The Weekly Briefing

RADIO/AUDIO/PODCAST:

Country Radio Seminar (CRS) opened with a bang last evening in Nashville with Grand Ole Opry-themed performances from a who’s who of Country music, hosted by WSM’s Bill Cody. The stellar line-up included Zac Brown Band, Lady Antebellum, Crystal Gayle, LOCASH, Cam, Michael Ray, Chris Lane, Carly Pearce, Dailey & Vincent, and Trace Adkins. CRS continues today through Friday with learning sessions and tons of live music.

91X-FM (CJLX-FM) at Loyalist College in Belleville, ON is marking 25 years on the air this year and is looking to hear from alumni of the Radio Broadcasting and Journalism programs. A 25th Anniversary Dinner & Awards Night is planned for March 22 at Loyalist. Alumni, past volunteers and supporters of the radio station are encouraged to attend. The station is also calling on alumni to send 15 – 30 second audio greetings, which will air throughout the year. MP3 greetings can be sent to production@91x.fm.

Six Lethbridge, AB radio stations came together to raise more than $234,000 during the Care from the Heart Day radiothon in support of the Chinook Regional Hospital Foundation on Feb. 16. 98.1 The Bridge (CKBD-FM), 94.1 CJOC-FM, 106.7 Rock (CJRX-FM), Kiss 107.7 (CFRV-FM) and Country 95.5 (CHLB-FM) broadcast live from the hospital’s atrium from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Jewel 100.5 (CFJL-FM) Winnipeg flipped formats last Friday to Hot 100.5. Evanov Radio Group is billing the station as Winnipeg’s first and only “90s and More” station. Hot 100.5 will offer fan-favourite music programming from the 90s and 2000s including artists like Usher, Spice Girls, Alanis Morissette, Madonna, N’Sync, Destiny’s Child, Britney Spears, Nelly and Backstreet Boys. Norm Foster, who was most recently doing mornings, is out as a result of the change.

Community radio station CKMS-FM Kitchener/Waterloo held a New Frequency Party on Feb. 17 to celebrate the move from 100.3 to 102.7. The station has now been serving the Waterloo Region for 40 years.

Le Journal de Montréal has sent its second complaint in two months to Radio-Canada, saying that several of its investigative pieces were taken over without proper attribution by the public broadcaster. The complaints relate to reports on Inquiry and The Fifth Estate, covering stories first appearing in Le Journal by investigative journalist Jean-François Cloutier. The initial complaint to the CBC ombudsman maintains no credit was given to the journalist who unearthed the story on the so-called “wolf of Montreal,” millionaire John Babikian, and additionally a photo belonging to Le Journal was used in the Fifth Estate piece. Jean Pelletier, senior director of information at Radio-Canada, submits CBC used different sources and thus was not required to credit Le Journal. Cloutier’s other complaint was sent last week related to an Inquiry story on Annette Laroche, the legal secretary who served as nominee for many companies related to the Panama Papers.

Edmonton radio host Rob Christie will be in the hot seat on March 8 for the Rotary Roast of Rob Christie. Organized by the Rotary Club of Edmonton, funds will go to Boys & Girls Clubs and Big Brothers Big Sisters of Edmonton & Area. Among those roasting the longtime announcer will be Edmonton Sun columnists Marty Forbes and Graham Hicks, Bruce Bowie and Bryan Hall of 630 CHED (CHED-AM) and Susan Reade and Sean Burke of 840 CFCW (CFCW-AM). Christie started out in radio in Montreal in 1968 and has worked at CKXL-FM Calgary, CKGM-AM Montreal, 630 CHED, Power 92 (CKNG-FM) Edmonton, Mix 99.9 (CKFM-FM) Toronto, CTV News Vancouver, KiSS FM (CKKS-FM), JACK FM (CJAX-FM) Vancouver and JACK-FM (CJAQ-FM) Toronto. He returned to Edmonton in 2005 to help launch Magic 99.3 (CIUP-FM). Since 2008, he’s been hosting the morning show at Capital 96.3 FM (CKRA-FM).

A GoFundMe page has been set up for Craig Fox, longtime morning man at Country 107.3 (CJDL-FM) Woodstock, ON. Fox, 49, suffered a heart attack last October and continues to experience unstable angina as he awaits triple bypass surgery. Due to the length of time he’s been off work, he has just a few weeks of benefits left. The goal is to raise $5,000.

Momentum Media Networks is handling Canadian distribution of the new Westwood One/ Entercom Media overnight paranormal show Beyond Reality Radio. Hosted by Jason Hawes, co-creator of Ghost Hunters, and JV Johnson, publisher and editor of TAPS ParaMagazine, the duo explore all things paranormal from ghosts to conspiracy theories. The show aims to bring a more youthful approach to the medium popularized by hosts like George Noory and Art Bell. Show starts Mar. 7.

SIGN-OFFS:

Jack Pollard, 88, Feb. 18, at Kamloops Seniors Village. Pollard began his broadcasting career at CKCK-AM radio in his hometown of Regina, moving on to CJIB-AM in Vernon, BC before landing in Kamloops in 1961. Pollard started as operations manager of CFCR-TV, later CFJC-TV, as well as CFJC-AM and CIFM-FM. He eventually became a co-owner and managing partner, retiring in 1987. The stations were later sold to Jimmy Pattison. Known for his love of jazz and big band music, Jack hosted “Swing Session” on CFJC radio and in later years revived his radio career at CFBX-FM radio on the Thompson Rivers University campus.

Bill Kelly, 71, Feb. 15, after a long battle with heart disease. The Newfoundland & Labrador journalist hosted CBC’s Land & Sea for eight seasons in the 1980s and 90s and fought to save the show from cancellation in 1990. After spearheading rallies and petitions, Land & Sea was given a reprieve less than two months after its cancellation and made into a national network program. Heart disease forced Kelly into an early retirement from the public broadcaster, but he reinvented himself as an outspoken community activist, often taking on St. John’s councillors and former mayor Andy Wells on various issues. Prior to his years at CBC, Kelly was a reporter for The Evening Telegram.

TV/FILM/VIDEO:

Ride Television Network, Inc. (RIDE TV) will be added to the list of non-Canadian programming services and stations authorized for distribution in Canada. Launched in the U.S. in 2014, the cornerstone of the Texas-based network’s programming is live, championship equestrian sports while also offering original children’s programming, documentaries and reality shows for the rural lifestyle markets.

ICYMI: thinkTV has posted marketing professor Mark Ritson’s talk from FFWD Ad Week in Toronto – Swinging the Media Pendulum Back to Neutral: The Underestimation of TV, the Overselling of Digital, and the Way Forward in 2017. Ritson is currently the adjunct professor of Marketing at Melbourne Business School and a visiting professor at Singapore Management University. You can watch Ritson’s talk here.

TVO has announced it will continue to transmit free broadcast signals across eight over-the-air transmitters in Ottawa, Belleville, Thunder Bay, Chatham, Cloyne, Kitchener, London, and Windsor. TVO had previously announced a plan to decommission the transmitters, which would have resulted in an annual savings of $1 million required by TVO to meet its current financial targets. After concern expressed by viewers, the Government of Ontario has agreed to flow an additional $1 million to TVO to ensure continued transmitter operation.

Rogers Media is halting community cable TV production at its Toronto facility, resulting in the elimination of 10 positions. Rogers says it will continue to meet its CRTC commitments using independent community producers. As a result of the CRTC review of local and community television, Rogers and other companies can now shift some funding from community cable programming to news programming on local conventional stations.

Ian Hanomansing has made BuzzFeed’s list of the 50 Hottest News Anchors in the World, clocking in at number 24. The CBC News anchor was the only Canadian to make the cut. Top spot went to FOX5 New York City’s Mike Woods, who is known for presenting the weather forecast shirtless.

The Weather Network and French counterpart MétéoMédia have announced the launch of a daily Allergy Outlook. Launching initially in BC, where seasonal allergies typically begin in February, the outlook will roll out across Canada in March. Available at theweathernetwork.com, meteomedia.com and Flonase.ca, it will deliver a visual look at the risk of pollen, mold and air quality information every day for nearly 11,000 locations across Canada.

Super Channel has acquired the rights to popular U.S. sports franchise Legends Football League (LFL) and its weekly LFL Football Night. The LFL will make its Canadian broadcast debut on April 22 at 9 p.m. ET (SC1) and serve as the flagship franchise to a new sports programming sub-brand, Super Channel SPORTS. The exclusive three-year deal will make Super Channel SPORTS the home of LFL Football Night through the 2019 season. In addition to the LFL, the channel will provide subscribers with other sports-related content including live sporting events, documentaries, specialty shows and biographical movies.

ONLINE CHANNELS:

Google has announced it will phase out 30-second “unskippable” advertisements. The ads, which appear at the start of some YouTube videos, must be watched in their entirety before the main video starts playing. Google confirms the ads will disappear as of 2018. The change will be balanced by increased distribution of new 6-, 15- and 20-second ads that will play more often, including as unskippable clips.

GENERAL:

The Ontario Association of Broadcasters is inviting educators from all Ontario broadcasting schools to submit their nominations for the Michael Monty Scholarship Award. Nominees will be judged on strong academic marks and on their efforts to make a difference by getting involved in extracurricular activities, like volunteering with student groups or organizations (i.e. campus radio or television stations, student unions, sports teams, local charities). Nominations can be submitted online here. The deadline for nominations is Feb. 24.

Ipsos has released its report from the Canadian Content in a Digital World Consultation, commissioned by The Department of Canadian Heritage. The report is a synthesis of feedback collected online, at in-person events, and via mail and e-mail submissions received from the general public between Sept. 13 and Nov. 25, 2016. Among its findings are a need to focus on showcasing Canada’s cultural sector through increased support for production of Canadian content as well as sustained efforts on marketing and communication. There was also near unanimous agreement that Canada should revisit and update what qualifies as Canadian content and who qualifies as a Canadian creator. A level field for private sector competition across platforms and reviewing CBC/Radio-Canada’s funding structure and focus were also raised as concerns. You can read the report here.

SUPPLY LINES:

Wheatstone Corporation has acquired console manufacturer Pacific Research & Engineering (PR&E) from GatesAir of Quincy, Illinois (formerly Harris Broadcast). The purchase includes audio consoles, the networking system, furniture lines, designs, trademarks and engineering files, effectively restoring the PR&E console brand under the Wheatstone umbrella. Wheatstone previously acquired Auditronics in 1999 and Audion Labs in 2015, and currently manufactures broadcast studio products including Audioarts Engineering and VoxPro brand names, as well as Wheatstone IP audio networking, control surfaces, talent stations, audio processing for FM, AM and streaming, software applications, and other products developed and designed specifically for broadcast.

How is the Growth of Music Streaming
Services in Canada Affecting Radio Listening?

By Jeff Vidler

The quick answer? It isn’t.

Yes, online-only music streaming services have shown dramatic growth over the last couple of years in Canada. But the latest results from our Radio on the Move study don’t show any impact on listening to broadcast radio. In fact, it’s becoming increasingly clear that music streaming is cutting into listening to personal music, not broadcast radio.

We’ve been tracking in-car audio consumption in Canada with Radio on the Move since the connected car became a talking point back in 2010. Among other things, we have seen that radio has maintained a steady share—accounting for roughly two thirds of all in car listening—over the past six years.

Now, thanks to the support of Canada’s new radio marketing body, Radio Connects, we have expanded the scope of Radio on the Move to look at listening outside the car as well. And that is, in turn, giving us a more unobstructed view of the full audio landscape.

Here’s what we see when it comes to the rapid growth of online-only music streaming services. There are two big growth drivers: first, the increasing amount of time we spend with our smartphone; and, second, the arrival in Canada of on-demand services like Spotify, Google Play and Apple Music.

In the past four years, our Radio on the Move tracking shows that weekly and daily listening to music streaming services on smartphones by Canadian drivers/passengers, across all locations, has increased four-fold.  That’s a pretty robust increase. But a lot of this has as much to do with the amount of time we are now spending on our smartphones as it does with online music streaming services.

Smartphones are carving out a whole new time and place for people to listen to all types of audio. Past week listening to podcasts on smartphones has grown from 4% four years ago to 11% in this past Fall’s Radio on the Move. And yes, they are even listening to a lot more AM/FM radio on their smartphones, from 4% listening a week four years ago to 9% this past Fall. Our love affair with smartphones is expanding the size of the pie for audio consumption—and that provides opportunity for all audio, including live and linear radio broadcasts.

The growth of music streaming is also being fueled by the new on-demand services. It’s only been two and a half years since Spotify first arrived in Canada and, with it, our first real taste of having an almost unlimited music library just a tap away. Google Play, Apple Music and Tidal have followed, and collectively these new on-demand services are changing how personal music is being consumed, and where the music industry gets its revenues. As on demand music streaming grows, online and offline music sales are dropping. Nielsen reports that on-demand streaming in Canada grew by more than 200% from 2015 to 2016. Meanwhile, song sales dropped by 23% and album sales by 18%.

Who’s streaming music? It’s still mostly younger demos. Among adult Canadians we surveyed in Radio on the Move who say they listened to online-only music streaming services in the past 24 hours, nearly two thirds (64%) are aged 18-34. That translates to more than one quarter (27%) of 18-34 year olds who say they listened to an online music streaming service in the past 24 hours—an impressive amount, but one that still pales compared to the 83% of 18-34 year olds who say they listen to broadcast radio on a typical weekday.

Equally important, we see no evidence that the growth of streaming is displacing listening to radio, even among the 18-34 year olds who represent the largest proportion of online music streamers. Canadians aged 18-34 who stream online music services say they spend as much time listening to AM/FM radio as other 18-34 year olds.

With easy, instant access to any music or other audio we want, whenever or wherever we are, Canadians are listening to more audio than ever before. We may indeed be entering a new golden age of audio. And radio remains poised to continue playing a key role, limited only by its ability keep its ears and its mind open to all possibilities in the new audio landscape.

Jeff Vidler