Toronto Mike

Humble and Fred Join Astral Radio

Humble and Fred have signed a very interesting deal with Astral.  This deal replaces their previous deal with Rogers.

Here's the press release.

TORONTO, Jan. 11, 2013 /CNW Telbec/ - It is with a lot of pride and a little apprehension that Astral Radio announces the return of "Humble" Howard Glassman and Fred Patterson.
Debuting January 21st, the Humble & Fred Radio Show will air weekday evenings on Funny 820 Hamilton, Funny 1410 in London, Ontario and News Talk 1010 CFRB Toronto. In addition, new stations will be added to the syndication list over the next year.
The hilarious duo is set to entertain their audience with a combination of highlights from their popular podcast and new exclusive content.
"It's with great trepidation that we are partnering with Humble & Fred", said Rob Farina, EVP Content & Platforms for Astral Radio, "we hope for the best, but expect Humble & Fred to bring nothing but heart ache and lawsuits."
Glassman and Patterson are best known for their long-running morning show on Toronto radio station 102.1 The Edge, where they debuted in 1989. The pair has worked separately for the past several years, but reunited last year to create daily podcasts that are available on iTunes and on HumbleAndFredRadio.com.
"We're thrilled to be part of the evolution of Comedy on Astral", shared Humble & Fred, "we look forward to the opportunity to be fired by them again!"
The addition of Humble & Fred, along with the variety of Canadian comedians being featured across Astral's comedy radio stations, displays our investment in the format and support of Canada's legendary role in the world of stand up comedy. Astral Radio is the first broadcaster in Canada to offer consumers a 24/7 comedy service.
Founded in 1961, Astral Media Inc. (TSX: ACM.A/ACM.B) is one of Canada's largest media companies. It operates several of the country's most popular pay and specialty television, radio, out-of-home advertising and digital media properties. Astral plays a central role in community life across the country by offering diverse, rich, and vibrant programming that meets the tastes and needs of consumers and advertisers. To learn more about Astral, visit astral.com.
SOURCE: Astral Media Inc.

As the guys explain it to me, they'll clean up their podcast so it doesn't become too much of an editing nightmare and edit out chunks for broadcast on terrestrial radio.  Basically, every day Phil will have about 2 hours of content from which he'll have to create four 25-minute bits.  These bits will be aired on Funny 820 Hamilton, Funny 1410 in London, Ontario and News Talk 1010 CFRB Toronto.

I'm very happy for the guys, I'm just worried they'll soon run out of media conglomerates to leverage.  After Corus, Rogers and Astral, is there anything left?

Congrats, H + F.  Let me know when 1010 wants to license Toronto Mike'd.

Author image
About Toronto Mike
Toronto
I own TMDS and host Toronto MIke'd. Become a Patron.