Media Beat: July 16, 2020

By David Farrell

Community Radio commits nearly $500K to support small businesses

the National Campus and Community Radio Association (NCRA/ANREC) and 30+ radio stations have committed over $480,000 in advertising and promotion to support local businesses in the economic recovery nationwide.

“The pandemic impacted almost every industry in Canada, including campus and community radio stations,” explains Barry Rooke, Executive Director of NCRA/ANREC. “Despite record-breaking losses in revenue, stations continued to stay on air to serve their communities. Those same stations have now stepped up to support local businesses through free advertising”

NHL defends decision to have NBC broadcast restart from Toronto hub

Sportsnet will provide the world feed from Edmonton, the league's other hub city during the pandemic.

Gary Meagher, the NHL's executive vice president of communications, says approximately 95 percent of the 2,000 people outside of teams and league staff working at arenas and hotels during the 60-day Stanley Cup tournament will be Canadian. – The Canadian Press

SiriusXM launches 6 limited-run music legends channels

The satellite radio company has launched dedicated channels featuring music of the Beastie Boys, Coldplay, Bob Marley and the Tough Gong family of artists, Michael Jackson, Prince, and Queen through to July 21. The limited-run channels feature guest hosts including Akon, Beck, Big Boi, Carlos Santana, Catherine Zeta-Jones, CeeLo Green, Cypress Hill, Demi Lovato, Dua Lipa, Dave Grohl and Taylor Hawkins, Michael Rapaport, Rosie Perez, Sean Lennon, and Shawn Mendes.

Podcast audiences offer opportunity for auto industry

Across consumer groups, podcast listeners should be high on any auto marketer’s list. According to a recent analysis conducted through Nielsen’s Podcast Listener Buying Power service, 35.8 million people were shopping online for vehicles at the height of shelter-in-place restrictions in the U.S., and 10.5 million of them were listening to podcasts. Those engaged podcast fans represent a $302 billion opportunity for marketers and advertisers. – Nielsen

If the ‘cancel culture’ debate proved anything, it’s that the time has come to cancel Twitter

Twitter, as the actor Sam Neill pointed out this week, has turned toxic. If Facebook today is like A Quiet Place – everyone sneaking around trying not to make a noise for fear of being ripped to shreds by Dominic Cummings’ stalking data harvesters – then its chirpy cousin has turned into War For The Planet Of The Apes. – Mark Beaumont, NME