Definitely Not the Opera
| Genre | pop culture |
|---|---|
| Running time | 1 hour |
| Country of origin |
 Canada
|
| Language(s) | English |
| Home station | CBC Radio One |
| Starring |
Nora Young (1994–2002) Sook-Yin Lee (2002–2016) |
| Created by | Bill Smith |
| Executive producer(s) | Iris Uday |
| Original release | September 1994 – May 14, 2016 |
| Website | cbc.ca/dnto |
Definitely Not the Opera (or simply DNTO) was a magazine-style radio program focusing on aspects of pop culture and storytelling, broadcast over CBC Radio One on Saturday afternoons from 1994 until 2016. The show's running time varied over the years, though it ran for a full hour (3:00-4:00 p.m. Eastern time) in its final year. An abridged version of each weekly program is available for download as a weekly podcast, with an abbreviated sister edition, called Your DNTO, airing on Tuesday afternoons and featuring listener-submitted content.
DNTO is also syndicated to some public radio stations in the United States.
In 1993, the CBC launched Brand X as a Saturday afternoon replacement for Canada Live, which itself was a short-lived successor to Jack Farr's The Radio Show. Brand X also took over the youth and pop culture mandate from the network's recently cancelled Prime Time. Initially airing with a stable of regular contributors but no single host,Brand X premiered on June 26, 1993. The show was created by Bill Smith.
The program lasted only a single year under the Brand X title and format before being revamped by Bill Smith to create Definitely Not the Opera in September 1994. The new name was chosen because the program aired opposite Saturday Afternoon at the Opera on CBC Stereo. Nora Young, who had been one of the contributors to Brand X, was named as the host of the program. Young held the DNTO host position until September 2002, when musician and former MuchMusic VJ Sook-Yin Lee took over.
DNTO would vary in length over the course of its run, initially running four hours in length before being reduced to two hours by the late 2000s. For its final season (2015-2016), the show had a one-hour running time.
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