Last March, Canadian fans of audio drama were shocked. In the federal budget, the Harper government trimmed the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's funding by 10 per cent, and CBC management responded by cutting its radio drama completely.
It spelled the end of an 85-year tradition. The most famous casualty was the long-running CBC radio show Afghanada, which followed the stories of our soldiers abroad and attracted almost half a million listeners. Dozens of prominent writers, actors and politicians protested the cut, to no avail. It was a major setback indeed-but it's not the end of the story, for audio drama still survives in many other forums in Vancouver and around the world.
and
http://www.vancourier.com/entertainment/Time+Radio+dramas+alive+well+Internet/6786749/story.html
starts out
For those who want to explore the vast world of Old Time Radio audio drama, there are hundreds of shows coming online each year for listening or free download, as copyrights expire after 50 years. Others are modestly priced (for instance, Twilight Zone 40-minute radio episodes are $2 each on iTunes), or can be purchased on CD.
There is, sadly, a major historical gap: the CBC has not yet archived online the hundreds of fine audio dramas it produced during its Golden Age of 1944 to 1969 (unlike state radio networks in Britain and Australia have done for their shows). Yet a few can be found at cbc.ca/rewind, such as a quirky drama from the early 1990s called Midnight Cab. Notes on this topic are posted by the Canadian OldTime Radio Alliance at cotra.ca
On live radio, Vancouverites can hear classic radio shows every midnight on CKNW, and Lights Out on Sunday nights at 10 p.m. on Classic Rock 101.