Radio & Podcast News – Rogers Sports & Media to shutter Pacific Content

Rogers Sports & Media is shutting down Pacific Content, its branded podcast division. Founded in 2014 by CBC Radio and CBC Music alumni Steve Pratt and Jennifer Ouano [in addition to Chris Kelly and Pat Kelly, who soon departed to found boutique production house Kelly&Kelly], they were joined by Chris Boyce and business consultant Rob Leadley in 2016. The B2B podcast company has predominantly serviced U.S.-based clients like Dell, Ford Motor Company, Morgan Stanley, Charles Schwab, and Facebook, among others. Rogers Sports & Media acquired the business in 2019. Pacific Content’s operations will wind down by the end of June, with all content producers and administrative staff supporting the company to be impacted. Read more here. Pacific Content was recently named Best Podcast Agency at the 2024 Quill Podcast Awards.

Radiodays North America has unveiled this year’s award recipients, set to be recognized during Canadian Music Week (CMW). The first annual Pat Grierson Sales Person of the Year Award recipient is Cheryl Foster from Stingray’s 93.5 Today Radio (CFXJ-FM) Toronto, while the Allan Waters Young Broadcaster of the Year is Luke Rodriguez from Virgin Radio (CFMG-FM) Edmonton. David Farrell of Billboard Canada/FYI Music News will be honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award for his longstanding career covering the music and broadcast industry. Dave Charles, CEO of Media Results Inc., will be inducted into the Allan Waters Broadcast Hall of Fame as he celebrates six decades in broadcasting. Read more here.

Canadian Music Week (CMW) has announced that musician Tom Wilson, best known as the founder of Junkhouse, and for his work with Blackie & The Rodeo Kings and Lee Harvey Osmond, will receive the 2024 CMW Allan Slaight Humanitarian Spirit Award during the 23rd Anniversary Jim Beam INDIE Awards on June 6 in Toronto. The award recognizes a Canadian artist for their social activism and support of humanitarian interests and causes. Wilson established the Tom Wilson Bursary in 2020 to support year-one Indigenous students from Ontario secondary schools completing an undergraduate program to shine a light back on the culture he was introduced to later in life. His memoir, Beautiful Scars, has become a national bestseller, in which he reveals the impact of discovering his Indigenous heritage. 

The CRTC has approved two new radio stations serving the Joliette, Que. radio market. Arsenal Media’s application proposed a French-language Country and Folk format, targeted at the 35+ demo, broadcasting 42 hours of local programming each week. The commission also approved an application from Radio Nord-Joli to operate a French-language community FM station to replace CFNJ-FM Saint-Gabriel-de-Brandon, which it currently operates, in addition to a rebroadcasting transmitter in Saint-Zénon. Radio Nord-Joli proposes to broadcast 126 hours of programming per broadcast week, including more than 117 hours of local programming. It will initially maintain CFNJ-FM’s current programming and then expand it to meet the needs of the new communities served by the new licence. It also proposes to broadcast the station’s signal in HD.

Stingray’s Ocean 100 (CHTN-FM) and HOT 105.5 (CKQK-FM) Charlottetown staff spent 12 hours on May 22 broadcasting the Big Day Of Giving live from the QEH, while Big Day ambassadors traveled across the Island, from Souris to Tignish, gathering donations. The radiothon raised $987,117 to support Island healthcare.

Q107’S High School Reunion will take place June 22 at the historic Phoenix Concert Theatre. Featuring live music by Neon Nostalgic, the only live rock and roll show that syncs the band’s performance to original music videos by Prince, Bon Jovi, INXS, U2, Oasis, Pearl Jam, The Killers, Duran Duran, The Cure, and others, attendees are encouraged to dress to impress in their high school prom wear for a chance to be named Prom King or Queen and score a trip for two to Cuba. All the Q personalities will also be in attendance.

Curiouscast’s award-winning The Deadman’s Curse returns for a second season Monday, June 3 with haunting new tale, Deadman’s Curse: Volcanic Gold. Host and explorer Kru Williams aims to solve the mystery of the disappearance of a prospector searching for a legendary gold mine, retracing the steps of the fortune seekers looking for ‘the motherload’ – billions in gold. Produced by Great Pacific Media (GPM), Curiouscast and Corus Entertainment, new episodes will drop every Tuesday. The podcast is based on HISTORY Channel series Deadman’s Curse. 

The Sonar Network’s newest acquisition is Yub Nub from TV writers, filmmakers, and multi-media creators Tim Barnes (The Tonight Show), Greg Iwinski (The Late Show, Last Week Tonight), and Jim Fagan (Comedy Central). Yub Nub is a meeting place for Star Wars and media-loving comedy nerds to talk about all things Star Wars, film, and TV through the point of view of the people who make it. The new season launches May 31, deep diving into the media that inspired George Lucas to create Star Wars in the first place, from Buck Rogers to Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa.

LISTEN: Yann Legarson, CEO of Radioplayer Worldwide, and Paul Kaye, Board Chair for Radioplayer Canada and Head of Audio for Rogers Sports & Media, join Broadcast Dialogue publisher and Radioplayer Country Manager Shawn Smith to talk about the organization’s latest developments and tease their upcoming panel at Radiodays North America in Toronto. Listen on your favourite podcast app or here:

LISTEN: Roz Weston is on the Sound Off Podcast talking about The History of Roz & Mocha, the new limited podcast series on how the show came together, why it works and how it has lasted 14 years when most armchair PDs gave it 14 months.

Pro Bono Group’s newest PSA for Feed Ontario is directed at the concern for children who may be going hungry. “Breakfast For A Month” was voiced by award-winning Canadian actress Kristina Nicoll. “Breakfast For A Month” replaces previous PSA “Samir.”