RADIO/AUDIO/PODCAST:

Bell Media’s updated iHeartRadio app now includes Evanov radio stations and some U.S. stations. Included in the enhanced programming lineup are popular podcasts WTF with Marc Maron, The Joe Rogan Experience, The Nerdist, and Bell Media originals The TSN Hockey Bobcast, Jay and Dan and Mike on Much. The app’s platforms have also been expanded to include Apple Watch, Apple CarPlay, Android Wear, Android Auto and Sonos devices.

The CRTC has approved Dufferin Communications Inc.’s application to operate an ethnic commercial specialty FM radio station in Winnipeg to replace its ethnic commercial AM radio station CKJS Winnipeg. The FM station would operate at 92.7 MHz (channel 224B) with an average effective radiated power (ERP) of 19,700 watts (maximum ERP of 35,000 watts with an effective height of antenna above average terrain of 154 metres).

Newcap has rebranded CFCW-FM Camrose as New Country 98.1. The station’s new on-air line-up features Stevie De La Rose, weekdays from 6 a.m. to noon; Lucas Banack on afternoons; and The Casey Clarke Show with Roo Phelps, weekdays from 6 – 11 p.m.

CHOM 97.7 FM Montreal is pulling the plug on indie show Montreal Rocks, which Jay Walker has produced and hosted for the last seven years. The final episode of the show, which highlighted the local music scene, will air Dec. 31. The move is part of a change to the station’s Sunday night schedule that will see a switch to live-DJ programming.

Rogers Media has rebranded KiSS 95.9 (CHFM-FM) Calgary to 95.9 CHFM, Calgary’s Lite Music Mix, as of Dec. 1. Launching with an all-Christmas music format for the holidays, the station’s on-air lineup will see morning show host Billie Jo Ross return from maternity leave on Jan. 8 to join Mornings with Mookie, Billie Jo and Lori. Sasha Spencer, Erin Wilde, and Sue Deyell will round out weekday programming, with Michelle Yi taking listeners through the weekend.

Audience Insights and Ulster Media recently released findings from the first Canadian Podcast Listener study. As previously reported in Broadcast Dialogue, the research shows that podcasting is officially a thing in Canada. Download the full report here and listen to Jeff Vidler discuss the findings in the latest edition of our own Broadcast Dialogue podcast below.

97.5 The River (CKRV-FM) Kamloops raised over $30,000 for the Royal Inland Hospital Foundation, $8,000 for Christmas Amalgamated and collected 1,611 toys at the 25th Annual Toys for Kids Breakfast. This year’s hospital donations are earmarked for the Pediatrics Ward. 

Cumulus, the second largest radio company in the U.S. with 446 stations in 90 markets, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Weighed down by debt and years of underperformance, the plan will cut the company’s debt load by more than $1 billion.

SIGN-OFFS:

Neil O’Brien, 47, on Dec.5. O’Brien was the trusted voice of traffic reporting in Lower Mainland, B.C. for over 20 years. After studying at both Columbia Academy and BCIT, O’Brien began his broadcasting career at CIMA-AM and CKZZ-FM Vancouver, before moving to 97 KISS FM (CKKS-FM) in 1995 as a board operator for the nationally-syndicated Rhona at Night show. He joined News 1130 (CKWX-AM) in 1996, later going on to become program manager for Skywords Traffic and an anchor for the Canadian Traffic Network, where he was heard on CKNW NewsTalk 980, AM 730 (CHMJ-AM), Shore 104 (CHLG-FM), and CISL 650, among other stations. Since 2016, he had been back with Rogers Vancouver. O’Brien was known by his colleagues as much for his on-air quips and one-liners like “traffic is bowling shoe ugly,” as he was for his humour off the air. Passionate about wrestling, O’Brien also took turns over the years as a host/ring announcer for Can-Am Wrestling on KBCB-TV Bellingham, WA and was a contributing writer to Sports Vue magazine.

TV/FILM/VIDEO:

The CRTC is seeking the opinion of Canadians about additional information provided by the large French- and English- language television groups as part of the reconsideration of decisions to renew their television licences. The CRTC will gather comments until Jan. 23. The new information can be consulted here. Canadians can share their views by filling out an online form.

CBC has revamped its CBC TV app, which now features a livestream of the public broadcaster’s 14 regional linear TV channels, alongside other content, as the network looks to keep pace with consumer viewing trends. By signing up with a free login, viewers can pick up where they left off watching shows on multiple devices. Those who want to stream content on-demand without ads can pay for a premium membership for $4.99/month, which also allows viewers to stream CBC News Network live. CBC says more than 1.1 million unique visitors used the CBC TV digital service in November. Check it out at cbc.ca/watch.

CBC has announced premiere dates for its winter 2018 season. New additions to the primetime schedule include legal drama Burden of Truth premiering Jan. 10, starring Kristin Kreuk as a big city lawyer who returns to her hometown; The Detectives, a true crime series that brings to life the real investigations of Canadian detectives, premiering Jan. 10; Allan Hawco’s new drama Caught, premiering Mon. Feb. 26; and dark comedy Little Dog, from Joel Thomas Hynes, which tells the story of a super-welterweight Newfoundland boxer and his haphazard quest for redemption, premiering Mar. 1. All episodes of Mike Clattenburg and Mike O’Neill’s dysfunctional family comedy Crawford, featuring an ensemble cast led by Jill Hennessy, will begin streaming on Feb. 2, for binge-viewing on the CBC TV app and cbc.ca/watch.

The Canada Media Fund (CMF) and the Quebecor Fund have announced a new pilot partnership to promote the export of audiovisual projects produced in Québec. The partnership will support a maximum of five projects with the Quebecor Fund contributing a maximum of $300,000 and the CMF $100,000 to each selected project. Find the program guidelines here.

Archie Comics reboot Riverdale is estimated to have generated $60.4 million in combined spending over its two seasons of production in B.C. A report by Canada’s MNP LLP estimates Riverdale’s first season alone created 1,041 jobs, with total spending in the province of over $22.4 million. B.C. production crews and other labour received 75 per cent of the total B.C. expenditure, while the remaining 25 per cent was spent on purchases of B.C. goods and services.

Hollywood Suite will air The Carmilla Movie in its world television premiere during its month-long free preview. Based on the vampire romance web series Carmilla that has generated over 69 million views since its launch in 2014, Hollywood Suite will air Seasons 1-3 in an 18-hour marathon leading up to the film premiere on Jan. 3 on the Hollywood Suite 00s Movies channel (HS00).

HISTORY original series Vikings saw its Season 5 premiere watched by nearly half a million Canadians, reigning as the #1 entertainment specialty series of the night against all key adult demos. The premiere marked HISTORY’s biggest day in primetime this fall against all key demos and grew its overnight audience by 10 per cent amongst Adults 25-54, compared to last fall’s Season 4B premiere.

The Public Policy Forum is set to honour Michael Donovan and Mary Walsh, co-creators of This Hour Has 22 Minutes, at its PPF Testimonial Dinner in April. Donovan and Walsh join Mark Carney, Bank of England Governor; Beverley McLachlin, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court; Richard Dicerni, former federal and Ontario deputy minister; and Quebec feminist journalist Francine Pelletier, who will receive the Hyman Solomon Award for Excellence in Public Policy Journalism. Rosemary Barton, co-anchor of CBC’s The National, will host the evening.

CTV has announced more names attached to its inaugural iHeartRadio Jingle Ball North broadcast on Dec. 17, which will tape at Toronto’s Air Canada Centre Dec. 9. Hailey Baldwin, Jason Ritter, Lamonica Garrett, O-T Fagbenie, Patrick Schwarzenegger, Shay Mitchell and Tom Ellis will take the stage as presenters, in addition to The Launch creator Scott Borchetta, Much Studios creators 4YallEntertainment, Much and E! host Tyrone Edwards, DJ Starting From Scratch, and others. They join Kelly Clarkson, who pulls double duty as host and performer in addition to previously announced acts Backstreet Boys, Cardi B, Fergie, Fifth Harmony, Noah Cyrus, Post Malone, Jessie Reyez, Ria Mae and Virginia to Vegas.  

TVO series Hard Rock Medical returns for a fourth and final season with back-to-back episodes Jan. 2. Inspired by the Northern Ontario School of Medicine, the fictional drama brings to life the challenges of healthcare delivery in Northern Ontario. The opening episodes will be available to stream on tvo.org starting Jan. 3, with additional episodes posted each week.

The 54th annual Christmas Daddies Telethon raised more than $446,000 on Saturday during its seven-hour live broadcast on CTV Atlantic. Christmas Daddies includes four separate telethons: Halifax, Moncton, Prince Edward Island and Sydney, supported by local performers, anchors and reporters.

This year’s CTV Lion’s Children’s Christmas Telethon in Sudbury raised $236,436 on Dec. 3. Started in 1949, funds raised go to children in need in the Greater Sudbury area.

ONLINE DIGITAL:

YouTube Canada has revealed its most-viewed videos of 2017. Canada’s Top Trending Videos of 2017 were led by Sea lion drags girl into Steveston waters, with the top five rounded out by Northern Ontario Moose vs Wolf. Read more here.

The National Media Awards Foundation will accept submissions for the third annual Digital Publishing Awards from Jan. 2 to Feb. 2. The awards are open to all Canadian digital publishers, including those that support established brands in consumer & B2B magazines, newspapers, broadcast and other journalism, as well as those that serve their audiences exclusively as digital brands – published in either English or French. The Best Podcast category has been expanded and renamed Best Podcast and Audio Storytelling to include audio stories. Three new categories have also been added: Fiction; Best Science and Technology Story; and Best Photo Storytelling. For more, visit digitalpublishingawards.ca

GENERAL:

Bell has announced the launch of Lucky Mobile, a low-cost prepaid mobile alternative with monthly plans starting at $20. Initially available to consumers in Ontario, Alberta and B.C., beginning Dec. 4, Lucky Mobile will offer service in 17 zones covering most major cities including Toronto, Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver and surrounding areas. In addition to talk and text on its cellular network, Lucky Mobile will introduce an app that enables talk and text over Wi-Fi in 2018.

Rogers Communications Inc. is considering selling assets including the Toronto Blue Jays and its stake in Cogeco Inc. to free up capital for increased investment in its wireless network. Chief Financial Officer Tony Staffieri made the comments at the UBS Global Media and Communications conference in New York. Rogers currently owns about one-third of Cogeco and a fifth of the media company’s cable unit Cogeco Communications Inc.

The Supreme Court of Canada has agreed to grant Vice Media leave to appeal following a ruling by Ontario’s highest court that reporter Ben Makuch turn over notes to RCMP related to interviews he did with a suspected terrorist in 2014. RCMP and the Crown have already successfully argued in two levels of court that journalists have no special rights to withhold information crucial to an investigation. Makuch and Vice Media, backed by a coalition of groups including Canadian Journalists for Free Expression, argue the RCMP demand will compromise the willingness of sources to speak to journalists. The SCOC will likely hear the case in late Spring or early next Fall.

CBC’s ombudsman has found that while provocative and controversial, an Opinion piece by Neil Macdonald published on cbc.ca in which he labelled Israel “an apartheid state” did not violate CBC journalistic policy. Responding to a reader’s complaint that challenged Macdonald’s assessment, ombudsman Esther Enkin writes “one can be highly critical of the government and its policies, as are many Israelis and that it does not arise from anti-Semitism.” You can read her full review here.

Robyn Doolittle, award-winning investigative reporter with The Globe and Mail, will host next year’s CJF Awards on June 14 at The Fairmont Royal York in Toronto. This year’s gala includes a Special Citation to honour New York Times reporters Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey for their investigative work on the sexual assault and harassment allegations against Harvey Weinstein.

Aboriginal Peoples Television Network and the Canadian Association of Journalists have announced the inaugural APTN/CAJ Reconciliation Award, which responds to part of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s call to action “to develop media initiatives that inform and educate the Canadian public, and connect Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Canadians.” Submissions will be accepted from individual journalists, who may submit a portfolio of up to five pieces in any format, published or broadcast in Canada in 2017. The deadline for submissions is Jan. 15. Up to five finalists will be named in the spring of 2018, with the recipient announced at the CAJ conference in Toronto this May.

The Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario (RNAO) has opened nominations for its annual Media Awards, which recognize outstanding journalism highlighting nursing and health issues. Reporters, editors and producers are invited to nominate their work in one of 10 categories for print, broadcast and online media. Nominations must be submitted no later than Jan. 12. 

RTDNA Canada is now accepting submissions for Regional and Network programming awards. New awards this year include Best Podcast, Excellence in Innovation and Excellence in Social Media. The final deadline for submissions is Jan. 31.

RTDNA Canada is inviting nominations for its Lifetime Achievement Award recognizing individuals who have distinguished themselves through outstanding service and continued excellence during the course of their career in journalism or news management. Nominations of individuals with at least 30 years of service, are being accepted until Jan. 2. Past recipients include Debbie Cooper and Jim Haskins (Atlantic), Keith Leslie, Scott Metcalfe and Mutsumi Takahashi (Central), Gord Gillies and David Spence (Prairies), John Daly and Celia Walters (BC), and Charles Adler and Terry Milewski (Network). Find more here.

The 2018 Canadian Telecom Summit takes place June 4-6 in Toronto. The theme for the 17th annual conference is Innovation and Disruption in ICT: reinventing and securing our business and personal lives. Find more here.

PPM Radio Ratings Overview December 2017

By David Bray

It is time to see whose number is up (or down) with the release of the latest radio ratings. The new PPM release from Numeris completes the thirteen-week period covering August 28^th to November 26th, 2017. Let’s take a look the five PPM markets.

Toronto: Bragging rights at the top of the ratings heap go to CHFI-FM once again with a 12.4% share of hours tuned for A12+ (up from 11.3% last time out). CHFI-FM takes the #1 spot with the women 25-54 delivering a 15.6% share (up from 13.3%) followed by CHUM-FM with a 13.4% share (down from 17.0%).  In a strange twist, CHFI-FM holds the #1 spot for males 25-54, posting an 12.0% share (up from 11.2 % in the last 13 week book) followed by BOOM-FM at 8.9% and Q107 with 8.5%. In an even more unusual twist, CHFI-FM leads the way for M18-34 with a 17.1% share (up from 14.8%). For F18-34, CHFI-FM tops the list posting an 18.5%.

Vancouver: CBC Radio One grabs the #1 spot for A12+ with an 15.1% share of hours tuned (up from 13.6% ). Taking the top spot for F25-54 was QM-FM, posting a 15.4% share (up from 14.6% last time out). FOX grabs the lead for M25-54 listeners, delivering a 11.1% share (up from 10.1%) followed by the Rock101 at 10.1% (up from 9.5%)  The FOX is out in front for M18-34 with a 15.0% share of hrs. tuned (up from 14.6%). When it comes to Females 18-34, Z95.3 takes top spot with 17.1 % share.

Edmonton: 102.3 NOW Radio rules the roost for A12+ posting a 9.7% share of hours tuned (down from 10.9%). NOW! Radio takes top spot for F25-54, delivering a 14.1% share (down from 16.9%). NOW also tops the list for M25-54 with an 11.9% share (down from 13.0%). For M18-34, Sonic leads the way posting an 18.3% (up from 15.3%). For F18-34 Sonic delivered a 16.8%.

Calgary: Country 105 leads the way for A12+ with an 8.5% (down from 10.6%).  Country105 is popular with the women, taking #1 spot for F25-54 delivering a 10.4% share (down from 12.0%). For M25-54, CJAY92 is #1 with a 10.0% (up from 8.5%). CJAY92 takes top spot for M18-34 delivering a 17.5% (up from 14.8%). Country105 is #1 for F18-34 posting a 15.8% share (up from 14.8%)

Montreal (Total):  CHMP 98.5FM is #1 for A12+ with a 15.9% share (up from 13.5%).  CFGL-FM is tops with the women, taking #1 spot for F25-54 delivering a 16.4% share (up from 13.1%). For M25-54, CHMP 98.5FM is on top at 15.7% share (up from 14.3%) followed closely by CHOM-FM at 14.4%.  Virgin Radio is #1 for M18-34 with a 14.8%. The Beat 92.5 is #1 for F18-34 with a 15.1% (down from 18.9%).

Toronto

% Share of Hours Tuned | (Mon.-Sun, 5a-1a)

 Vancouver

% Share of Hours Tuned | (Mon.-Sun, 5a-1a)

 Edmonton

% Share of Hours Tuned | (Mon.-Sun, 5a-1a)

Calgary

% Share of Hours Tuned | (Mon.-Sun, 5a-1a)

Montreal (Total)

% Share of Hours Tuned | (Mon.-Sun, 5a-1a)

David Bray is President of Bray & Partners Communications.
(416) 431-5792 | [email protected] | www.brayandpartners.com