WNED CHANGES NAME TO “BUFFALO TORONTO PUBLIC MEDIA” • 1 OUT OF 4 AMERICANS NOW OWNS SMART SPEAKERS

WNET TV and WBFO radio are looking for more Canadian members and underwriters. 

There are an estimated 5.8 million people in southern Ontario that can pick up the stations over the air. 

Plus, mobile apps are making access to U.S. stations even easier.

To reflect the change, the parent organization, formerly known as Western New York Public Broadcasting, has changed its name to Buffalo Toronto Public Media (BTPM). It includes three PBS TV channels and four FM radio stations and digital media platforms.

It is unknown how many people in Ontario listen to NPR News/Talk WBFO, but it is thoug to be in the thousands.  Numeris, Canada’s nonprofit ratings service, does not publish listening to U.S. stations.

Don Boswell, President and CEO of BTPM said in a press release that the new name better reflects what it is and where it broadcasts:

“Our members, viewers, and listeners know the stations they love, but they don’t always know that they’re all part of the same organization. [Western New York Public Broadcasting] didn’t describe who we are. Buffalo Toronto Public Media does. We are public media serving both sides of the border.”

WBFO covers most of the Toronto and Hamilton metro areas. Some listeners have experienced interference caused by CIRV 88.9 FM, a Canadian station that is close on the dial to WBFO (88.7 FM).

Because of this, BTPM is suggesting that people listen via WBFO’s streaming audio. Customers of Rogers Cable that have smart speakers are being urged to say “Play WBFO-FM.”

Another reason BTPM is promoting WBFO in Canada is declining listening to CBC’s 24/7 news channel. 

CBC has experienced several budget cuts in recent years.

However, the CBC News station in Toronto, CBLA-FM, had a 16.6 AQH share in the most recent Numeris ratings. It reflected listening between August 26 and November 24, 2019.

BRPM has an underwriting sales office in Toronto and WBFO has a studio there.

NEW RESEARCH INDICATES SMART SPEAKER USAGE CONTINUES TO GROW

According to The Winter 2019 Smart Audio Report, a study by NPR and Edison Research,24% of Americans, age 
18 and over, own a smart speaker system. 

This means 60 million people have at least one set in their household.

The Smart Audio Report is based on a survey of 1,002 adults 18+ that was conduced by telephone between December 31, 2019 and January 5, 2020. 1/05/2020. 

Similar studies from 2017 and 2018 were used for comparisons.

You can download the complete report here.

The report says the average smart speaker household now has 2.6 devices, up from 2.3 devices per household at the same time last year. 

According to Edison’s recent Share of Ear study, 17% of listening to audio at home is done via smart speakers.

The same study also found that the top source of audio heard on smart speakers (46%) comes from streaming audio. Audio streams of AM and FM radio stations is the second leading source (24%).