by jon » Fri Oct 04, 2013 6:36 pm
This is, in effect, The Second Return of Commercials, to CBC Radio. What is now CBC Radio One had a short run of commercials beginning around 1970. I haven't checked to find out exactly when they were stopped before that, but there is a Rawhide (Max Ferguson) aircheck that probably dates from the 1950s, where he makes fun of the fact that some shows had commercials.
That first return to commercials, on the then-CBC AM network, marked the beginning of some decent ratings for the first time since the advent of television. As It Happens (Barbara Frum and Harry Brown) and This Country in the Morning (Peter Gzowski) starting the ball rolling, then Harry moved to do Afternoon Drive on CBL Toronto, and local programming started getting ratings, too.
Commercials won't necessarily kill CBC Radio Two. Though we live in a far different era.