Finally, a study of podcast listenership in Canada

Media research and consultancy firm Audience Insights and Ulster Media have just released a sweeping study of Canadian podcasting habits, entitled The Canadian Podcast Listener.

With support from the Globe and Mail, the two-phase study of more than 4,000 Canadians discovers that our listening habits aren’t that different from Americans and that there is pent-up demand for more original homegrown content.

Among the main findings:

• Nearly 10 million Canadian adults have listened to a podcast in the last year

• And that number is growing. More than 70% of past month listeners started during the previous 3 years with 41% beginning in the past year alone.

• Respondents listen to podcasts to be entertained, hear interesting stories and learn something new.

• There’s an appetite for Canadian content, with 47% of podcast listeners wanting to know more about what Canadian podcasts are available. Also, four of the top 10 podcasts respondents listened to in the last month were Canadian.

• The CBC is a big player in homegrown content with repurposed radio shows.

• Podcast listening peaks among 18-34-year-olds, among men, among those with a university education, and in households with more than $100K income.

The study also fills in the gap on listener demographics, Canadians' most listened to podcasts, and how and where they listen to podcasts.  Here's a link where you can download the Summary Report.

Bell Media promoting Country music

Simultaneous to announcing that CTV 2 has acquired Canadian broadcast rights to the Country Music Awards, Bell Media confirmed it is adding a new weekly, one-hour country music block to the Much schedule, starting Sunday, Nov. 5.

The Much programming block will mix new country hits with what are described as “classic fan favourites” by artists such as Dallas Smith, Florida Georgia Line, and Jess Moskaluke.

The CMAs are to be broadcast live from Bridgestone Arena in Nashville with hosts’ Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood. Announced on the show are Kelsea Ballerini and Reba McEntire; Dierks Bentley and Rascal Flatts; Maren Morris and Niall Horan; and Paisley with Kane Brown.

Also appearing are Garth Brooks, Brothers Osborne, Luke Bryan, Eric Church, Miranda Lambert, Little Big Town, Old Dominion, Jon Pardi, Chris Stapleton, Thomas Rhett, and Underwood. 2017 Country Music Hall of Fame Inductee and 16-time CMA Awards winner Alan Jackson will also be centre stage.  

Senate passes bill protecting journalists and whistleblowers

Senator Claude Carignan’s Bill S-231 was passed by the House of Commons on Wednesday, October 4.

The bill recognizes the fundamental role in our democracy played by investigative journalists, their sources and whistle-blowers and will protect the journalistic source privilege that had not yet been expressly recognized in our legislation up until now.

The bill provides procedural tools that will help journalists meet the obligation of confidentiality to their sources and mandates that only a superior court judge would be able to issue a search warrant when deemed to be in the public interest.

This bill follows a year after Montreal police force and the Sûreté du Québec placed a number of journalists under electronic surveillance after seeking and obtaining warrants.

Now passed by both houses, the bill will become law once the governor-general gives it her stamp of approval, otherwise known as Royal Assent.

Tory Senator Carignan’s push for the Bill to Amend can be read in full here.

How NAFTA could change how Canadians view television

One of the consequences of Donald Trump becoming president of the United States is that now Canada, the U.S. and Mexico are meeting to discuss amendments to the North American Free Trade Agreement, which Trump has threatened to pull out of entirely if he doesn’t get his way.

Canada has made clear that it plans to keep cultural exceptions to the free trade agreement, allowing it to continue to protect its cultural institutions from its much larger neighbour. So, it might be tempting to think there won’t be any change here.

But there is one change being proposed that could make a huge difference to the Canadian television industry, and its one that proponents on both sides of the border would argue strengthens rather than weakens cultural protection.

It’s called retransmission consent.

Continue reading Steve Faguy’s Fagstein blog

Restlessness and losses at CKUA

The Alberta community radio network with 16 transmitters across the province has been a source of pride in Wild Rose Country forever it might seem to some. In fact, the publicly funded network was founded 90 years ago and has had its highs and lows over that span.

Ten years ago, it was forced off the air for five weeks due to political in-fighting and financial travails. Today, two-thirds of its operating budget is secured through pledges and funding drives.

The brand is in trouble again with a ballooning deficit and disquiet in the corridors at the network’s two studio complexes in Edmonton and Calgary. Among the more outspoken show hosts is veteran Peter North who is candid about his reasons for quitting after 17 years with CKUA – Gigcity has the story