The Heart of Canada

Just over 5 years after iHeartRadio was licensed in Canada to Bell Media, the media conglomerate has rolled out a new Adult Hits brand, Bounce Radio, to 25 stations across the country, each retaining a local morning show.

Bounce plays familiar 80s, 90s and 00s hits, positioning as The Music You Just Can’t Quit.

Looking at Bell Media’s (@iHeartRadioCA) latest national brand rollout - Bounce Radio, an Adult Hits network consisting of 25 stations which have retained local morning shows. They appear to have flipped the Absolute logo. pic.twitter.com/R1DhBqn1ID

— Harrison RB (@HarrisonRBRadio) May 19, 2021

It means the end of Winnipeg's 99.9 Bob FM among 3 other Bobs and animal-themed names such as The Bear, The Fox and Big Dog.

Happy Retirement BOB!! pic.twitter.com/t2aNJdGiiz

— Winnipeg's Bounce 99.9 (@BounceRadio999) May 18, 2021

EZ Rock is no more too - a name first created in 1995 based on the call sign of Telemedia’s Toronto flagship CJEZ-FM (now CHBM-FM, owned by Stingray Group and branded as Boom 973). As of 2021, British Columbia was the last Canadian province to use the branding.

Just as we’ve seen in the UK and elsewhere in the world, Bell Media is building polished national brands to compete with digital media on a bigger scale. Bounce will sit alongside its Virgin (CHR), Pure Country and Move (AC) networks.

Elvis Duran - 25 years at breakfast

 

The legendary Elvis Duran is celebrating 25 years on Z100′s morning show.

Formerly The Z Morning Zoo, now Elvis Duran and the Morning Show, it all began following Tom Poleman’s appointment as PD in April 1996. Z100's alt rock phase came to an end, and Duran was moved to breakfast.

In 2004, the show expanded to Max 106.3 in Sussex County (NJ) and Y100 in Miami two years later before signing a national syndication deal with Premiere Networks in 2009. It can now be heard in almost 80 markets.

Newsreaders are storytellers

Earlier in the year, Jeremy Paxman claimed "any fool" could be a newsreader because (the role lacks) "any grandeur or skill" - and I couldn’t disagree more with this outdated view.

Firstly, "reader" isn’t entirely reflective of what’s involved - the best newsreaders don’t just read the words, they tell the stories. Perfecting the art of storytelling isn’t easy. Tone and delivery are crucial.

Furthermore, almost every broadcast journalist today is multi-skilled. Particularly in radio, you don’t just present, you also write copy, edit audio, drive the desk etc.

During the pre-election period (purdah), it also involves carefully crafting news related to the poll to ensure all candidates get their fair share of airtime.

There’s a lot more to it than you might think. Paxman’s view is a common misconception but particularly disappointing to hear from someone of his calibre.

Subscription radio

Amid the Apple vs Spotify subscription podcasting battle, Twitter’s announcement of ticketed Spaces and with Reuters & CNN International both set to hide behind a paywall, Bauer Media has today announced premium subscription services for four of its national radio brands - Scala, Jazz FM, Kerrang! and Planet Rock.

Subscribers will enjoy an ad-free listening experience offering greater control and flexibility and be able to skip up to 6 tracks per hour.

The £3.99 per month package also includes access to 20 exclusive online radio stations across genres and music moods as well as more than 30 on-demand shows, documentaries, artist interview content and special programming.

LBC had a podcast subscription service where you could catch up on every show minus the ads and news (this was scrapped in 2018 when the Global Player app began hosting these free of charge).

The rock/metal station Primordial Radio uses this model, as does SiriusXM state-side.

When it comes to skipping tracks, the Capital XTRA app first introduced the function some five years ago with Capital following suit before being rolled out to all music stations on Global Player. Despite opting out of the live stream, you still get presenter links and ads.

Will this be a significant revenue stream? It’ll certainly raise expectations and test the water. A key benefit to Bauer is harvesting consumer data and using it for research as well as to personalise the user experience.

We’re already used to paying a premium for ad-free experiences and/or exclusive content elsewhere - and the four stations selected are particularly niche with passionate audiences which undoubtedly helps.

For the last 10 years Bauer’s Absolute Radio has given free account holders access to higher-quality audio with in-stream technology allowing users to hear fewer, but more targeted, ads (tailored to their age, gender and location) with "bonus songs".

GB fends off UK in News battle

Rupert Murdoch’s News UK has scrapped plans to re-enter the linear TV market following a review which found the news channel to be commercially unviable.

In an email to staff, CEO Rebekah Brooks confirmed that David Rhodes, the man hired to oversee the project, was stepping down from his role in June.

Brooks said:

Whilst there is consumer demand for alternative news provision, the costs of running a rolling news channel are considerable, and it is our assessment that the payback for our shareholders wouldn’t be sufficient.

The company’s newly-founded TV division will merge into News UK Broadcasting with Scott Taunton, current CEO of Wireless (its radio/audio operation), appointed as CEO.

It comes as the group’s speech radio stations continue to engage (and, in some cases, enrage) audiences on social media with high quality video content.

This is particularly relevant to talkRADIO which streams live on YouTube, Facebook and Twitter throughout the day with TV news channel graphics and remote guests in vision.

In fact, when Murdoch’s TV plans were first rumoured, I was expecting the venture to eventually replace it.

There was talk of a channel that would take inspiration from the Fox News model and include right wing commentary (within the UK’s stricter broadcast code), which is essentially what talkRADIO has become.

Meanwhile, at GB News - the forthcoming channel chaired by Andrew Neil, they’ve recently signed Alastair Stewart, Simon McCoy, Kirsty Gallacher and others, as well as most people in my Twitter timeline to work behind the scenes.

It was founded by media execs Andrew Cole and Mark Schneider and promises a full schedule of opinion and debate-led programming.

Despite controversy surrounding the channel’s perceived political stance, insiders have hit back insisting it will be "committed to impartial journalism".

Of course, due impartiality will need to be preserved across the schedule - but, like stations such as LBC, individual shows can be opinionated. talkRADIO get away with a predominantly right wing lineup by inviting callers and guests who hold different views.

I wouldn’t be surprised if Murdoch looks to get his hands on GB News eventually.

TikTok turns to radio

News from Australia - TikTok’s local operation has partnered with the Australian Radio Network’s iHeartRadio to launch a new digital radio station, initially for three months. It’ll stream online via the platform and broadcast on DAB+ in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth.

TikTok Trending on iHeartRadio, described as "your one-stop-shop for staying up to date with what's happening on TikTok", will play "all the tracks that blow up on (the app’s) 'For You' page", combining the biggest hits, emerging talent and classic tracks being rediscovered on the platform.

Four influencers are signed up as presenters and will "shine a spotlight on the stories behind the TikTok-trending music they're playing, as they interview artists and chat about their favourite songs and acts on the platform".

There’ll also be guest hosts ("popular creators, local artists and international stars") - Rita Ora is the first name to be announced.

Despite the fact its eclectic music mix is a programmer’s worst nightmare, it seems like a great way to engage younger audiences which some say radio can’t do because, apparently, it’s "dead".

If that were the case, brands wouldn’t be so eager for a slice of the cake. It’s certainly interesting - and TikTok won’t be the last brand to utilise the unique benefits of audio.

Sean Ross has been listening to it, along with SoundCloud Radio - a station from rival group Southern Cross Austereo (SCA) which is dedicated to music discovery.

Audiences set today's standards

Very well said by Graham Norton in the observer today. Whatever you think about The BBC this needs to be said - and often pic.twitter.com/nEbLltN6wc

— charlie higson (@monstroso) April 25, 2021

Interesting point from Graham Norton - traditionally, this was undoubtedly the case... but is it still this simple in a multi-media age?

Firstly, although it’s not perfect (is any large organisation?), I’ve always passionately defended the BBC’s existence and funding model. Its high quality journalism, education resources and broadcast output make it one of this country’s proudest institutions.

In the days before the internet, when a handful of TV/radio stations reigned supreme, the BBC was the commercial sector’s only competitor - and it didn’t have adverts then either.

Nowadays, you also have the likes of Netflix, Spotify and an ever-growing range of digital media including podcasts which are raising the bar for all traditional broadcasters, including the BBC.

Of course, two ad-free pop stations with huge budgets behind them (including the UK’s most listened-to, Radio 2) are still huge competition for commercial radio - but traditional radio/TV isn’t just competing with its own anymore.

To put it simply, audiences are setting the standards more than ever.