The Medium / Small Market prize was also won by a Stingray Radio station, New Country 100.7 (CIGV-FM) Kelowna.

iHeartRadio Canada network show, the Pure Country Top 50 Countdown, captured Country Music Program, Special, or Digital Feature of the Year, with Central Ontario’s Pure Country 106 (CICX-FM) Orillia personality Jason McCoy capturing Country Personality of the Year 

The Video Director of the Year honour went to Ben Knechtel – Outliving (Artist: The Reklaws), Remind Me Again (Artist: Zach McPhee), Youth (Artist: Sully Burrows).

On the music side, Josh Ross was honoured as Entertainer of the Year and rounded out the night with a win for Single of the Year for Single Again, while MacKenzie Porter earned the title of Female Artist of the Year.

The Fans’ Choice Award went to Cameron Whitcomb, who also captured Breakthrough Artist or Group of the Year. Jade Eagleson claimed Male Artist of the Year, while James Barker Band took home Group or Duo of the Year. Owen Riegling was recognized with the Ford F-150 Album of the Year for Bruce County (From The Beginning).

Find the full list of winners here.

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The renewal builds on a decade of collaboration, following iHeartRadio Canada’s launch in 2016, with the streaming app growing to include more than 360 licensed Canadian radio stations across 170 markets.

As part of the partnership extension, Bell Media will represent iHeartRadio’s extensive podcast portfolio in Canada to advertisers.

“The creation of iHeartRadio Canada has been instrumental in evolving the digital audio landscape in Canada, greatly expanding the choice of incredible content available to listeners,” said Dave Daigle, VP, Local TV, Radio, and Bell Media Studios. “The renewal of this successful partnership ensures iHeartRadio Canada continues to deliver exceptional content and innovative listening experiences to our audiences, further solidifying our position as a leader in the Canadian media industry.” 

“This renewed agreement with Bell Media reflects our shared commitment to delivering the best in audio entertainment to Canadian listeners and advertisers,” added Michael Biondo, President of Business Development & Strategic Partnerships, iHeartMedia. “In the years to come, we’ll continue expanding iHeartRadio Canada with innovative features, exclusive content, and unique opportunities for brands to connect and engage with audiences across the country.” 

Bell says the extended partnership also means continued support for iHeartRadio-branded live music and entertainment events in Canada.

The app has also rolled out a slate of enhanced features as of this week, including: Presets, inspired by the car radio dashboard, allow listeners to save up to 15 of their favourite radio stations, playlists, podcasts, and artist radio stations; Scan Button, a  new way for listeners to discover new stations, by scanning and sampling radio stations, or filtering by city or genre; Live Radio Dial, enabling listeners to explore the best live stations across the country; What’s Trending Rankers, a discovery feature that allows listeners to see what’s trending in the current moment across Top Podcasts, Top Playlists, and Top Artist Radio stations; and Lyrics, offering lyrics for the song currently playing on live radio, as well as for tracks on artist radio stations and playlists. 

The post Bell Media and iHeartRadio announce partnership extension appeared first on Broadcast Dialogue.

Christensen passed away Thursday afternoon, according to a Facebook post from his partner of 43 years, Ingrid, who worked alongside him on Broadcast Dialogue for almost three decades – growing its reputation as “the broadcast industry publication of record.”

Christensen’s career as an anchor, editor and reporter started at CHAM Hamilton in 1972, with stops at CKJD Sarnia, CHYM Kitchener, CHUM Toronto, CJAD Montreal, and CKVR-TV Barrie to follow. He joined the Broadcast News (BN) wire service in Toronto as a reporter/editor in 1977. When network newscasts were launched, Christensen was one of the six original newscasters who helped take BN into a new era of Canadian news audio delivery. In 1981, he was promoted to General Executive – Eastern Canada with responsibility for all Canadian radio and TV stations east of the Ontario/Manitoba border.

In 1989, the entrepreneurial bug bit. He started by writing, producing, and voicing corporate videos and writing and designing company newsletters, including one for BN.

Recognizing a lack of timeliness in the dissemination of broadcast industry news, Christensen launched Broadcast Dialogue in May 1992. Sent out weekly by fax, before long the Canadian broadcast community couldn’t live without their Thursday morning “fix.”

In 1998, Broadcast Dialogue was expanded to a monthly magazine. Together with editor Barry Hamelin, a colleague from his time at BN, they reimagined the publication.

In 2013, anticipating the tectonic changes about to take place within the broadcast industry, Christensen combined the weekly Broadcast Dialogue with the monthly magazine. Following the announcement of his retirement in 2016, the publication was acquired by publisher Shawn Smith, President of Vancouver-based Momentum Media Marketing.

“Howard Christensen was the north star for all of us who work in the Canadian broadcast industry,” said Smith. “Through Broadcast Dialogue, he kept us informed and current, fostering a community of professionals from coast-to-coast, starting at a time before the internet, FaceTime, and social media. Meticulous, passionate, and endlessly funny, Howard will be greatly missed. His legacy will last long into the future. Our love and condolences go out to Ingrid and family.”

Over the years, Christensen was honoured with “Friend of the Industry” awards from the Atlantic Association of Broadcasters, the Central Canada Broadcasters Association (now the OAB), the Western Association of Broadcasters (WAB) and the British Columbia Association of Broadcasters (BCAB), Radio-Television News Directors Association (now RTDNA), Central Canada Broadcast Engineers (CCBE) and the Western Association of Broadcast Engineers (WABE). In 2020, Broadcast Dialogue dubbed its new Canadian Radio Awards program “The Howards” to honour the publication’s founder. Broadcast Dialogue celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2022.

Following their retirement, the Christensens spent the majority of the last decade near the shore of Lake Simcoe at Lagoon City, ON.

Howard Christensen was a guest on Broadcast Dialogue – The Podcast back in 2016. Listen to that episode here:

The post Broadcast Dialogue founder Howard Christensen dead at 80 appeared first on Broadcast Dialogue.