What was the most popular radio format in Canada in 2016? The answer may not surprise you – it’s Adult Contemporary, featured on 112 of the nation’s over 700 radio stations. But number two came as something of a surprise to me, although it probably shouldn’t have. It’s “Today’s Country,” which gets played on 108 outlets.
 
It’s always amazed me how that format never really caught on in the GTA, despite the old CFGM’s best efforts. The KX stations are on the fringe of the city for the most part and aren’t really all that highly rated here. But somebody’s listening, because after the CBC aggregate total, it commands the highest audience share at 12%.
 
Here’s the list, released as part of a comprehensive package of stats by the CRTC on Wednesday.:
 
 
     Top formats 2016                                Audience share
 
AC                      112                                       11%  
Today’s country  108                                       12%
Hot AC                 86                                       10%
Classic Hits          56                                         8%
AOR                     54                                         6%
Top 40/CHR         46                                         8%
News/Talk            39                                         9%
Classic Rock        26                                         5%
 
CBC Radio 1        32                                       13%
CBC Radio 2        17                                         3%
 
Other                    247                                      15%
 
There are other numbers that aren’t very rosy for broadcasters. One is that online listening is growing, and that hours tuned across all groups and demos for over-the-air radio stations were down at least two hours last year. Of those, only 22% streamed traditional radio, while a huge 55% went elsewhere – like YouTube – for their music needs.
 
The same goes for other types of entertainment, with the CRTC reporting conventional TV gets 16% of the audience, (with radio at just 10%.) But discretionary and on demand services are at nearly a combo of both of them, 25%. And revenues for traditional broadcasters are down 0.5% overall.
 
Bell makes the most, followed by Rogers, Newcap and Corus.
  
There are so many numbers in the report, that it makes your eyes glaze over and only an accountant would appreciate it all. But one thing is sure – the erosion of regular TV and radio in Canada continues, as online and subscription revenues grow. It makes you wonder if Rogers is sorry they shut down their Shomi service before seeing where the industry is going.

As in “Shomi the money.”

The summary

By the numbers: the whole enchilada