Intercity Broadcasting Network, the parent company of Toronto urban adult contemporary station G98.7 (CKFG-FM) is up for court-ordered sale, just over a year after the death of founder Fitzroy Gordon and the company being placed in investigative receivership. The station, which Gordon won a licence for in 2010 over the objections of CBC, Rogers, Bell, Astral, and Durham Radio, predominantly serves the GTA’s Caribbean-African community. It was placed in investigative receivership last June following an application by Jamrock Broadcasting and Delford Blythe, a minority shareholder and former Intercity vice-president and Chief Financial Officer. Blythe, who originally filed an application in 2016, alleged that Gordon was directing revenue from online advertising to his personal accounts, among other financial irregularities. According to the receiver, Farber & Partners, Blythe learned the seriousness of the station’s financial status following Gordon’s death in April 2019 and that the station was in danger of losing its radio license for failing to pay required CRTC obligations. Read more here.
The Canadian Country Music Association (CCMA) has announced the nominees for the 38th Canadian Country Music Awards. Tenille Townes, the reigning Female Artist of the Year, leads the Artist categories with six nominations. In the Radio categories, Amanda Kingsland, Program Director at Country 101.1 (CKBY-FM) Ottawa and National Music Director for Rogers’ Country stations – who has swept the Music Director of the Year (Large Market) category four years running – is nominated once again. There’s also stiff competition in the Medium/Small Market category where Paul Ferguson, PD for Cool 100 (CHCQ-FM) Belleville, ON, has won the honour six years in a row. Up for Country Personality of the Year are: Country 101.1 host Wendy Boomer; Shannon Ella, syndicated midday host on Bell Media’s Pure Country stations; Stingray New Country syndicated midday host Paul McGuire; Randy Owen, Country 107.3 (CJDL-FM) Tillsonburg, ON afternoon drive host; and Sarah Scott, afternoon host at Sun 99.7 (CFXO-FM) High River, AB. Read more here.
“Freeway” Frank Depalo and Natasha Gargiulo, who were unceremoniously released from the 95.9 Virgin Radio (CJFM-FM) Montreal morning show last August after nine years, have revealed in a Montreal Gazette feature that they’re currently awaiting an unjust dismissal hearing before the Canadian Industrial Relations Board. The former on-air duo also talked about the details and aftermath of their firing in a recent episode of Gargiulo’s IGTV series “The New Normal with Natasha.” Depalo confirmed during the segment that he’s working on a podcast that will tentatively launch this fall.
102.1 the Edge (CFNY-FM) Toronto morning show team Shawna, Chris and Jay have launched “The B Team” podcast which promises to“take you behind the scenes as they cover current events with Big Laughs and fight to stay employed at a Radio Station who’s gone through 7 Morning Show in 7 Years.” The B Team was called up from Corus sister station Y108 (CJXY-FM) Hamilton in February.
LISTEN: On the latest Sound Off Podcast, Matt Cundill’s guests are Jesse Reynolds and Jenna Mo, who are now more than 200 episodes into the podcast they launched after they were let go from Jump! 106.9 (CKQB-FM) Ottawa in 2018. They talk about the learning curve, hard-to-break radio habits and the ongoing evolution of their format.
XL 103’s (CFXL-FM) XL Mornings with Heather & Buzz has raised a total of $193,930.82 for the Calgary Food Bank with the Fill Your Boots campaign. The fundraiser ran during what would have been the Calgary Stampede, July 3-12, with Heather and Buzz hosting a live launch show from Calgary Co-op MacLeod Trail. Calgarians contributed to the campaign by donating online at XL103Calgary.com, and in-person at local Calgary Co-op locations. As of July 12, the campaign had raised $120,948.82 and 28,070 pounds of food. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Calgary Food Bank has seen a 27% increase in first-time users.
Bayshore Broadcasting stations 98 the Beach (CFPS-FM) Port Elgin and 560 CFOS Owen Sound helped facilitate a drive-in concert in Sauble Beach on July 1, featuring JUNO award-winner Susan Aglukark. Aglukark had been booked to perform on Canada Day before the pandemic hit, but the concert was reimagined as a socially distanced event with the help of local radio stations. A stage was set up under the iconic Sauble Beach sign and more than 50 cars lined up down two streets to watch the show while listening to the performance on their car radios. The audio from the concert was broadcast on both stations simultaneously, making for a unique and memorable Canada Day performance while maintaining social distance.
SiriusXM has launched its latest collection of channels dedicated to iconic musicians. They include Beastie Boys, Bob Marley, Coldplay, Michael Jackson and Queen, plus the return of The Prince Channel, that will be available through Aug. 13 on the SiriusXM app, internet connected devices and smart speakers.
SiriusXM Canada is airing the Just For Laughs Virtual Comedy Festival across numerous SiriusXM comedy channels through July 25. Two one-hour specials are airing every day on five SiriusXM comedy channels, hosted with commentary from Kevin Hart, Howie Mandel, Ronny Chieng, Caroline Rhea, Jim Norton, and Alonzo Bodden, among others. In addition, the best stand up tracks from previous Just For Laughs shows throughout its 37-year history will highlight iconic comedy sets, including segments from Andy Kindler’s biting “State Of The Industry” speeches as part of ComedyPRO. SiriusXM-owned Pandora is also featuring a suite of Just For Laughs comedy playlists in the U.S.
Wondery has announced that DAX, the digital ad exchange from UK-based media and entertainment group Global, will be its exclusive advertising sales partner in Canada. The partnership will allow Canadian brands and advertisers spot ads and host-read sponsorship within Wondery’s podcast portfolio which includes titles like Dr. Death, Business Wars, Bill Burr’s Monday Morning Podcast and The Dollop. Wondery is also a pioneer in translating hit podcasts for non-English speaking audiences.
Podcast Movement 2020 in Dallas is officially cancelled. The organization says it’s working to stage a VIRTUAL Podcast Movement in October, featuring four full days of sessions across five stages. The next in-person event will tentatively take place next Aug. 3 – 6, 2021 in Nashville, TN.
