Radio & Podcast News – Evanov finds buyer for two stations set for closure

Evanov Communications (ECI) has found a buyer for CHRC-FM Clarence-Rockland and CKHK-FM Hawkesbury, two of the three Ontario FM stations it had slated for closure this month. GO FM, which operates non-profit, community French-language station 92.1 GO FM (CHOD-FM) – licensed to Cornwall, ON, but operating out of studios in Casselman – is set to acquire the assets of the stations, pending CRTC approval. GO FM is owned and operated by the Radio communautaire Cornwall-Alexandria cooperative. Terms of the transaction have not been divulged. ECI President Paul Evanov said the agreement ensures the two stations, which both carried Hot Country formats, continue to serve their respective communities without interruption. The three stations, including Lite 98.5 (CJWL-FM) Ottawa, were set to be shuttered this Friday. Read more here.

Stingray’s CFCW led the radio category winners at the 42nd annual CCMA Awards, handed out over the weekend at Country Music Week in the Alberta capital. Longtime CFCW Program Director Jackie Rae Greening was named Country Personality of the Year, with the Edmonton heritage station winning Radio Station of the Year (Large Market). Stingray’s New Country 95.5 (CKGY-FM) Red Deer was named Radio Station of the Year (Medium/Small Market). Rogers Sports & Media Country network show, Boomer’s Canadian Club, hosted by National Music Curator – Country, Wendy Boomer, won Country Music Program or Special of the Year. Read more here.

SiriusXM Canada, in partnership with the Canadian Country Music Association (CCMA), kicked off Country Music Week 2024 by announcing Zach McPhee of Vernon, BC, as the champion of the 2024 SiriusXM Top of the Country competition. Fans were treated to a live broadcast of the competition’s grand finale on Top of the Country Radio (Ch. 171). The title comes with a $25,000 grand prize.

Sequel has launched, a new independent podcast production venture co-founded by former Pacific Content showrunners Tori Allen and Andy Sheppard. Allen and Sheppard, both former CBC Radio producers, started the “brand storytelling” venture in July in the wake of Rogers Sports & Media’s move to shutter its branded podcast division. UK-based podcast production agency Lower Street has since acquired the Pacific Content brand and trademarks. Sequel has recruited a number of former Pacific Content staff, including Sound Designer Robyn Edgar, and showrunners Aparita Bhandari, Pippa Johnstone, Pedro Mendes, and Brittany Duggan. Morgan Stanley and Charles Schwab are among the clients the team is continuing to work with. Read more here.

Canadaland has announced the fall lineup of CanadaLabs workshops and events. It includes an in-person session in October dedicated to journalists making the move to audio, the podcast network’s inaugural Podcast PitchFest in November, and a session on the Business of Podcasting in December. The events are geared towards podcasters and journalists of all levels. 

The Canadian Country Music Association (CCMA) has launched Uncharted Country, a three-part podcast series, hosted by Morgan “MJ” James, featuring conversations with The War and Treaty, Steven Lee Olsen, and CCMA Award winner SACHA. The podcast builds on ongoing collaborative efforts between CCMA and ADVANCE, Canada’s Black Music Business Collective.

Triton Digital has released the latest Canada Podcast Ranker for August 2024 (July 29 – Sept. 1), as measured by Triton’s Podcast Metrics measurement service. The top three Canada originating English-language podcasts included Front Burner (CBC/Radio-Canada) again at #1, The World This Hour (CBC/Radio-Canada) again at #2, and World Report (CBC/Radio-Canada) climbing to #3. The top three Canada originated French-language podcasts were Le Radiojournal (Radio Canada) again at #1, Mario Dumont (QUB) climbing to #2, and Les chroniques financières du 98,5 (Cogeco Media) again 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 3.90M Average Weekly Downloads, followed by Wondery and CBC/Radio-Canada. August saw four debuts including Noble (SiriusXM Podcast Network) and The Late Show Pod Show with Stephen Colbert (Paramount) for the top ranked podcasts. 

Liam the Kid Reporter, the Virgin Radio (CKFM-FM) Toronto morning show’s dedicated TIFF correspondent, was a big hit on the red carpet, securing interviews with Selena Gomez, Will Ferrell, Ben Stiller and Denzel Washington, among other stars. Liam Ton, 8, was chosen as Daryn and Deepa’s red carpet correspondent from an open casting call on the show earlier this year.

LISTEN: Jordan Heath Rawlings, host of Rogers Sports & Media’s The Big Story Podcast, returns to the Sound Off Podcast to discuss the evolution of daily news podcasts over the past five years. The Big Story has evolved into video, releasing episodes on two YouTube channels, reaching 100,000 views, despite minimal video content. Listen on your favourite podcast app or here: