This isn’t going to be a chill-out-on-the-dock-for-three-weeks kind of summer for Chris Boyce.
Already programming director at CBC Radio, Boyce recently gained an additional title of executive director, radio and audio, picking up many of the duties previously handled by Denise Donlon.
In this new role, which came into effect on July 8, Boyce is responsible for the day-to-day operations and the strategic plan for CBC Radio. He reports to executive vice-president, CBC English Services Kirstine Stewart.
Speaking to Marketing about his expanded role, Boyce said “for the last three years I’ve been overseeing programming and Denise has been the general manager… So essentially what we’ve done is merged those two jobs into one.”
This move recognizes the programming focus in the management structure for English Services at CBC, said Boyce. The change is part of an evolution that started years ago when radio and TV were separate divisions, then combined into English Services a couple of years ago. “Now it is a very integrated structure: radio, television, online,” said Boyce. “But this is really about programming and making sure that programming is at the centre of what we do.”
Boyce said a challenge for CBC is getting its large listener base to continue to have a solid relationship with its stations and consume content in new ways. “A good chunk of our audience chooses [the iPad] as the main way they connect and consume our programming.”
Beyond the distribution aspect of making sure the existing content is available when and how the audience wants it, Boyce said the interesting challenge is thinking about how to take advantage of the options in the digital space that can’t be done on broadcast radio.
“What are all of the new ways you can connect with your audience?” asked Boyce. “To me, that’s the part where we really need to buckle down, do more research and develop and think about what’s at the core of our relationships.”
Boyce distilled the core focus of CBC’s 2015 Strategy in his own words: “being more Canadian, more local and more digital.”
Sounds like a lot of work. “It’s not going to be the quietest summer,” admitted Boyce. “But this is a really fantastic moment in terms of where audio is and setting the future direction for what CBC Radio becomes. It’s a bit daunting, but incredibly exciting.”
