On Sunday, one of the most creative minds to ever grace the radio airwaves passed away. Dick Orkin, the creator of the radio series Chickenman, has died. Many of us grew up in radio listening to the program Orkin created, which eventually made it onto over 1,500 radio stations in its heyday. When I interviewed Orkin for the cover of Radio Ink Magazine in 2016 he sent me every Chickenman episode ever created on CD. He was one of the nicest people I have ever interviewed. Click here for the full interview.
Born in Williamsport, PA, in 1933, Dick Orkin was ready for radio at age 16. He began as a fill-in announcer at WKOK in Sunbury, PA. After earning his BA in speech and theater from Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, PA, he attended the Yale School of Drama, then returned to Lancaster to become the news director at WLAN in 1959. Orkin would move on to KYW in Cleveland, and in 1967 he took a job as production director at WCFL in Chicago, where he created Chickenman.
Read more here.
So much for those who think advertisers are moving away from digital due to fraud and poor results. The Interactive Advertising Bureau announced on Wednesday that digital advertising revenues in the United States for the first half of 2017 surged to an all-time high of $40.1 billion. That’s a 23 percent increase over the first six months of 2016 ($32.7 billion). Ten years ago, the first half total was under $10 billion. So where did all that money go in 2017? Let’s dig in…
Read more here.
Digital switchover means that only the country’s local radio stations continue to use FM frequencies
Norway has completed its transition to digital radio, becoming the first country in the world to shut down national broadcasts of its FM network.
The country’s most northern regions and the Svalbard archipelago in the Arctic switched to digital audio broadcasting (DAB) as scheduled on Wednesday, said Digitalradio Norge (DRN), an umbrella group for Norway’s public and commercial radio.
The transition, which began on 11 January, allows for better sound quality and more channels and functions at an eighth of the cost of FM radio, according to authorities.
The move has, however, been met with some criticism linked to technical incidents and claims that there is not enough DAB coverage across the country.
Read more here.
The days of the smart speaker are numbered. And though they won’t say it aloud, the tech titans that manufacture the devices are totally fine with it.
Initially introduced in 2014, the Amazon Echo was the first WiFi-enabled speaker of its kind. By simply stating “Alexa,” the name of Amazon’s digital assistant, users could listen to music, inquire about the weather, and control automated devices connected to its hub like lights, thermostats, and appliances.
Spurred by Amazon’s success, other tech giants quickly followed suit. Last year, Google released its version, Google Home, and Apple announced the Siri-equipped HomePod this past June. Microsoft has also unveiled a smart speaker loaded with its digital assistant Cortana.
Now, in the near term, sales of these devices will continue to rise — especially as companies release additional products into market. But as the underlying technology that powers smart speakers matures, the devices themselves will lose their usefulness.
Read more here.
– Radioplayer Canada is a radio streaming service with more than 500 stations
– Amazon Echo is now available in stores and online in Canada
Radioplayer Canada, the radio streaming app that features more than 500 Canadian radio stations, has just announced its streaming service is available with Amazon Echo, powered by Alexa. Amazon Echo users may now simply ask Alexa to play their favourite radio station on Radioplayer Canada, once the skill is enabled by the listener.
“This integration with Amazon Alexa is great for Canadian radio,” said Julie Adam, Senior Vice President, Rogers Radio, and Board Chair of Radioplayer Canada. “The integration echoes the mission of all participating radio broadcasters to be available however, wherever, and whenever our listeners want. Alexa makes it easier than ever!”
This latest consumer product integration follows the recent smart device integrations of the Radioplayer Canada app with Sonos, Google’s Chromecast, and Apple CarPlay.
Radioplayer Canada is featured as a streaming service on the Amazon Echo product packaging, website literature, and promotional material. Participating stations are currently cross-promoting the integration with Amazon Alexa in their on-air promotional announcements for Radioplayer Canada.
Radioplayer Canada brings CBC/Radio-Canada together with the stations of Bayshore Broadcasting, Blackburn Radio, Blackgold Radio, Byrnes Communications, CAB-K Broadcasting, Central Ontario Broadcasting, Clear Sky Radio, Cogeco Media, Corus Entertainment, Durham Radio, Fabmar Communications, Golden West Broadcasting, Harvard Broadcasting, Larche Communications, Newcap Radio, Jim Pattison Broadcast Group, Rogers Media, Rawlco Radio, RNC Media, Saskatoon Media Group, Vista Radio, and Westman Communications Group, as well as the National Campus and Community Radio Association (NCRA/ANREC).
Radioplayer Canada app is available on the App Store and on Google Play. For additional business opportunities, please visit www.radioplayer.ca.
About Radioplayer Canada
Radioplayer Canada is a highly collaborative partnership among many of Canada’s finest radio broadcasters to provide listeners with a world-class streaming experience across a variety of platforms and connected devices, on mobile, tablet, desktop and in-car. Radioplayer Canada unites broadcasters, fosters competition on content, and allows radio to compete with other digital forms of audio. For more, see www.radioplayer.ca follow @radioplayercanada on Twitter.
About Radioplayer Worldwide
Radioplayer Worldwide is a group of collaborating broadcasters across Germany, Austria, Ireland, Norway, Belgium, Canada, and Peru. They are all using the Radioplayer technology platform, and between them they represent thousands of stations. They work alongside UK Radioplayer to ensure radio stays strong in car dashboards, smart speakers, and on mobile and desktop platforms. For more, see www.radioplayerworldwide.com or follow @rpworldwide on Twitter.
For further information: Media Contacts: Shawn Smith, Momentum, 604.872.8900 ext. 300, shawn@momentummediamarketing.com
Last September, the Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Canadian Heritage, launched Creative Canada: the Government of Canada’s vision for the future of our creative industries in a digital world.
Today, Minister Joly delivered a speech at the Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal, where she presented the main themes of Creative Canada, the first-ever federal strategy developed to help our creative industries thrive and succeed in the digital age. The renewed policy approach rests on three pillars: investing in our creators and creative industry professionals, promoting the discovery and distribution of our content at home and globally, and working to strengthen public broadcasting and support local news.
Read more here.
We’re looking for someone who really has their finger on the pulse to join our evolving news room. We want someone who can add personality and bring a modern day feel to our daily on-air and online news packages using information from traditional and new (social) media. Think of it as info-tainment and you’re the info-tainer.
Preferred Qualifications:
Email resume with references and audio (maximum 2 minutes) to jobs@ylcountry.com
NOTE: We are also updating our talent bank for on-air staff.
CBC Radio 1 (CBU) remains unbeatable in Vancouver. By posting a 16.4, it has almost a 6-share lead on the rest of the pack.
QMFM faired quite well in fall. After a typical down summer, it’s up 1.3 shares to a 10.8.
CKNW is the picture of consistency. They posted a 10.5 to go along with their previous 2017 books of 10.2, 10.2, and 10.4.
Rock 101 (CFMI-FM) sits fourth and is dead even summer-to-fall at a 7.6.
Virgin (CFBT-FM) was down very slightly to a 7.2, but that was good enough to hold onto fifth.
Jim Pattison Group’s JRfm (CJJR-FM) was up .3 to an even 6-share and steady in the sixth position.
News 1130 (CKWX) had a nice increase from summer and are not at a 5.3 and good enough for seventh.
Rounding out the Top 10 are Z95.3 (CKZZ-FM), LG 104.3 (CHLG-FM), and The Fox (CFOX-FM).
| All People 12+ Mon – Sun
2am – 2am |
Vancouver | ||||||||
| Share % | Daily Cume (000) | ||||||||
| Station | Sep Nov 2017 | May Aug 2017 | Feb May 2017 | Nov Feb 2017 | Sep Nov 2016 | Jun Aug 2016 | Feb May 2016 | Sep Nov 2017 | May Aug 2017 |
| CBU | 16.4 | 14.3 | 14.2 | 15.1 | 13.4 | 12.4 | 14.4 | 241.6 | 227.4 |
| CHQM-FM | 10.8 | 9.5 | 10.7 | 12.2 | 10.2 | 8.4 | 9.2 | 413.6 | 386.4 |
| CKNW | 10.5 | 10.2 | 10.2 | 10.4 | 10.2 | 9.3 | 8.5 | 183.3 | 169.2 |
| CFMI-FM | 7.6 | 7.6 | 7.7 | 7.0 | 7.6 | 7.5 | 7.9 | 235.1 | 232.6 |
| CFBT-FM | 7.2 | 7.4 | 6.4 | 6.3 | 6.1 | 6.9 | 6.9 | 320.5 | 321.5 |
| CJJR-FM | 6.0 | 5.7 | 5.8 | 5.0 | 5.7 | 5.8 | 6.8 | 156.5 | 154.0 |
| CKWX | 5.3 | 4.5 | 5.0 | 5.1 | 5.4 | 5.3 | 5.1 | 204.2 | 181.8 |
| CKZZ-FM | 5.0 | 5.1 | 4.8 | 4.6 | 5.2 | 6.5 | 5.5 | 254.6 | 238.9 |
| CHLG-FM | 4.8 | 4.3 | 5.4 | 4.6 | 6.0 | 6.9 | 5.3 | 186.1 | 178.1 |
| CFOX-FM | 4.5 | 5.0 | 4.7 | 4.9 | 4.7 | 5.8 | 5.4 | 167.7 | 176.6 |
| CKPK-FM | 4.1 | 3.4 | 3.7 | 3.5 | 2.6 | 3.6 | 3.2 | 139.9 | 133.3 |
| CJAX-FM | 3.9 | 4.7 | 4.6 | 4.1 | 4.9 | 4.9 | 5.3 | 191.7 | 204.4 |
| CBU-FM | 3.2 | 3.1 | 2.7 | 3.2 | 3.4 | 3.1 | 3.2 | 86.4 | 91.1 |
| CKKS-FM * | 3.0 | 4.2 | 3.4 | 2.4 | 3.1 | 3.6 | 3.0 | 179.8 | 182.2 |
| KWPZ-FM | 1.8 | 1.8 | 1.7 | 2.4 | 1.5 | 1.9 | 2.0 | 52.2 | 53.4 |
| CKST | 1.7 | 2.0 | 2.7 | 2.9 | 3.9 | 2.4 | 2.9 | 67.9 | 73.0 |
| CHMJ | 1.2 | 1.3 | 1.2 | 1.2 | 0.9 | 0.6 | 0.7 | 91.1 | 94.0 |
| CISL | 1.2 | 2.5 | 2.6 | 2.5 | 2.2 | 2.6 | 2.7 | 46.8 | 70.8 |
| CFTE | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 14.4 | 11.2 |
| CIRH-FM | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | ||||
*rebroadcasting CFUN-FM from Chilliwack
TERMS
| Share – Within a central market area, the estimated total hours tuned to that station expressed as a percentage of total hours tuned to Total Encoded Radio. |
|
Cume (000) – Expressed in thousands, this is the total number of people who were exposed to the stations for at least one minute during the analyzed period. |
| Average Daily Universe – The average daily universe for the analyzed period. The universe is expressed as daily averages because it changes slightly daily as the intab changes. |
Newstalk 770 (CHQR) is back on top in Calgary. The Corus property is no stranger to being number 1, but it’s been a few books. A .6 share bump, plus plenty of declines from competitors did the job.
Country 105 (CKRY-FM) drops out of the top spot to second. Almost a 2-share drop indicates that in Alberta anyway, Country as a format faired poorly.
The CBC (CBR) had a nice increase and they move up two spots to third.
XL103 (CFXL-FM) softened from an 8.8. to an 8.1 and dropped a position to fourth.
Three rock stations follow in succession. Classic Rock station, Q107 (CFGQ-FM), stayed flat in share and rank at fifth. Bell’s rocker, CJAY, was next in sixth, but they declined just over half a share. And rounding out the overall format was Harvard’s Modern Rocker X92.9 (CFEX-FM), which had a slight share decrease to 5.2
660 News (CFFR) was up from a 4.9 to a 5.2. Good enough for eighth.
Jack (CJAQ-FM) was down to a 4.7 and sits ninth.
And Rawlco’s Soft Rock 97.7 (CHUP-FM) completes the top 10.
| All People 12+ Mon – Sun
2am – 2am |
Calgary | ||||||||
| Share % | Daily Cume (000) | ||||||||
| Station | Sep Nov 2017 | May Aug 2017 | Feb May 2017 | Nov Feb 2017 | Sep Nov 2016 | Jun Aug 2016 | Feb May 2016 | Sep Nov 2017 | May Aug 2017 |
| CHQR | 9.4 | 8.8 | 9.0 | 9.3 | 10.5 | 10.3 | 9.3 | 90.1 | 84.0 |
| CKRY-FM | 8.8 | 10.6 | 8.8 | 8.3 | 9.6 | 9.6 | 9.2 | 130.9 | 146.9 |
| CBR | 8.1 | 7.5 | 9.5 | 9.7 | 8.9 | 7.3 | 7.6 | 101.7 | 99.1 |
| CFXL-FM | 8.1 | 8.8 | 8.1 | 8.2 | 7.5 | 7.7 | 9.5 | 150.6 | 161.7 |
| CFGQ-FM | 5.9 | 5.8 | 6.0 | 5.6 | 5.1 | 6.8 | 5.7 | 102.3 | 108.0 |
| CJAY-FM | 5.4 | 6.0 | 4.8 | 3.9 | 4.9 | 6.2 | 6.3 | 100.7 | 111.4 |
| CFEX-FM | 5.2 | 5.4 | 4.5 | 4.2 | 4.4 | 5.2 | 6.5 | 110.5 | 111.2 |
| CFFR | 5.2 | 4.9 | 4.9 | 5.4 | 4.9 | 4.4 | 4.4 | 120.4 | 112.0 |
| CJAQ-FM | 4.7 | 5.1 | 5.1 | 5.1 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.4 | 118.1 | 127.6 |
| CHUP-FM | 4.5 | 5.4 | 4.9 | 4.4 | 4.3 | 4.5 | 4.0 | 129.1 | 137.3 |
| CIBK-FM | 4.4 | 4.2 | 4.2 | 4.1 | 5.0 | 5.1 | 4.9 | 154.9 | 150.1 |
| CHFM-FM | 3.5 | 3.9 | 4.8 | 6.9 | 5.1 | 5.1 | 5.7 | 116.7 | 126.7 |
| CKCE-FM | 3.5 | 3.9 | 4.2 | 3.8 | 3.1 | 3.3 | 2.5 | 102.2 | 104.0 |
| CKMP-FM | 3.4 | 4.3 | 3.9 | 4.0 | 4.7 | 3.6 | 3.2 | 114.3 | 113.1 |
| CFAC | 3.1 | 2.7 | 3.7 | 3.3 | 3.3 | 2.7 | 2.5 | 59.0 | 50.3 |
| CBR-FM | 2.2 | 2.6 | 2.8 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.2 | 36.7 | 39.2 |
| CKWD-FM | 1.5 | 1.7 | 2.1 | 1.9 | 2.0 | 1.4 | 1.2 | 58.1 | 58.3 |
| CKMX | 0.8 | 0.7 | 0.8 | 1.1 | 1.1 | 1.3 | 1.3 | 24.4 | 20.5 |
TERMS
| Share – Within a central market area, the estimated total hours tuned to that station expressed as a percentage of total hours tuned to Total Encoded Radio. |
|
Cume (000) – Expressed in thousands, this is the total number of people who were exposed to the stations for at least one minute during the analyzed period. |
| Average Daily Universe – The average daily universe for the analyzed period. The universe is expressed as daily averages because it changes slightly daily as the intab changes. |
Corus-owned, CHED, are back on top in Edmonton. They had a decent .4 share gain and now lead the market by over a full share.
NOW! (CKNO-FM) slips to second with a 10.4 to 9.5 decline from summer. They remain, however, the dominant music-based station.
Sonic (CHDI-FM) jump up a couple positions as they benefit from a .7 share increase. The Rogers Alternative have strung together a very impressive succession of upwards-trending books.
CISN stumbled badly in fall. Summer saw them reach heights they hadn’t achieved in quite some time, but a 2.5 share dump sees them with their worst showing in a couple years and a one-position slip in the ranks.
The CBC and Newcap’s Capital (CKRA-FM) are tied for fifth with a 6.7. Capital’s trend was flat, but the CBC showed noticeable growth.
The Bear (CFBR-FM) softened over a half-share from a successful summer showing. They’re still up nicely year-to-year, though.
Kiss (CHBN-FM) continue their positive trend since rebranding at the start of the year. The Rogers CHR outlet is up close to 2 shares year-to-year and are now eighth.
CFCW stay flat, but fall two places to ninth since the last book and Classic Rocker, K-97 stay flat in both share and rank at tenth.
| All People 12+ Mon – Sun
2am – 2am |
Edmonton | ||||||||
| Share % | Daily Cume (000) | ||||||||
| Station | Sep Nov 2017 | May Aug 2017 | Feb May 2017 | Nov Feb 2017 | Sep Nov 2016 | Jun Aug 2016 | Feb May 2016 | Sep Nov 2017 | May Aug 2017 |
| CHED | 10.6 | 10.2 | 11.4 | 11.0 | 11.5 | 8.4 | 8.0 | 112.7 | 105.5 |
| CKNO-FM | 9.5 | 10.4 | 10.0 | 9.9 | 11.3 | 13.0 | 11.4 | 196.1 | 206.3 |
| CHDI-FM | 7.6 | 6.9 | 6.3 | 6.1 | 5.4 | 5.1 | 4.3 | 132.7 | 117.3 |
| CISN-FM | 7.2 | 9.7 | 9.2 | 8.7 | 8.2 | 9.4 | 8.4 | 113.0 | 120.4 |
| CBX | 6.7 | 5.1 | 6.6 | 6.1 | 6.0 | 5.8 | 7.4 | 95.2 | 76.3 |
| CKRA-FM | 6.7 | 6.5 | 5.9 | 6.8 | 6.8 | 7.7 | 7.2 | 133.0 | 136.0 |
| CFBR-FM | 6.5 | 7.2 | 5.1 | 4.7 | 5.4 | 6.5 | 6.6 | 101.3 | 108.4 |
| CHBN-FM | 5.4 | 4.8 | 4.1 | 4.0 | 3.5 | 4.5 | 4.7 | 121.0 | 129.7 |
| CFCW | 5.3 | 5.5 | 5.6 | 6.5 | 6.4 | 6.4 | 6.7 | 44.3 | 50.4 |
| CIRK-FM | 5.1 | 4.9 | 6.5 | 6.6 | 4.6 | 5.9 | 6.8 | 88.6 | 88.0 |
| CIUP-FM | 4.9 | 5.2 | 4.7 | 5.4 | 6.9 | 4.9 | 4.6 | 112.8 | 117.3 |
| CKEA-FM | 4.5 | 3.3 | 3.2 | 2.3 | 2.3 | 2.9 | 2.3 | 76.0 | 71.4 |
| CKNG-FM | 3.8 | 3.6 | 3.5 | 5.3 | 3.4 | 3.7 | 4.4 | 99.9 | 107.6 |
| CFMG-FM | 2.6 | 2.9 | 2.9 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.7 | 2.6 | 107.6 | 115.4 |
| CJNW-FM | 2.3 | 3.2 | 2.9 | 2.5 | 2.8 | 2.7 | 3.2 | 90.2 | 112.4 |
| CKUA-FM | 2.3 | 2.0 | 1.7 | 1.9 | 1.7 | 1.5 | 2.0 | 26.9 | 24.8 |
| CFRN | 2.2 | 2.2 | 3.6 | 2.9 | 3.4 | 2.9 | 3.4 | 31.7 | 34.3 |
| CHQT | 1.5 | 1.1 | 1.3 | 1.4 | 1.6 | 1.2 | 1.1 | 30.7 | 26.4 |
| CBX-FM | 0.7 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 0.5 | 0.6 | 0.7 | 20.5 | 21.1 |
TERMS
| Share – Within a central market area, the estimated total hours tuned to that station expressed as a percentage of total hours tuned to Total Encoded Radio. |
|
Cume (000) – Expressed in thousands, this is the total number of people who were exposed to the stations for at least one minute during the analyzed period. |
| Average Daily Universe – The average daily universe for the analyzed period. The universe is expressed as daily averages because it changes slightly daily as the intab changes. |
