It was just over three years ago that Bell Media announced it was shutting down a bunch of AM talk radio stations in markets like Vancouver, Calgary and Hamilton.
This week, it’s Rogers’s turn to do the same.
As part of cuts to 230 jobs across the country, Rogers Sports and Media is shutting down the following stations:
- CKWX 1130 NewsRadio Vancouver
- CISL Sportsnet 650 Vancouver
- CFFR 660 NewsRadio Calgary
- CFAC Sportsnet 960 Calgary
- CKGL 570 NewsRadio Kitchener
- CJNI-FM 95.7 NewsRadio Halifax
Rogers tells Broadcast Dialogue that it will return the stations’ licences to the CRTC. I wouldn’t be surprised if there is some interest in buying them, particularly the FM station in Halifax (though it does come with a specialty talk licence, so a buyer would need to either change that or propose a talk format). Though Bell and Rogers don’t see much of a future in AM outside Toronto, others might. Akash Broadcasting, for example, bought the station that used to be TSN Radio in Winnipeg and tried to buy an AM station in Calgary from Bell Media. If you’re interested, get in touch with Rogers now before they hand back the licences.
The dozens of people laid off as a result of these closures may struggle to find other jobs. Vancouver’s other sports radio stations, both TSN, switched to other cheaper formats in 2018 and 2021 and were eventually shut down. Radio news people in Vancouver and Calgary could maybe look for jobs at the Corus talk stations in those cities, but Corus isn’t exactly swimming in extra cash these days.
Some media outlets have sprung up to take over some of the slack from these cuts. Stingray started Sports 1440 in Edmonton in the wake of TSN Radio’s shutdown in that city. CHEK TV in Victoria brought in TSN orphans Rick Dhaliwal and Don Taylor after TSN Radio in Vancouver pulled the plug. But no one in radio has infinite money and they can’t hire everyone.
There’s also the question of what happens to sports radio broadcasts where Sportsnet had the rights. The Vancouver Province says Canucks games will remain on a Rogers station, which would mean either Kiss 104.9 or Jack 96.9. But Flames games are up for grabs. Without a sports station in the market, the most logical landing spot would be the remaining commercial talk station, Corus’s CHQR 770. But we’ll see what happens.