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Radio & Podcast News – Departure Festival + Conference makes first lineup announcement

Departure Festival + Conference – a “reimagined Canadian Music Week” – has made its first lineup announcement spanning music, art, comedy, and tech. Set to take place May 6-11 at Hotel X on the Toronto waterfront and concert venues across the city, the Conference portion of Departure will see industry professionals come together across music, tech and media, with Radiodays North America to run concurrent to the event, May 6-8. Those confirmed for this year’s festival include Bryan Adams, Mustafa, Tia Wood, Death From Above 1979, restaurateur Matty Matheson, record producer T-Minus in conversation with Brian “B.Dot” Miller, Snap Inc. Canada General Manager Matt McGowan, and crisis communications expert Molly McPherson. Read more here.

The CRTC will hold a virtual hearing on March 27 to consider the following applications: Radio Communautaire Cornwall-Alexandria’s (RCCA) acquisition of English-language commercial FM radio stations CKHK-FM Hawkesbury and CHRC-FM Clarence-Rockland from Evanov Communications; an application by Torres Media Ottawa to acquire CJWL-FM Ottawa for $1.2M from Evanov; an application from Akash Broadcasting, to buy Bell Media’s CKMX 1060 Calgary (formerly Funny 1060) and CFRW 1290 Winnipeg (Funny 1290) for $700,000; an application by My Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) to acquire CKOT-FM and CJDL-FM Tillsonburg and CJET-FM Smiths Falls from Rogers for $675,000; and an application by Truth Broadcasting Network to acquire English-language specialty (religious music) FM radio station CJJC-FM Yorkton. The commission will also hear an application from Chetwynd Communications Society for a broadcasting licence to operate English-language low-power community television station, CHET-DT.

The CRTC has revoked Corus Entertainment’s broadcast licences for English-language commercial radio stations CHML Hamilton and CHQT Edmonton. While the Hamilton signal simply went dark, the Edmonton request came following a reorganization of Corus’ stations in the market that saw the broadcaster swap the call signs of CHED and CHQT in October, with CHED moving its programming to 880 KHz, while 630AM ceased broadcasting.

The Canadian Airplay Charts, which track Canadian radio airplay, have found a new home on Billboard Canada’s charts hub.  They’ll be updated every Thursday and live alongside the Billboard Canadian Hot 100 and Billboard Canadian Albums chart. The charts cover seven different types of radio airplay, including Adult Contemporary, Country and Rock.

On The Line is the second podcast offering from Substack political and current events publication, The Line, set to make its debut Tuesday, Feb. 4. On The Line will feature co-founders Matt Gurney and Jen Gerson in long-form conversation with experts, newsmakers and stakeholders, more focused on reporting and journalism than the weekly, The Line Podcast. The Line Podcast will continue to release new episodes every Friday.

Lisa LaFlamme is hosting new podcast, Carry The Fire, for the Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation. Each episode features “inspiring personal stories that explore what can happen when world-leading doctors, researchers, nurses and their patients come together to ignite breakthroughs in cancer treatment.” The podcast accompanies a new brand campaign of the same name, which the foundation says is intended to convey “a message of hope for a world free from the fear of cancer.”

The Canadian Cancer Survivor Network (CCSN) now has a podcast. The CCSN Digest will feature guests and speakers, from survivors to oncologists to those affected by cancer. The podcast is hosted by Communications Manager Trevor Smith-Millar, who brings nearly a decade of radio experience to CCSN. New episodes will be released every Tuesday.

SiriusXM Canada has announced new exclusive programming from Alex Cooper, the host and executive producer of top-ranked podcast “Call Her Daddy.” Starting Feb. 11, SiriusXM subscribers will gain access to two new channels and live shows from Cooper and her Unwell Network, including Unwell Music (ch. 3), an evolving mixtape of songs that have scored her life from artists like Miley Cyrus, Tate McRae, Sabrina Carpenter, Beyoncé, and Gracie Abrams. Unwell On Air (SiriusXM app and ch. 109) delivers a live pulse on what’s trending now, from pop culture to real talk with listeners. Daily programming includes “Dialed In” where listeners can call in to join the conversation, hosted by Rachel Friedman and Montaine, in addition to “The Daily Dirty” – a pop-culture show, hosted by Sequoia Holmes, Fiona Shea and Hannah Kosh. Meanwhile, video episodes of Call Her Daddy are moving from Spotify and will only be available on YouTube.

Triton Digital has released its third annual U.S. Podcast Report, revealing podcast consumption is on an upward trajectory, with monthly listeners up 23% over the past three years and nearly 10% in just the past year. In 2024, 44% of the U.S. population reported tuning into a podcast within the past month. YouTube emerged as the preferred platform for podcast listeners, capturing 33% of the audience in 2024—its highest share and a significant rise from 27% in 2021. The leading genres last year were: News (23% of total downloads); True Crime (19%); and Comedy (13%).

LISTEN: Matt Hird, Senior Research Director at Signal Hill Insights, joins Broadcast Dialogue – The Podcast to share findings from the latest Canadian Podcast Listener survey. In his first-ever podcast appearance, Matt joins us to talk about the shifting listening landscape – from YouTube’s epic growth as a podcast destination to the gender listening gap, where he thinks podcasting is headed, and more.

LISTEN: Sarah Spain was a three-sport athlete at Cornell University before going on to her epic broadcasting career, highlighted by her work at ESPN, including her time on “Around the Horn” and her podcast, That’s What She Said,” which wrapped in 2023. Spain is on the latest Sound Off Podcast talking about her involvement with the Chicago Stars Football Club and iHeartMedia and Deep Blue Sports + Entertainment’s Women’s Sports Audio Network, the home of her podcast “Good Game.”

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