Radio & Podcast News – Evanov rebrands four of its ‘The Jewel’ stations

Evanov Communications is leaving its “The Jewel” easy-listening format behind in four markets, moving to rebrand The Jewel 98.5 (CJWL-FM) Ottawa-Gatineau, The Jewel 92.5 (CHRC-FM) Clarence-Rockland, The Jewel 107.7 (CKHK-FM) Hawkesbury, and the Jewel 106.7 (CHSV-FM) Hudson/Saint-Lazare. The radio group is betting on a Hot Country format flip in Clarence-Rockland and Hawkesbury, with core artists including Blake Shelton, Carrie Underwood, Luke Bryan, Miranda Lambert, and Dean Brody. The Ottawa and Hudson/Saint-Lazare stations take on Lite branding which Evanov says “will retain the best elements of the former Jewel, while skewing younger and be more current in its soft, melodic, pop sound.” The Lite playlist will span the late ’70s to today, featuring more current hits from artists like Ed Sheeran, Lady Gaga, Sam Smith and The Weeknd. Lars Wunsche, Executive Vice President Sales, says the changes were made in consultation with advertisers and sales teams and position the stations for long term success. Read more here.

Numeris has announced the audio technology partners it will be working with as it embarks on the first phase of its audio strategy integrating member radio census streaming data with its radio meter service. Dubbed “Making Radio Measurement Whole,” the audience measurement agency is partnering with Kantar Media, who’ll support the proof of concept on design and methodology, while Triton Digital’s Webcast Metrics will collect, filter, and standardize incoming census data. Rob Fullerton, VP, Product and Platform Management, Numeris, said the goal is to capture online listening that isn’t included right now in livestream PPM data, like wireless headphone listening. The second phase of the audio strategy will measure non-broadcaster publishers and streaming services. That phase is planned to begin in 2022 and use existing PPM and online meter technology (via a single source Panel) to measure pure play audio streaming services, providing a full view of the audio landscape. That includes unduplicated audiences between radio and streaming services and insights by device. Read more here.

Storied Media Group (SMG) has struck a deal with Canadaland to market its journalism to film and television producers globally. As first reported by Variety, the deal is said to encompass packaging and sales of Canadaland IP (intellectual property), with SMG to promote its content internationally to studios, networks and streaming services. Canadaland podcast Thunder Bay, which explored endemic Indigenous racism in the Northwestern Ontario city, is currently in production with eOne for Crave, while true crime series Cool Mules, which took listeners inside the international cocaine-smuggling ring operating within VICE Media, is also in development for television. Read more here.

Spotify is rolling out a paid subscription platform for podcasters in the U.S. that will expand internationally in the coming months. The feature will be available to creators through Anchor, allowing podcasters to mark episodes as subscriber-only and publish them to Spotify and other podcast-listening platforms. For the next two years, the program will be free to creators, meaning participating creators receive 100% of their subscriber revenues (excluding payment transaction fees). Starting in 2023, Spotify will charge a 5% fee for access to the tool. Within Spotify, the content will be searchable and discoverable like any other podcast episode. The platform is also unveiling a collaboration with NPR under which it will publish a selection of shows sponsor-free for paid subscribers. 

Nielsen has launched new measurement tool, Podcast Ad Effectiveness+ (PAE+), which tracks the effectiveness of podcast advertising including brand lift and memorability across podcasting audiences. The new offering includes the ability to measure digitally-inserted ads in a live podcasting setting. Nielsen says podcast content and listenership are on the rise with 1.7 million titles available and 75% of listeners tuning in to more than one podcast a week, according to its recent Podcasting Today report. 

The Globe and Mail’s new daily podcast, The Decibel, launches Monday, May 10. Hosted by Tamara Khandaker, the podcast will feature conversations with beat reporters looking at stories from both around the world and closer to home. The team behind The Decibel includes former Canadaland senior producers Dave Crosbie and Kasia Mychajlowycz, as well as Globe journalist Madeleine White.

Hannah Sung is planning to grow her newsletter, At The End of The Day, into a podcast. Sung, former Manager of Digital Video and Podcast at TVO, is one of the many creators signing on to Patreon where readers can help support her venture’s growth by setting up a monthly payment. The podcast will be produced in partnership with Media Girlfriends, the podcast production company and women’s journalism network, in which Sung is a principal.

Dr. Laurie Betito, who formerly hosted Passion on CJAD 800 Montreal up until February’s round of Bell Media layoffs, has revived her love, sex and relationship show as a podcast. She’s joined on The Passion Podcast by Jon Pole, the president of My Broadcast Corporation (MBC), who formerly hosted The Night Side on CJAD.

Bell Media’s station group in Kelowna – Virgin Radio 99.9 , MOVE 101.5 and AM 1150 – helped raise $1,050,000 during its Day of Giving for Advanced Stroke Care at Kelowna General Hospital. The partnership between the stations and Hospital Foundation has raised more than $2,862,000 over the past five years.

Scarborough Health Network (SHN) Foundation’s annual Chinese Radiothon event raised more than $410,000 for Scarborough’s community hospitals on April 22. Live-to-air on Sing Tao A1 Chinese Radio AM 1540, the all-day event invited listeners to hear unique stories from SHN patients, physicians, nurses, staff, and volunteers. This year’s event supports SHN’s highest priority needs, including the purchase of urgently needed medical equipment across Birchmount, Centenary and General hospitals. SHN Foundation’s annual Chinese Radiothon has become a signature event within the Chinese community in Scarborough and neighbouring communities. 

CHIN RADIO/TV International has launched a multilingual COVID-19 vaccine awareness campaign in 50 languages. During the month of May, CHIN will broadcast the campaign aimed at combatting vaccine hesitancy and misinformation. Working in cooperation with the University Health Network (UHN) and Women’s College Hospital (WCH), doctors, politicians from all levels of government, and multicultural community leaders have donated their time to record messages and participate in live interviews. The campaign will be broadcast across the CHIN RADIO/TV network that includes four multicultural radio stations in Toronto and Ottawa as well as CHIN TV programs on Citytv and OMNI 1. 

SiriusXM is featuring a range of programming in honour of Asian Heritage Month, celebrating Asian Canadian and Asian American and Pacific Islander (APPI) history and culture, while spotlighting leaders and change-makers within the community. Among the programming, Filipino Canadian comic Ron Josol is taking over Comic Stripped for the month of May on Just For Laughs Canada (ch. 168), interviewing other comics of Asian heritage.

LISTEN: On the latest episode of Broadcast Dialogue – The Podcast, Andrew Cash talks about taking the helm of the Canadian Independent Music Association (CIMA) as the Canadian music scene faces an uncertain future, the organization’s push for a more flexible CanCon definition, and his take on controversial amendments to Bill C-10. Listen on your favourite podcast app or here:

LISTEN: The Sound Off Podcast looks at Tech Survey 2021 from Jacobs Media which tells radio’s pandemic story as listeners transitioned to work from home. In this episode, you’ll learn how P1 radio listeners’ habits changed, what in-car listening looks like, and how the Consumer Electronics Show carried on online.