CBC/Radio-Canada is heading into the New York Festivals Radio Awards with 19 programs on this year’s shortlist. With awards set to be handed out at the Storytellers Gala on April 16, among the talk, news, documentary, music specials and podcast productions advancing are The Debaters; The World at Six’s coverage of the Israel massacre; and Tom Power’s September interview with Rolling Stones’ frontman Mick Jagger on Q. Also nominated in the Craft: Interview category is Canadian Raina Douris, host of NPR’s daily nationally-syndicated music discovery program World Cafe, for her interview with musician Weird Al. Find the full list of Canadian nominations here.
The Country Music Association of Ontario (CMAOntario) has announced the nominees for the 12th Annual CMAOntario Awards, presented by Slaight Music, set to take place June 2 at the Living Arts Centre in Mississauga. Radio Station of the Year nominees include: (Large Market) Country 104, London; Country 106.7, Kitchener; KX 94.7, Hamilton; KX96, Oshawa; Pure Country 93, London; Pure Country 94, Ottawa. (Medium Market): Cool 100.1, Belleville; Country 92.9, Chatham; Country 93.5, Kingston; Hot Country 93.9, Brantford; Pure Country 105, Peterborough; Pure Country 99, Kingston. (Small Market): Country 103, Great Lakes Country; Country 107.3, Tillsonburg; Country 89, Welland; Country 93, Owen Sound; Pure Country 106, Orillia; The Ranch, 100.1, Listowel. Among this year’s Industry Person of the Year honourees are: Country 92.3’s Wendy Boomer; Dave Woods, In the Country; Samantha Pickard, Strut Entertainment; Aj Astle, Roadhouse Productions; Ali Raney, Starseed Entertainment; and Madelaine Napoleone, Warner Music Canada.
Dear Alana, hosted by Canadian-American writer, filmmaker and art director Simon Kent Fung has won Best Personal Growth / Spirituality Podcast at the Podcast Academy’s Ambies awards, one of four categories it was nominated in. Slow Burn: Becoming Justice Thomas was named Podcast of the Year. Find the full list of winners here.
Triton Digital has unveiled its Canada Podcast Ranker for February 2024. Measured by Triton’s Podcast Metrics measurement service and reflecting the period from Jan. 29 to Feb. 25, 11.4M average weekly downloads were recorded. The top three Canadian originating English-language podcasts included Front Burner (CBC/Radio-Canada) again at #1, The World This Hour (CBC/Radio-Canada) again at #2, and The Current (CBC/Radio-Canada) climbing to #3. Top ranked debuts included MrBallen Podcast: Strange, Dark & Mysterious Stories (Wondery Network), Joel Osteen Podcast (SiriusXM Podcast Network), Dateline Originals (NBCUniversal News Group), and In the Dark (Soundrise/PRX).
The Indigenous Screen Office (ISO) is partnering with Acast as it announces an inaugural slate of 12 projects under its Podcasting Program. Acast will provide information support and lifetime hosting for each completed podcast under the program, created with a $500,000 grant from Google. Among the shows greenlit are The Future is Indigenous, hosted by Matriarch Movement, an 11-video podcast series on themes such as matriarchy, sustainability, Indigenous fashion and Indigenous futurism; and Actors and Ancestors, a film and TV podcast that celebrates Indigenous actors. Read more here.
Radiodays North America, taking place June 2-4 in Toronto as part of Canadian Music Week (CMW), continues to add names to its robust speakers lineup including Lorna Clarke, the Director of Music at the BBC, who will give a keynote speech at the international radio, podcast and audio conference. Clarke is responsible for BBC Radio’s music strategy, whilst overseeing the portfolio of five national popular music networks, as well as live events, music television commissioning, and the public broadcaster’s visualisation team. In her keynote, she’ll lay out the BBC’s approach to the changing nature of audio consumption, and the role linear music radio may play in the future.
SiriusXM Canada will offer extensive coverage of the full 2024 Major League Baseball (MLB) season, from Opening Day through the postseason. Subscribers will have access to live play-by-play calls of every game, as well as 24/7 news, talk and expert analysis on the MLB Network Radio channel (channel 89). Two former MLB stars – 2006 American League (AL) MVP and four-time All Star Justin Morneau and veteran pitcher Trevor May – have joined the team of hosts. Every Sunday from 1 – 4 p.m. ET, May will co-host “Home Plate” along with SiriusXM’s Dani Wexelman, while Morneau will make regular appearances on various programs. On Opening Day (March 28), SiriusXM host and former general manager Steve Phillips will join Wexelman as they broadcast live from Camden Yards, where the Baltimore Orioles will play the Toronto Blue Jays.
Clayton Dreger, Golden West Broadcasting and PembinaValleyOnline Sports Director, has been named the South Eastern Manitoba Hockey League’s (SEMHL) Dale Rempel Award winner for 2023-24. The award recognizes individuals who have made a significant positive impact in the SEMHL and their community. Dreger started with CFAM Radio 950 in Altona, MB in January 1985 and was on the broadcast crew for SEMHL Saturday night games and playoff games from the late 1980s to the mid-’90s. He’s also helped the league celebrate its 40th, 50th, 60th & 70th anniversary seasons. He continues to file weekly SEMHL interviews on PembinaValleyOnline.
Tim Ellis has reached a milestone with the finale of the Camrose Kodiaks’ season on CFCW Camrose/Edmonton, marking 1,040 games called. Ellis has been the voice of the Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL) team since 2007. He’s also moving into his 37th consecutive year hosting the “Rodeo Report” on the heritage station.
LISTEN: Mark Asquith, the Managing Director and Co-founder of podcast growth platform Captivate, is on the latest Sound Off Podcast. In this episode, he shares insights from over a decade of experience in podcasting, including understanding diverse revenue streams beyond sponsorships, the evolution of podcasting and adapting to change, and releasing episodes when competition is lower.
