Toronto community station VIBE105 (CHRY-FM) has launched VIBExTRA, a new “culture forward” streaming platform and DOOH (digital out of home) screen network.
Presented as an add-on feature to subscribers of the station’s broadcast streaming app, VIBExTRA features more than a dozen series, film shorts and creative originals representing nearly 1,000 hours of content. Free, thanks to an ad-supported hybrid model, the urban contemporary station says the platform fills a void for accessible, quality cultural programming that celebrates BIPOC stories and perspectives.
“This DOOH platform allows us to move beyond traditional broadcasting to give our audiences a new way to access stories and topics that resonate with their interests and experiences. By adapting to the ever-evolving consumption habits of our audiences, we are making our culture focused content available anytime, anywhere, and in a simple and user-friendly technological environment,” said Randy Reid, VIBE105 Founder and CEO of VX3 Exchange.
To be updated on a regular basis, content will include new original productions from ADVANCE (Black Music Collective) featuring performers like JUNO winner Haviah Mighty, former CBC and Flow 93.5 personality Jemini, and David ‘Click’ Cox of The Remix Project; original productions from independent citizen-led content producers; Season 4 of podcast docuseries, AMPLIFY, featuring prominent contributors to Canada’s Black music and entertainment scene; and The Line, a series on creators above, below and down ‘The Line’ in film and television, featuring Director X, Sasha Leigh-Henry, and OYA Media Group.
“We’re boldly getting back to our roots as Canada’s leader and longest operating majority Black content broadcaster in the country” said Reid. “We know that there are important topics and context that are often missed or sometimes misrepresented relating to the Black (and BIPOC) communities that rely on us. This move allows us to complement our highly favoured music programming with visible and more easily digestible formats to explore conversations and unique interests of our core markets.”
VIBE105 says it plans to expand its distribution by partnering with additional streaming and DOOH platforms, with the goal of becoming a leading destination for BIPOC content.
