Radio & Podcast News – UCB Canada granted extension to launch Kelowna station

UCB (United Christian Broadcasters) has been granted an extension until October 2025 to commence operating their religious music station in Kelowna and rebroadcasting transmitter in Kamloops. UCB is seeking the extension due to technical and environmental issues at the approved transmitter site due to significant forest fires in the Kelowna region, including Blue Grouse Mountain. UCB says its original engineering brief to the CRTC identified a tower owned by SBA Towers, which currently requires remedial structural work to become ready for colocation. 

680 CJOB Winnipeg has announced a partnership with Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) franchise, the Winnipeg Sea Bears, that sees the radio station broadcast select games in 2024, starting with the team’s season opener in Saskatoon on May 22. 680 CJOB will live broadcast six Sea Bears games this season, including four home and two away match-ups. Regular segments with Sea Bears head coach and general manager Mike Taylor will also air on The Start, The Jim Toth Show and The CJOB Sports Show with Christian Aumell. Launched as an expansion franchise last year and capturing the league’s Franchise of the Year honour, the team’s home opener is slated for May 24 at Canada Life Centre against defending CEBL champions, the Scarborough Shooting Stars.  

Bell Media has announced that 39 Corus Radio stations are joining its iHeartRadio Canada platform. A complete list of Corus Radio stations now streaming via iHeartRadio Canada is available here. Corus stations will also continue to be heard on the Radioplayer Canada app.

Gracefully & Frankly, the podcast hosted by radio veterans Lisa Brandt and Erin Davis has surpassed the 100,000 download mark. Launched in January 2023, the weekly podcast is recorded, produced, edited and marketed by the two-woman tour de force and has attracted two national sponsors.

RPM: Where Radio People Meet held its biannual gathering of Vancouver broadcasters past and present last week. Jody Vance, Dee Lippingwell, Don Shafer and Larry Hennessey were inducted into the RPM Hall of Fame. Photos courtesy Jack Lew.

LISTEN: Omayra Issa has been recognized by the World Economic Forum as a Young Global Leader, chosen from thousands of applicants under 40 from around the world. Born in Morocco and raised in Niger and Saskatchewan, she joined CPAC (Cable Public Affairs Channel) earlier this year after a decade with CBC/Radio-Canada. Omayra joins us on Broadcast Dialogue – The Podcast to talk about making change through storytelling, why the status quo isn’t good enough, and finding work life balance.

LISTEN: Episode 400 of the Sound Off Podcast features Dave Jackson, owner of the School of Podcasting, which encompasses podcasts like Ask the Podcast Coach, Podcast Rodeo Show, Your Podcast Consultant, Your Podcast Website, and The Future of Podcasting. He and Matt Cundill talk about why you need a “podcasting why” before you start your show, the difference between a YouTube show and a podcast, why you (still) need a website for your pod, and enhancing the experience for the audience.