Radio & Podcast News – CINA Radio Group introduces Classic Hits on former Bell Media AMs

CINA Radio Group has debuted Classic Hits formats on two of the three former Bell Media AM stations it acquired in Hamilton and Windsor. CKWW rebrands as AM 580 with the slogan “The Greatest Hits of All Time,” playing predominantly hits of the ‘70s and ‘80s. Its talent lineup is led by Mark Lander and Kara Ro in mornings. 1150 CKOC, which was formerly branded as BNN Bloomberg, now carries the tag “Superhits of the 70s and 80s.” Kent Chambers is helming mornings, while Scott Penfold is being heard in afternoon drive. CINA Radio Group has also acquired 820 CHAM, formerly Funny 820, which it has yet to re-launch.

The 5th Quarter, Rick Zamperin’s former 900 CHML show that aired after Hamilton Tiger-Cats games, is continuing on YouTube following the station’s closure earlier this month. Ticats Audio Network game broadcasts are now being aired on Corus Radio’s Y108 (CJXY-FM), in addition to Ticats.ca/listen. Fans in Guelph and Kitchener can continue to listen to Ticats Audio Network broadcasts on Corus’ 1460 CJOY and Rogers Sports & Media’s 570 NewsRadio (CKGL-AM).

Sonar Soundlabs has announced its re-launch with a new focus on creating podcasts for the arts and culture industry. Leveraging the talent pool of the Sonar Podcast Network, which includes more than 50 award-winning podcasts like Dwarven Moss: A D&D Podcast, You Made Me Queer!, and Squirrel Talk, hosted by Canadian drag queens and comics Selena Vyle & Hillary Yaas, the Toronto-based company says its new arts & culture production arm wants to tell the stories of brands with a cultural focus or those who want to connect with artistic audiences. Read more here.

The Sound Off Podcast Network has launched three new podcasts. The Shurman Report, helmed by talk radio veteran Peter Shurman, is focused on politics, technology, and world events, in conversation with commentators like Stephen Ledrew, Kevin Gaudet, and Andy Stinton. The Master Communicator also joins the Sound Off roster, hosted by David Tyler, best known as the voice of CTV News. The podcast is a weekly masterclass in leadership communication featuring bite-size classes for busy C-suite executives, managers, and aspiring leaders who want to elevate their communication skills. The Mental Approach, hosted by Toronto-based business development executive Todd Arkell, explores the power of mindfulness and mental performance in youth sports. Read more here.

The Canadian Press (CP) has launched CP Newswatch, a podcast comprised of packaged headlines, updated twice daily, with important news and sports stories. New episodes are released every morning and evening.

Crime Beat Most Wanted, hosted by Global News anchor and producer Tracy Tong premieres Sept. 10. The limited-edition 15-episode series chronicles the stories of Canada’s most elusive fugitives who are still at-large, featuring in-depth interviews and rare archival footage. New episodes will drop weekly. The series was inspired by the award-winning Crime Beat podcast, which will head into its sixth season in January and has been adapted as a series on Global TV. 

Lisa MacNeill, the morning co-host and APD at Evanov Communications’ Lite 92.1 (CKPC-FM) Brantford, has launched her first true crime podcast. Unlawful Intentions: Murder, Motives and Justice explores Canadian cases, including the 2009 rape and murder of Tori Stafford in rural Ontario and the serial murders committed by Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka.  

Triton Digital has released its latest Canada Podcast Ranker for the July 2024 reporting period (July 1-28), as measured by Triton’s Podcast Metrics measurement service. The top three Canada originated English-language podcasts were unchanged with Front Burner (CBC/Radio-Canada) at #1, The World This Hour (CBC/Radio-Canada) again at #2, and The Current (CBC/Radio-Canada) at #3. Yet again, the top ranked podcast overall was Dateline NBC (NBCUniversal News Group). SiriusXM Podcast Network earned the #1 spot again on the Top Networks Report with 3.34M Average Weekly Downloads, followed by Wondery Network again at #2 with 1.77M Average Weekly Downloads, and CBC/Radio-Canada again at #3 with 1.50M Average Weekly Downloads. There were several debuts for the month of July including the top-ranked Cancelled with Tana Mongeau (Audioboom), Come by Chance (CBC/Radio-Canada), and Hysterical (Wondery Network).

Libsyn has a new agreement with claims-free music subscription service, Universal Music for Creators. Libsyn will introduce the service to its podcast creators, providing them with premium music and sound effects for audio and video podcasts at an exclusive promotional rate. In launching Universal Music for Creators last October, Universal Production Music became the first major music publisher to offer a subscription program that allows creators to add music and SFX to their audio and video podcasts without copyright claims. Its library is comprised of over 50,000 tracks and 200,000 sound effects, in addition to more than 80 regularly updated creative playlists. Previously, the catalogue was exclusively available to TV and film.

LISTEN: Dan Misener. Co-founder of audience development firm Bumper, is on the Sound Off Podcast discussing his early days in radio at CBC working on shows like DNTO (Definitely Not the Opera) and Spark with Nora Young, and his natural transition to podcasting. He and Matt Cundill discuss the importance of the packaging of your podcast, the helpful Podcast XRay released earlier this year, and Bumper’s new analytics Dashboard.

LISTEN: “Canada vs. California: How Ottawa took on Netflix and the streaming giants” is Howard Law’s recently-released deep dive into the story of the Online Streaming Act. The media policy blogger joins Broadcast Dialogue – The Podcast to talk about his new book; why he’s worried about the survival of Canadian broadcasters, specifically the future of television news; and what the media landscape could look like if there’s a change of government in the next federal election.

The Pro Bono Group has released a new Feed Ontario PSA. Available free to stations (and podcasters), it’s titled “Dinner For A Week.” Check out Pro Bono Group’s PSA Archives here.