Q Keeps on Rolling
Three CBC radio shows have been picked for distribution in the United States by Public Radio International.
The deal with see PRI offer Q, Wiretap, and As it Happens to public radio affiliates across the U.S.
The news follows a week-long trial broadcast of Q in several radio markets in the States last January.
I had the opportunity to discuss the news with the Executive Director of Q, Arif Noorani:
Q seems to be on a bit of a roll lately, what does the distribution deal mean for the show?
I think the deal is very exciting for the show, because it opens up our content to an even broader audience.
One of Q’s main goals is not only to create the show but to get that content to wherever people consume it, Youtube, podcasts, whatever, because there’s a huge audience online, and now there’s a huge potential audience in the United States.
How much of a factor was Q’s cross-platform strategy in this? And did the Billy Bob play into this as well?
I think our visibility on many platforms is a factor. They’ve never mentioned Billy Bob, but they’ve been introduced to Jian as a host, the mix of conversation, the style of in-depth interviews. There was awareness of the show. We didn’t have to sell them very much, because they already knew the show.
How will you balance the show for both a Canadian and American audience?
The mix we have right now is a good one. I don’t see changing that. It’s a show that has appeal to Canadians but also to an international audience.
Will the show in the States be the same as the CBC version, or is it being revised for the American distribution?
There’s no plans to change it. We’re committed to producing the show with Canadian content but also an international outlook. There’s no plans to change that.
But the version of the show will be an one hour version, just because that’s the U.S. format. We may have to take out some of smaller features to get it down to a one-hour version, but it’s no different than what we do already for the evening broadcast on CBC.
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But Wiretap was on PRI in January 2007, not new. And they have always had AIH.
Where the new in the story and did any $$ change hands as we now get PRI stuff on the latenight show.
Is it Quid pro Quo?
Yes, AIH and Wiretap have been available; AIH is moving from American Public Media to PRI. The PRI/CBC deal is notable because it is much more a partnership to distribute and collaborate on program development. That can only be a good thing.
Also, as a program director whose station participated in the week-long test of Q, I can say that our audience in the US responded strongly to the quality of Jian’s interviews and to the smart sensibility he brings to the show.
Q fits in well with an American audience because there’s not much about Canada on the show.
Keep humping BillyBob, Q crew.
Stealing from old Current stories also helps fill out the program. What is happening with those high school lesbian prom girls in the Southern US, anyway? Listen to Q and find out!
Anon # 1: You keep missing the all-CanCon installments. If you were listening daily, you’d catch them!