Triton Digital is reporting new data that indicates listening to AM/FM radio on smart speakers was up 29% in 2020, compared to 2018, while listening on mobile devices remained flat at 48%. Triton compared the consumption of U.S. AM/FM streams on smart speakers in Dec. 2018, Dec. 2019, and Dec. 2020. Additionally, it analyzed share by device type for the same period, indicating a slight shift to use of “other devices” like Apple HomePod, Sonos, Bose, and Roku. Notably, use of Amazon Echo declined, while Google Home usage remained flat.
Rogers Radio has expanded the JACK FM brand to Medicine Hat. JACK 102.1 replaces 102.1 CJCY Classic Hits. All on-air talent remain with the station, including Mornings with John & Steve, Steve Stax in afternoon drive, JACK Up the ‘80s with Carlos Benevides in middays and the Saturday Night House Party with Kenny, as well as Warren Affleck in news.
ReelWorld, the Seattle-based radio jingle and imaging production house, has struck a new partnership with Calgary’s Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT), the alma mater of ReelWorld RED Hits Director Ron Tarrant. The former Howard Stern Show Head Imaging, Sound Designer and voice, will provide hands-on instruction to all students participating in the Radio, Television and Broadcast News program. Reelworld will also present a scholarship to the top graduating student of the program each year. Tarrant will coach students on imaging production, voiceover techniques and radio station workflows and best practices. “SAIT played an instrumental role in my own radio education, so it’s an immense privilege to offer advice and help mold the next generation of radio producers, while at the same time giving back to the community that helped me get my start,” Tarrant said in a release.
99.3 County FM (CJPE-FM) Prince Edward County, ON has enlisted Rihanna Harris, an 11-year-old PECI (Prince Edward Collegiate Institute) student, as a special correspondent on The County Grapevine during Black History Month. Harris will interview a different guest each Monday on the show between Feb. 1 and March 1, including former Etobicoke-Lakeshore MP Jean Augustine and Olympic sprinter Donovan Bailey. The County Grapevine airs weekdays on 99.3 County FM, following the news at noon, and is repeated after the 6:10 p.m. farm report. It’s also available for streaming at 993countyfm.ca.
SiriusXM Canada has announced a multi-year agreement with Ford Motor Company of Canada, extending their relationship through the 2025 calendar year and seeing 360L – the next generation of SiriusXM – included in Ford vehicles equipped with the all-new SYNC 4 communications and entertainment system. With the purchase or lease of any new Ford vehicle, customers will receive a complimentary three-month SiriusXM All Access trial subscription. Ford’s all-new SYNC 4 – which debuted in the 2021 Ford F-150 – will roll out to additional models this year, combining satellite and streaming content delivery in a single in-vehicle entertainment experience.
Foo Fighters Radio, a limited-engagement channel on SiriusXM, launches Feb. 3. Hand-crafted by the band, the channel features a new, live concert performance and special commentary from Dave Grohl, Taylor Hawkins, Nate Mendel, Chris Shiflett, Pat Smear, and Rami Jaffee, coinciding with the release of the band’s 10th studio album, Medicine at Midnight. When Medicine at Midnight drops, at the stroke of midnight on Feb. 5, the channel will broadcast the album in its entirety, as a part of a track-by-track album special, hosted by the band. Foo Fighters Radio will also feature the band sharing insights and stories behind some of their biggest songs, as well as demos, b-sides, rarities, and a weekly series of live concerts from the band’s vaults. It will air on channel 105 through Thursday, April 4.
Spotify has announced that Premium subscribers in the UK and U.S. won’t be exempt from hearing podcast ads. Podcast ads will be heard by all UK platform users, while U.S. Premium subscribers are already hearing commercial spots during shows like The Joe Rogan Experience. The news comes as an investigative report from The Verge reveals that Spotify-owned Anchor has been bankrolling podcast sponsorships to entice creators to stick with the platform.
LISTEN: On the latest episode of Broadcast Dialogue – The Podcast, we talk to Ken Farrell, General Manager, of our Canadian Radio Awards’ Small Market Station of the Year winner, 98.9 XFM (CJFX-FM) Antigonish, NS. Listen on your favourite podcast app or here:
LISTEN: Big Kris Bawden of 101.1 Big FM (CIQB-FM) Barrie is Matt Cundill’s guest on the latest Sound Off Podcast. Bawden talks about his two decades in radio and shares how he balances radio, voice work, his comedy performances, podcast, new video venture, and more. Listen on your favourite podcast app or here:
