Radio & Podcast News – CKUA Radio passes $1M fundraising mark following urgent appeal

CKUA Radio has had a strong start to an urgent fundraising campaign to keep the donor-funded station on the air. An Alberta institution for the past 96 years and the country’s oldest public and educational broadcaster, the Edmonton station says its future is at risk “due to a perfect storm of rising inflationary pressures, limited government funding, the vacancy and devaluation of Edmonton’s downtown office real estate market, and post-pandemic realities.” CKUA says it needs to raise $3 million by the end of September. After launching its Spring fundraising campaign on Friday afternoon, listeners had already donated more than $850,000 by Monday morning and surpassed the $1M mark on Tuesday. Read more here.

91.3 FM CJTR Regina Community Radio’s membership has voted overwhelmingly in favour of transferring ownership of the station to Access Communications Co-operative. Facing financial hardship, CJTR has been looking for an alternative operating model. Serving Regina since 2001, the station is almost entirely volunteer run, with two staff and 80 programmers creating 60 shows and 5,000 hours of original programming annually. CJTR’s staff will be joining Access Communications. The next steps will see Access apply to the CRTC for approval of the ownership transfer and obtain a community broadcast license. In the meantime, the station will continue to broadcast under its current licence. 

Sports 1440 (CKJR-AM) Edmonton will debut TURN Sports from The Universal Radio Network on Wednesday, May 1. Broadcasting weeknights from 6 – 9 p.m., TURN Sports will offer a blend of local and international sports coverage, including basketball, hockey, soccer, football, cricket, baseball, and more. It’s hosted by Navin Ramharak, the Edmonton creator behind the Brown Ballers sports media platform for brown athletes. Stingray says with the show’s launch, Sports 1440 becomes a full-time sports destination, broadcasting 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Stingray’s Q104 (CFRQ-FM) Halifax launched its HD Radio broadcast on March 18, introducing HD Radio to the Maritimes. In late 2023, the station engaged with Nautel to discuss replacing Q104’s aging transmitter and the possibility of incorporating HD Radio. Nautel embraced the chance to debut their new Radio-Airchain technology, an all-in-one solution that garnered a “Best in Show” award at NAB Show. As the inaugural station to adopt the technology, Q104 has enjoyed a mutually beneficial relationship with Nautel, given its proximity to their Nova Scotia headquarters. The station’s collaboration with Quu and Xperi aims to enrich the HD Radio experience for listeners, complete with album artwork and enhanced visuals for programs like Rock of The Atlantic. 

91.7 Giant FM’s (CIXL-FM) Welland, ON Cash FX jackpot has grown to nearly $12,000, resulting in numerous misdials to other businesses as listeners frantically attempt to be lucky caller number 10. The contest, which is currently running five times a day and grows by $100 with each wrong guess, is now the largest radio cash prize in Niagara region history. My Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) Vice President of Content Rob Mise says the record-breaking prize has people buzzing across the Niagara Region.

Libsyn Ads and the Toronto Star have struck a partnership that will see Libsyn serve as the publication’s North American sales partner, augmenting the Star’s sales team to maximize ad opportunities for its podcast lineup, including: This Matters, It’s Political with Althia Raj, Deep Left Field with Mike Wilner, True Crime podcast Suspicion, and Millennial Money, among other titles. As the exclusive advertising partner, the Toronto Star will utilize Libsyn Ads’ offerings, including host-read and programmatic ads, enabling podcasts to enhance their host-read programs by integrating programmatic ad revenues.

LISTEN: After helming afternoon drive on Calgary’s Q107 for six years, Tarzan Dan Freeman was unexpectedly laid off less than 10 days before Christmas in 2022, followed by what he says was one of his hardest years ever convinced his radio career was most likely over. But like every good comeback story, Freeman now finds himself with a new coast-to-coast show, hosting middays across iHeartRadio’s Bounce Radio network. Tarzan Dan joins us on Broadcast Dialogue – The Podcast to talk about being back in the national spotlight, his legacy as “that guy” from YTV’s Hit List, and his advice to others who find themselves between radio gigs.

LISTEN: Alan Grego is on the latest Sound Off Podcast sharing his journey from corporate trainer to award-winning podcast host and communications manager at Moneris. He discusses how he got interested in podcasting and started an internal podcast to share opportunities, which in turn led to him creating branded podcasts for Moneris full-time. In this episode, he touches on his use of tools like the Zoom H5 for recording, and how he draws inspiration from shows like This American Life to achieve that perfect podcast sound.