By David Farrell
TPX signs Terry O’Reilly’s Apostrophe Podcast Company
The Podcast Exchange (TPX) has signed an exclusive marketing and sales agreement with the Apostrophe Podcast Company, the podcast production co-founded by broadcaster Terry O’Reilly, host of CBC’s long-running radio series, Under the Influence.
The Apostrophe Podcast Company will release its first show, We Regret to Inform You, on March 16. The podcast tells the stories of “famous people who overcame debilitating career rejections to achieve remarkable success. It's about the insights we can glean from rejection.”
"We believe that Canadian publishers are a vital part of our growth domestically and globally", said Jean-Marie Heimrath, President, co-founder and CEO of TPX. "This and other strategic signings will fulfil our mission to bring the world to Canada and Canada to the world."
Apostrophe Podcast Company co-founder Terry O'Reilly added: "We are absolutely looking forward to working with TPX. TPX is the pioneer in podcast advertising in this country and that's why we’re placing our first original podcast in their experienced hands. Exciting things to come."
Apostrophe joins a growing list of TPX media partners that includes Midroll, Corus Entertainment, Acast, audioBoom, Wondery, and iHeartMedia. TPX has also had success leveraging its partnerships to attain global distribution for Canadian podcasts, including Kristi Lee’s Canadian True Crime.
Stingray announced Friday that it’s acquired a 30% stake in TPX as the company goes after podcast digital revenue, targeting the 18-34 demographic. — TPX, Broadcast Dialogue
CMW updates its annual Radio & Audio Awards
Canadian Music Week’s annual audio expo, the Radio Active Summit, has announced the new Canadian Radio & Audio Awards luncheon takes place on Wednesday, May 20 in the Sheraton Centre Toronto Hotel.
CMW is updating its Radio & Audio Awards program with new categories along with a new nominating, voting and adjudication system. Hosted by Adam Growe, comedian, licensed Toronto cab driver, and the host of the Cash Cab, the awards will feature new categories including “Music Station of the Year”, “Non-Music Station of the Year”, “Community and Public Service Station of the Year”, “Excellence in Commercial Creative and Production” and “Canadian Podcast of the Year”. Click here for the full list of categories, criteria and to submit your nominations.
Toronto's top librarian defends Meghan Murphy’s right to express an option
Vickery Bowles, the city librarian for the Toronto Public Library, has taken a lot of heat for standing up for the right of anti-transgender feminist Meghan Murphy to rent a room to speak at the TPL late last year. Bowles was invited by Empire Club earlier this week to speak about the right of free speech, inclusiveness within the mandate of the public library system, and finding accommodation for viewpoints expressed by individuals that steer clear of Canada’s violating Canada’s hate speech laws. This is what she said:
Business success of paperless papers may signal next step in mainstream news
As newspapers look for new ways of saving money, evidence from Britain and Canada may point to the next stage in the evolution of broadsheet papers to complete their transformation — the elimination of paper altogether, but with no paywall. — Don Pittis, CBC News
Trump campaign files defamation suit against CNN over an opinion piece
This is the third defamation suit that the Trump campaign has filed over statements made in opinion pieces. Prior to Friday’s suit against CNN, the campaign has also filed similar suits against The New York Times and The Washington Post. — Clara Chan, The Wrap
What’s coming on Quibi
Quibi, the mobile-only streaming service set to launch on April 6, will have 50 original shows at launch, including everything from game show reboots to celebreality shows. Below is a full list of shows available on Quibi on April 6 (minus whatever Bell Media content is added). — Timera Hepburn, Cord Cutters News
Missing song metadata in live streams? SmartMetada firm can fix this
The SmartMetadata service listens to the broadcaster’s live stream and uses audio fingerprinting technology to identify music within it. The service then sends corresponding metadata including song title, artist name, album name, marketing label and ISRC code back to StreamGuys’ streaming servers.
Future SmartMetadata features will leverage the underlying technology’s indexing capabilities to also enable identification of proprietary content such as PSAs, news, ads and original programming … — Adam Jacobson, Radio+Television Business Report
Lee Abrams relaunches consultancy
Abrams is calling the consultancy MediaVisions and he says the focus will be a new radio format. “Complete reimagination of video content, news and information; creative-driven 40+ music innovation for entertainment and media leaders; innovative podcasting; and working with companies looking for creative direction and new ways to prosper. — Radio Ink
Cord-cutters don’t care more about price than ‘live’
In the study, Nielsen asked consumers about which attributes of streaming services are most important to them. The results show that consumers prioritize affordability and ease of use when choosing a streaming service. What viewers aren’t interested in is personalized recommendations or live content. — Jess Barnes, Cord Cutters News
US survey shows Netflix viewership towers over Disney+
The data was collected from 45,000 Reelgood users in the US who are currently subscribed to both streaming services. On both charts, 100% is the sum of all Disney+ and Netflix streams/plays over a given time period. — Timera Hepburn, Cord Cutters News
