm the weekend version, heard at 6 p.m. ET/7 p.m. AT, and then 6 p.m. local time across the rest of the country. It will be available daily as a podcast as of 6 p.m. ET. Read more here.

CBC has launched seven new podcasts from CBC News, the first in a series of weekly, localized regional shows spotlighting community stories. Organized into two formats, This is… promises to highlight the “people behind the essential, sometimes random, and occasionally infuriating stories shaping your community every week.” This is Vancouver Island will be hosted by CBC Victoria reporter Kathryn Marlow; This is Calgary by CBC Calgary’s Anis Heydari; This is Edmonton by Clare Bonnyman, a digital associate producer with CBC Edmonton’s Radio Active; and This is Ottawa by Ottawa Morning host Robyn Bresnahan. Good Question…, a podcast devoted to answering listener questions about their community, will air across three provinces: Good Question Saskatchewan, anchored by Saskatoon Morning host Leisha Grebinski; Good Question Montreal, hosted by local CBC journalist Ainslie MacLellan; and Good Question P.E.I., helmed by reporter/producer Nicola MacLeod. Read more here.

YouTube Music and Spotify are the top music streaming choices for Canadians in a vast sea of audio options, according to new Media Technology Monitor (MTM) data. Almost four in five anglophones and three out of four French speakers are streaming audio content every month. Usage is driven by a combination of sources led by music streaming services (57% of anglophones vs. 49% francophones), podcasts (40% and 26% respectively) and AM/FM radio streaming (25% anglo vs. 26% franco). When it comes to kids, MTM Jr.’s Audio Odyssey found while streaming services are also the preferred option, a higher percentage are listening to AM/FM radio. MTM found seven in 10 (69%) of anglophone kids are using music streaming services, followed by 63% listening to AM/FM radio, and one in seven consuming podcasts. Among French-speaking youth, three out of four are streaming music, followed by AM/FM radio (59%) and podcasts (7%). Read more here.

SAIT (Southern Alberta Institute of Technology) online radio station Power 103 will mark a legendary event in the school’s history on Feb. 6, by rebranding as KISS 103, marking the date in 1974 when the then-unknown rock band gigged on campus. As the story goes, progressive rock artist Michael Quatro (brother to Suzi) was set to play a SAIT Student Association (SAITSA) event when Columbia Records pulled Quatro, offering KISS as a replacement band. Founded just a year earlier and little known outside New York, SAITSA was instructed not to advertise the show as KISS was attempting to “perfect” their stage presence. Treated more like a rehearsal, a little more than 160 people attended the event. Run by students from SAIT’s Radio, Television & Broadcast News program, KISS 103 will feature KISS tunes all day on Feb. 6, interviews, and other content, culminating in a one-hour KISS concert from 6 – 7 p.m. MT, playing live versions of the band’s hits. Read more here.

SiriusXM Canada will offer full coverage of the 2024 NHL All-Star Weekend on SiriusXM NHL Network Radio (ch. 91), starting Feb. 1. SiriusXM NHL Network Radio will broadcast live from NHL All-Star Thursday with Steve Kouleas, Gord Stellick and Scott Laughlin. Following the Tim Horton’s NHL All-Star Player Draft, the team will provide coverage of the NHL Alumni Man of the Year award, honouring the 1967 Toronto Maple Leafs, along with the Canadian Tire Professional Women’s Hockey League 3-on-3 Showcase, featuring elite players from the PWHL. SiriusXM will wrap up coverage from the 2024 Hyundai NHL Fan Fair with a special edition of The Sunday Brunch with Stellick and Dave McCarthy, ahead of the Rogers NHL All-Star Game, starting at 3 p.m. 

Jake Gold, original manager of The Tragically Hip and one of Canada’s most successful artist managers, will be inducted into Canadian Music Week’s Music Industry Hall of Fame, during the 2024 Canadian Live Music Industry Awards, in partnership with the Canadian Live Music Association (CLMA), on June 4. Gold started his career in management in 1981, first with The Purple Hearts, then negotiating and securing a deal with RCA for local new wave act New Regime. He started The Management Trust in 1986 with then-partner Allan Gregg. Later that year, the pair took on a young rock band from Kingston called The Tragically Hip. During their partnership, Gold and Gregg guided The Hip from club level to national icons, selling more records in Canada than any other artist except The Beatles. Along the way, The Management Trust managed the careers of The Watchmen and Big Wreck. In 2003, Gold rose to national fame himself when he was asked to judge Canadian Idol. In 2020, following the passing of The Hip frontman Gord Downie, Gold reunited with the band to direct their legacy, spearheading numerous projects, including an upcoming Amazon documentary series. 

LISTEN: Carly Kincaid may use the term “Radio Junkie” to describe herself, but she’s also a voiceover pro you hear on corporate narrations and when you’re put on hold. Her radio career kicked off in the late ‘90s and since then she has rarely veered away from a microphone. In this episode, you’ll hear about Kincaid’s passion for radio and voiceover work, how she built her own recording studio from scratch, and what AI means for radio and voiceover talent.

The Pro Bono Group has released the next spot in its series of PSAs supporting the Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness, titled “Urgency.” Offered free to radio stations across the country, Pro Bono Group says response to the campaign thus far has been tremendous, resulting in thousands of visits to the Alliance website and increased media attention. “We’ve always known that radio works – but we never get tired hearing about it,” the Pro Bono Group’s Mike Occomore told Broadcast Dialogue.