Longtime Corus Entertainment executive Mario Cecchini has been tapped to head the company’s radio division, adding to his current role as president of its Quebec operation, Corus Média.
Cecchini has more than 25 years of experience in Canadian radio, including stints as senior vice-president of sales and marketing for Astral Radio (whose assets are now owned by Bell Media) and EVP of Telemedia Radio’s Ontario operations.
The company credited him with overseeing a turnaround of its radio operations in Quebec.
His media career also includes a role as president and chief operating officer of the out-of-home advertising company Zoom Media.
His extensive radio management experience also includes a board membership with the former Bureau of Broadcast Measurement (now Numeris) and the Radio Marketing Bureau.
He will also assume the chair of Canadian Broadcast Sales, the national sales organization jointly owned by Corus and Rogers Communications, and represent Corus on the Canadian Association of Broadcasters.
In a release, Corus Entertainment president Doug Murphy – who succeeded president John Cassaday on March 30 – praised Cecchini’s “deep knowledge, experience and leadership abilities,” and noted his ability in building strong media brands.
In its most recent quarterly earnings report, Corus reported a 5% drop in first quarter revenues for its radio operations, to $45.6 million. Profits for the division, which includes 39 stations, fell to $12.8 million from $15.8 million in the corresponding year-earlier period.
The company attributed the decline to soft ratings and “advertising challenges” in its large market radio stations.
The company has undertaken several steps to bolster its radio operations in the past year.
Last year, as part of a broader refresh of Toronto alternative station 102.1 The Edge, it brought back the station’s longtime program director Alan Cross.
It has also refreshed its Toronto rock station Q107, adding more contemporary artists to a playlist that was previously heavy on classic rock warhorses such as Led Zeppelin and the Rolling Stones.
It has introduced free radio apps for each of its stations and extended the Fresh Radio format to seven markets across the country. In December, the company announced the creation of a new general manager of national sales position, appointing Lars Wunsche to the role.
