Statistics Canada has released its look at private radio broadcasting for 2016. Operating revenues fell 3.3 per cent (-$52.5 million) from 2015 to $1.6 billion in 2016. This third consecutive annual decrease in operating revenue was attributable to a 5.4 per cent decline in local advertising sales. The profit margin before interest and taxes fell from 18.9 per cent in 2015 to 18.6 per cent in 2016. Private radio broadcasters in Quebec were the most profitable in the country with operating revenues in that province rising 1.3 per cent. Alberta posted the biggest decrease in operating revenues, down 12.9 per cent from 2015. You can read the full report here.
Canadian Country Spotlight signs off at the end of July after a six-year run. A press release says the one-hour program, which airs on 32 country stations across the country, becomes ineligible for Canadian Content Development (CCD) funding as of Aug. 31 and the search for a major national sponsor has been unsuccessful.
The Canadian Country Music Association Board of Directors has named Country 105 (CKRY-FM) Calgary the recipient of the 2017 Slaight Music Humanitarian Award, for its ongoing commitment to the Country 105 Caring for Kids Radiothon. Held annually in February, this year marked the 14th anniversary of the live, three-day broadcast at Alberta Children’s Hospital. This year alone, $1.8 million was raised for the foundation, bringing the total over $22.7 million.
Nine Newcap Alberta stations have flipped formats. 94.1 The River (CKBA-FM) Athabasca becomes Boom 94.1; 101.1 The One (CIXF-FM) Brooks becomes Boom 101.1; K-Rock 95.3 (CJXK-FM) Cold Lake becomes Boom 95.3; 94.3 The Eagle (CFXE-FM) Edson becomes Real Country West; Real Country 104.9 (CFHI-FM) Hinton becomes Boom 104.9; 103.5 Big Dog FM (CILB-FM) Lac La Biche becomes Boom 103.5; 92.7 Lake FM (CHSL-FM) Slave Lake becomes Boom 92.7; 101.9 K-Rock (CKKY-FM) Wainwright becomes Boom 101.9; 96.7 The Rig (CFXW-FM) Whitecourt becomes Boom 96.7. Steve Jones, Newcap VP of Brands & Content, says in the months leading up to the rebrands, the company was able to achieve ideal staffing levels through internal promotion and natural attrition.
The CRTC has approved the Rogers Media acquisition of Tillsonburg Broadcasting Company Limited (TBCL), licensee of English-language commercial radio stations CJDL-FM and CKOT-FM Tillsonburg. The stations will continue to be operated under the same license terms and conditions.
The CRTC has approved an application by Dufferin Communications Inc. to acquire the assets of Christian music radio station CFWC-FM Brantford and for a broadcasting licence to continue the operation of the station under the same terms and conditions as those in effect under the current licence.
SiriusXM Canada has renewed a multi-year agreement with the Canadian Football League and will offer subscribers across North America every game of the 2017 and 2018 regular CFL seasons. Broadcasts of all Montréal Alouettes and Ottawa Redblacks games will also be offered in French.
Bell Media and the Penticton Vees of the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL) have reached an exclusive radio broadcast rights agreement that will see EZ Rock (CKOR-AM) Penticton broadcast every Penticton Vees game through the 2022-23 season. Live coverage is available on AM 800 in the Penticton area, as well as via live streaming through the station’s website and iHeartRadio app. Live game broadcasts are led by Penticton Vees radio voice Craig Beauchemin, alongside EZ Rock’s Scott Austin, who provides analysis.
A transmitter for 98.3 CIFM-FM serving the Ashcroft and Cache Creek area, has fallen victim to the BC wildfires. Located on Elephant Hill, where the fire perimeter is mapped at nearly 61,499 hectares, Jim Pattison Broadcast Group engineers have surveyed the damage which is said to be substantial.
The Canadian Broadcast Museum Foundation is exploring storing millions of videos, films and other recordings 60 storeys underground in a mothballed NORAD bunker near North Bay, ON. The underground complex, built to withstand a four-megaton nuclear explosion, would serve as a secure repository for the country’s endangered audio-visual archive, including photographs, scripts and set designs. The foundation is currently working with the CBC to document its analog collection dating from the 1930s, which alone will require about one million cubic feet to properly store. Dubbed ‘The Hole’ by locals, the bunker was most recently used as the backdrop for the post-apocalyptic sci-fi film The Colony, starring Bill Paxton and Laurence Fishburne.
CJTT-AM/FM New Liskeard, ON is holding a 50th alumni reunion on Aug. 11. Former staff are invited to find out more on the reunion Facebook page. CJTT started in 1967 as 1230 AM, serving the Tri-Town area encompassing New Liskeard, Haileybury and Cobalt and is now at 104.5 FM on the dial.
