Commercial radio reaches 12.4 million weekly listeners in Australia
Dave Daigle is V.P. of radio, local TV and Bell Media Studios at Canadian media giant Bell Media, the mass media division of BCE Inc., which also owns telecommunications company Bell Canada. Bell Media boasts premier television, radio, digital and out-of-home media assets. Via the iHeartRadio Canada brand, it provides 212 music channels, including 100 radio stations in 58 Canadian markets.
RedTech: Tell us about yourself, your back- ground and your journey in radio broadcasting
Dave Daigle: I’ve spent my career working on all aspects of the radio and local TV business. I moved up through the sales side, eventually overseeing and transforming sales for our radio and local TV portfolio.
As V.P. of iHeartRadio, local TV and studios, I focus on all operational aspects of our local and in-house content — not just audio. This includes strategy for English radio, local TV and all facets of Bell Media’s lifestyle and entertainment production division on our linear and digital platforms.
Currently, I chair the Numeris Radio Executive Committee, where we help shape the audio measurement landscape in Canada. I also serve on the Canadian Association of Broadcasters Radio CEO Council. The committee provides a singular voice for most private broadcasters in Canada.
RedTech: How is the radio environment in Canada different today than it was when you started radio, and how do you expect it to change in the next five years?
Daigle: The industry has changed significantly. We don’t just compete against other broadcasters; we’re up against all the global choices of audio, video, streaming and social media platforms looking to capture listeners’ attention. Even though radio continues to reach over 85% of Canadians weekly, there is more competition for people’s attention than ever. Audiences consume radio differently — often through platforms offering various audio content.
In five years, I think we’ll still see on-demand streaming evolving. We’ll deliver content for broad audiences but in a hyper-local way, with ads specifically targeting much narrower consumer segmentation. One-on-one listener relationships must keep pace with advertisers’ expectations.
Regardless of how we consume radio in the future, one thing that won’t change is the importance of being relevant to the community.
Regardless of how we consume radio in the future, one thing that won’t change is the importance of being relevant to the community. We have stations in so many markets across Canada, and we’re focused on being part of those communities and ensuring our content truly reflects them.
Together with my team, led by Sarah Cummings on the iHeartRadio Canada side, we look to employ the best talent, offer the best music, news and talk content, and engage with audiences on a larger scale while ensuring we continue serving our local communities. We mustn’t lose sight of what sets radio apart from every other medium and make sure great content that matters can be heard when and where our audience wants it.
RedTech: What are the regulatory, operational or technical obstacles probably unique to your operating environment?
Daigle: Outside of broadcasting across five time zones with a roster of French and English stations, our operational and technical processes are relatively similar to those of many other countries. However, Canadian radio industry regulatory policies remain challenging for private broadcasters. They are quite extensive compared to other parts of the world. This affects the radio space in several key ways. Certain ownership conditions impact station operations, and Canadian content requirements set minimum spending levels and airtime for Canadian music.
As we face increased competition from international streaming services, it’s hard to navigate antiquated policies that hurt the industry and create an uneven playing field for private broadcasters.
RedTech: How have you rethought your content and sales strategies with increased competition from online audio options?
Daigle: Our partnership with iHeartRadio is at the forefront of our digital content and sales strategy.
Not only are all Bell Media radio stations available for streaming through iHeart.com and the iHeartRadio Canada app, but hundreds of thousands of podcasts, playlists, on-demand content and live streams of many other Canadian and international radio stations are also available through iHeartRadio Canada.
We’re always looking to bring new radio partners onto the platform and turn it into a centralized aggregator for all audio content to provide listeners with as much choice as possible. This also offers more options for advertisers through audio and digital ads. From a sales perspective, we’re focusing on Canadian markets where our point of differentiation is selling radio, local TV, digital audio and out-of-home together.
RedTech: What is the one big challenge that keeps you up at night?
Daigle: It’s hard to get a good night’s sleep at the best of times, but the Canadian radio market is experiencing systemic declines in both reported tuning and revenue, which was fast-tracked by the pandemic. However, every business faces challenges, and despite some of our regulatory obstacles, the Canadian radio industry is brimming with potential.
As an industry, we need to continue strategically working together through the Canadian Association of Broadcasters and our advocacy arm, Radio Connects, to help reshape the narrative about the power of radio and audio in general. We also need to invest in industry conferences like North American Radiodays, where we can collaborate as broadcasters to share progressive ideas, learn from each other, and celebrate our collective wins.
Younger audiences want what people have always wanted — to connect, be informed, and be entertained. If we deliver entertaining content, experiential contesting and engaging personalities across multiple platforms, we will continue to attract a younger audience.
RedTech: Explain your first-party data strategy at Bell Media. How do you expect it to evolve over the next few years?
Daigle: iHeartRadio Canada uses Addressable Audio, advanced by Bell Media’s first-party data. This allows us to deliver targeted audio ads and allows advertisers to reach millions of listeners with personalized messages, building stronger and more meaningful connections with audiences.
Advertisers can use key insights such as demographic data, interests, and location to reach specific listeners on iHeartRadio Canada’s Addressable Audio-enabled catalog.
Over the next few years, we envision our Addressable Audio strategy growing, giving brands the opportunity to customize the listener experience and yield higher conversion rates.
RedTech: How important are younger listeners to Bell, and how are you helping them develop a radio habit?
Daigle: We value listeners of all ages, so we provide our audiences with a wide range of choices.
It’s not just about playing the hits. Younger audiences want what people have always wanted — to connect, be informed, and be entertained. If we deliver entertaining content, experiential contesting and engaging personalities across multiple platforms, we will continue to attract a younger audience. The key is to lean in on all relevant social media that keeps your brand, talent and content front and center with this audience.
RedTech: How are you using new technologies in your business to help you grow or to cut costs?
Daigle: Bringing numerous stations under one brand umbrella — Bounce Radio, Move Radio, Pure Country and Virgin Radio — allows us to have consistent programming, hold contests across different markets from coast to coast and streamline our marketing and promotional efforts. We can still cater to local communities through dedicated programming and promotional tactics.
Developing cloud-hosted SaaS platforms in our studios has allowed us to reduce operational costs, and it requires fewer support and troubleshooting workflows. Our team has also invested in new AI analytic tools that leverage streaming data, allowing us to access information internally and focus on real-time audience-driven decision-making.
RedTech: How do you recruit new talent for radio? Where do you look for them, and what skills do you look for now compared to what you would have looked for 10 years ago?
Daigle: We face new challenges in recruiting new talent. People are less willing to move for positions due to various factors, including the cost of living and perceived quality of life.
When recruiting, we rely heavily on all of our team members to be connected with what’s happening in their markets and beyond on all platforms. Digital content creators, television hosts, influencers, podcasters, singers, politicians and celebrities can all become top radio talent.
At Bell Media, we can also offer the unique opportunity to appear on radio and across local and national TV and high-profile digital assets. We leverage this cross-pollination talent strategy to attract the very best in the country.
RedTech: How important is in-car listening to Bell Media? How is your programming and sales strategy changing as car screens get bigger?
Daigle: It is a critical element. As autonomous cars evolve and infotainment dashboards potentially move to an all-encompassing audio and video in-car experience with Wi-Fi enablement, we continue to test additional software and services to enhance our on-screen offering for listeners and clients.
While we stay focused on the progress of the connected car, our goal at iHeartRadio Canada is to create a frictionless audio experience — seamlessly being a part of our listeners’ journey from the morning commute, at work, to the gym and back home for the evening. The listener experience can’t stop when someone gets out of their car. It needs multiple audio offerings to hold the listeners’ attention throughout their day. Live radio, digital stations, podcasts and customized playlists under one audio aggregator will help us excel and grow our audience and advertiser footprint.
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