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November 17, 2020 8:53 pm  #1


Rogers Cuts in the West/New Breakfast Television Nationwide early 2021

Some pretty extensive cuts at Rogers in Vancouver and Calgary in both radio and television today.  More in this article from Broadcast Dialogue.
https://broadcastdialogue.com/rogers-sports-media-cuts-hit-west-coast/

 

November 17, 2020 9:11 pm  #2


Re: Rogers Cuts in the West/New Breakfast Television Nationwide early 2021

There were a few postings here earlier this week about how Rogers has destroyed what had been the spirit that made City TV unique among TV stations. And here they go pouring more gravel on the grave. 

By its very name, City is about a specific city - whichever one that happens to be. The original CityPulse used to call itself "A Day In The Life Of Toronto."

Not Ontario.

Not Canada.

Toronto.

There was never any way it had the budget to compete with a CTV or Global nationally, but by narrowing that focus to the fire in your neighbourhood or the accident around the corner from your house, it managed to cut a very successful niche for itself in the market. They covered what others considered too minor to bother sending a camera to. 

Which is precisely what will ruin BT. It's about finding out what's going on in your city every morning. For Calgary, that's not about what happened last night in Vancouver. Or Toronto. And for T.O., it's not about the latest headline from Montreal City Hall. 

It just proves that they've learned nothing about the property they took over a decade or so ago. And it's just another step in rendering it all but irrelevant. This may temporarily fix part of the bottom line - but it won't fix the problem. What a shame for the dwindling number of viewers in all those cities. There will soon be even fewer of them.

 

November 17, 2020 9:15 pm  #3


Re: Rogers Cuts in the West/New Breakfast Television Nationwide early 2021

Cuts at Rogers well beyond those two markets today.

 

November 18, 2020 9:25 am  #4


Re: Rogers Cuts in the West/New Breakfast Television Nationwide early 2021

They should restore Citynews international while they're at it. 
I don't get how a BT National is going to be successful competing with CTV head on. 

 


RadioWiz & RadioQuiz are NOT the same person. 
RadioWiz & THE Wiz are NOT the same person.

 
 

November 18, 2020 9:39 am  #5


Re: Rogers Cuts in the West/New Breakfast Television Nationwide early 2021

Radiowiz wrote:

I don't get how a BT National is going to be successful competing with CTV head on. 
 

Several years ago CTV dropped Canada AM in many of its' markets in favour of CTV Morning Live (insert city) because local mattered more. Most of those morning shows did far better than the national Canada AM which continued on the CTV News Channel. They didn't do it in Toronto because a Bell owned CP24 was already doing a local morning show to compete with BT. 

 

November 18, 2020 9:46 am  #6


Re: Rogers Cuts in the West/New Breakfast Television Nationwide early 2021

Also cuts at Rogers owned  The Shopping Channel  including VP of Merchandising , 3 full time "on air" hosts and numerous people in production . 

 

November 18, 2020 10:28 am  #7


Re: Rogers Cuts in the West/New Breakfast Television Nationwide early 2021

fyshtalk wrote:

Also cuts at Rogers owned  The Shopping Channel  including VP of Merchandising , 3 full time "on air" hosts and numerous people in production . 

5 years ago the plan was to sell the Shopping channel. Are they trying again, but with stronger effort to appear to be (more) profitable, perhaps? 

5 years ago: https://www.iphoneincanada.ca/carriers/rogers/rogers-shopping-channel-sale/

Last edited by Radiowiz (November 18, 2020 10:33 am)


RadioWiz & RadioQuiz are NOT the same person. 
RadioWiz & THE Wiz are NOT the same person.

 
 

November 18, 2020 11:11 am  #8


Re: Rogers Cuts in the West/New Breakfast Television Nationwide early 2021

It wasn't many years ago that BT was promoting how they were the No #1 television morning show in the GTA.  Last that I heard it was the CP24 morning show that holds the title. 

Rogers has changed City tv into just another TV station.  None of the innovation and creativity from the Moses/CHUM era has survived.

CTV's local morning shows across the country may be good but of course we don't know since we only have Your Morning which is a real step down from Canada AM.   Way too much weather all the time, even when not much is happening. The show seems to be all filler with not a lot of news programming. 

CBC News Channel's morning program 6-10am with Heather Hiscox is much better.  They have a good balance of hard news and detail with just enough light features to keep it moving.  Heather is a bit of a musicologist (she was a radio announcer for years) and she does feature some entertainment music news from time to time.  CBC has a much better support cast for their morning program too.

Getting back to City, can't really see a national version of BT being successful.  I am sure the whole program will be too Toronto centred for the rest of the country.  I would doubt the program is going to be produced in another City affiliate.

I remember when Citytv even had fun with election coverage with a big tent in the parking lot. Inside the tent a licensed bar and all night long interviewing pundits and politicians as the results came in.   Once for a federal election they even had a band performing in the parking lot. I loved the way that their election coverage had a festive celebratory feel. One of the many things that made City tv so great and unique. 

     Thread Starter
 

November 18, 2020 11:17 am  #9


Re: Rogers Cuts in the West/New Breakfast Television Nationwide early 2021

Radiowiz wrote:

fyshtalk wrote:

Also cuts at Rogers owned  The Shopping Channel  including VP of Merchandising , 3 full time "on air" hosts and numerous people in production . 

5 years ago the plan was to sell the Shopping channel. Are they trying again, but with stronger effort to appear to be (more) profitable, perhaps? 

5 years ago: https://www.iphoneincanada.ca/carriers/rogers/rogers-shopping-channel-sale/

The Shopping Channel is such a racket - praying on the elderly and coaxing them to order products of inferior quality that they don't need. 
 

 

November 18, 2020 12:43 pm  #10


Re: Rogers Cuts in the West/New Breakfast Television Nationwide early 2021

I wondered why Rogers all of a sudden introduced a “National” broadcast hour at the start of COVID, now we know why. It will probably be operated in the same way as it did during the CHUM days where “The New” (now CTV 2) stations broadcasted the BT Toronto feed and would break to the local stations for news and traffic updates.

What’s interesting is that BT is now going back to all 6 markets, so I suspect that the local CityNews broadcasts outside of Toronto will eventually be cut. At what point does Rogers just pull out of the conventional TV market? It doesn’t make them money and it seems more effort than what they’re getting out of it.

Time will tell.

 

November 18, 2020 1:10 pm  #11


Re: Rogers Cuts in the West/New Breakfast Television Nationwide early 2021

paterson1 wrote:

It wasn't many years ago that BT was promoting how they were the No #1 television morning show in the GTA.  Last that I heard it was the CP24 morning show that holds the title. 

Rogers has changed City tv into just another TV station.  None of the innovation and creativity from the Moses/CHUM era has survived.

CTV's local morning shows across the country may be good but of course we don't know since we only have Your Morning which is a real step down from Canada AM.   Way too much weather all the time, even when not much is happening. The show seems to be all filler with not a lot of news programming. 

CBC News Channel's morning program 6-10am with Heather Hiscox is much better.  They have a good balance of hard news and detail with just enough light features to keep it moving.  Heather is a bit of a musicologist (she was a radio announcer for years) and she does feature some entertainment music news from time to time.  CBC has a much better support cast for their morning program too.

Getting back to City, can't really see a national version of BT being successful.  I am sure the whole program will be too Toronto centred for the rest of the country.  I would doubt the program is going to be produced in another City affiliate.

 

From a westerner's point of view, I'm disappointed that Rogers is going to go the national route and cram Toronto-centric content for its western viewers. At least we still have local CTV and Global morning shows (fully local on both networks in Alberta and BC).

I too predict that BT Toronto's product will suffer because it's trying to go national, and going against what the original spirit of BT and Citytv were all about. 
 

 

November 18, 2020 1:19 pm  #12


Re: Rogers Cuts in the West/New Breakfast Television Nationwide early 2021

Here2day wrote:

What’s interesting is that BT is now going back to all 6 markets, so I suspect that the local CityNews broadcasts outside of Toronto will eventually be cut. At what point does Rogers just pull out of the conventional TV market? It doesn’t make them money and it seems more effort than what they’re getting out of it.

Time will tell.

Due to local content rules, I can't see them cutting CityNews again after cutting BT in the same markets. BT was the only thing at one point of keeping them in compliance.  Changes would need to happen at the CRTC level for this to happen or they would have to make up the local hours by adding other local programming.    

Last edited by radiokid (November 18, 2020 1:19 pm)

 

November 18, 2020 5:11 pm  #13


Re: Rogers Cuts in the West/New Breakfast Television Nationwide early 2021

I'm wondering if the cutbacks at some of Rogers' expensive-to-run all-news format radio stations across the country will mean the return of that generic overnight format, that was broadcast across the country from Calgary a few months back? It meant almost no local news for up to six hours, from midnight to 6 AM, as they saved money on salaries for the overnight crews. 

They seemed to have abandoned the idea, at least in Toronto, but with these cutbacks, how long might it be until they start doing it again? It would a real shame - 680 is the only radio newsroom in all of the GTA to stay live in the wee hours, making it able to cover everything from early morning snowstorms to overnight fires, shootings and traffic accidents in the city. 

Like their apparent plans for BT, I really don't care what happened locally in Winnipeg or Calgary and I'm guessing listeners in those cities feel the same way about the goings-on at Toronto City Hall or Queen's Park. Every market loses under this scenario, but my guess is as long as it saves them money, Rogers doesn't much care.  

 

November 18, 2020 8:40 pm  #14


Re: Rogers Cuts in the West/New Breakfast Television Nationwide early 2021

They've apparently decimated their Halifax station, News 95.7, reducing the staff size by more than half, from 14 to just six. What will take the place of all those people remains to be seen (or heard.)

Rogers Media cuts 8 jobs at Halifax radio station

 

November 19, 2020 1:41 am  #15


Re: Rogers Cuts in the West/New Breakfast Television Nationwide early 2021

that damned NHL deal. 

 

November 19, 2020 9:49 am  #16


Re: Rogers Cuts in the West/New Breakfast Television Nationwide early 2021

CityTV.  Nowhere.


- Not an industry person.  Just a guy with a love of Toronto radio. 
 

November 19, 2020 8:10 pm  #17


Re: Rogers Cuts in the West/New Breakfast Television Nationwide early 2021

 

November 23, 2020 2:35 pm  #18


Re: Rogers Cuts in the West/New Breakfast Television Nationwide early 2021

The Rogers cuts continue. This time they've eliminated an entire newsroom that served three radio stations in North Bay, in addition to firing several announcers. And, in what I'm sure will be a real service to their listeners, they've completely dumped their morning show, which will now be filled by the gang from Kiss 92.5 in Toronto.

Exactly what North Bay needs to hear in the morning - a Toronto morning show.

Layoffs confirmed at North Bay Rogers radio stations. Newsroom closed 

 

November 23, 2020 3:26 pm  #19


Re: Rogers Cuts in the West/New Breakfast Television Nationwide early 2021

RadioActive wrote:

Exactly what North Bay needs to hear in the morning - a Toronto morning show. 

When was the last time you tuned in? There has not been anything "Toronto" about those two in YEARS!!
Just because they broadcast from Toronto doesn't make them a Toronto morning show.

They have nothing Toronto local to say. They have not for a while. 
Everything is Canada wide chatter in between the music.

 


RadioWiz & RadioQuiz are NOT the same person. 
RadioWiz & THE Wiz are NOT the same person.

 
 

November 23, 2020 3:48 pm  #20


Re: Rogers Cuts in the West/New Breakfast Television Nationwide early 2021

I would argue that it doesn't matter how Toronto-centric they may be. I think this has come up on the board before. A shift in a very important radio time slot - especially a morning show - needs to be local. There has to be info about the weather (very different in North Bay than here), the local fire that destroyed a building on main street, the latest local COVID numbers, the newest decree from City Hall, even the traffic, such as it may be in a smaller town.

You might argue that they could get this from the local newsbreaks, but alas, the company fired everyone in the newsroom. As good or bad as Roz & Mocha may or may not be, they can't serve the needs of a town when they're hundreds of kilometres away and not familiar with the local issues. I know you love to come to the defence of all things Rogers and I'm glad you find their service worth the money. But this does not serve their area of licence, no matter how you look at it. 

North Bay may be a small market but Rogers has three stations there. They need to - and can - do better than this. 

 

November 24, 2020 9:50 am  #21


Re: Rogers Cuts in the West/New Breakfast Television Nationwide early 2021

radiokid wrote:

Here2day wrote:

What’s interesting is that BT is now going back to all 6 markets, so I suspect that the local CityNews broadcasts outside of Toronto will eventually be cut. At what point does Rogers just pull out of the conventional TV market? It doesn’t make them money and it seems more effort than what they’re getting out of it.

Time will tell.

Due to local content rules, I can't see them cutting CityNews again after cutting BT in the same markets. BT was the only thing at one point of keeping them in compliance.  Changes would need to happen at the CRTC level for this to happen or they would have to make up the local hours by adding other local programming.    

They might start shaving off the weekend broadcasts and stick to weekdays only.

I also wondered why BT Toronto stopped using their Yonge/Dundas view during their broadcasts.
Now it makes sense.

 

November 24, 2020 7:03 pm  #22


Re: Rogers Cuts in the West/New Breakfast Television Nationwide early 2021

RadioActive wrote:

I would argue that it doesn't matter how Toronto-centric they may be. I think this has come up on the board before. A shift in a very important radio time slot - especially a morning show - needs to be local. There has to be info about the weather (very different in North Bay than here), the local fire that destroyed a building on main street, the latest local COVID numbers, the newest decree from City Hall, even the traffic, such as it may be in a smaller town.

You might argue that they could get this from the local newsbreaks, but alas, the company fired everyone in the newsroom. As good or bad as Roz & Mocha may or may not be, they can't serve the needs of a town when they're hundreds of kilometres away and not familiar with the local issues. I know you love to come to the defence of all things Rogers and I'm glad you find their service worth the money. But this does not serve their area of licence, no matter how you look at it. 
 

I disagree. Local content is only one weapon, not the only one, and it's not some kind of trump card.

I've sat in (and conducted) enough research on morning shows -- "local news and information" is almost never near the top of the list of what listeners are looking for in a morning show, and for the under 40's, it barely makes an appearance. "Funny/Relatable/Likeable personalities" is at the top of the non-music related answers every time, and Roz & Mocha have that in spades. There's a reason they've made it over 10 years in Market #1.

Syndicated shows like the former Brooke and Jubal or Bobby Bones are often Top 5 in competitive US markets.

Local first, all the time, simply isn't true.

 

November 24, 2020 8:22 pm  #23


Re: Rogers Cuts in the West/New Breakfast Television Nationwide early 2021

I can't speak to the research you've seen, but I will take your word for it. And yes, there is a difference in demos. And maybe it will matter that the duo are at least in Canada. We know that U.S. imports, like the Breakfast Club, failed miserably on the Flow in Toronto. So did Howard Stern on Q107, back when he was still on terrestrial radio. It will be interesting to see if Roz & Mocha get welcomed up there, especially if listeners learn they're based in Toronto.  

But remember they've done away with the newsroom, which means - unless they record a forecast out of 680 News and feed it to city - they won't even have a local weather report. I'm betting weather is a huge deal in that city. 

And it's also a big deal in Timmins, where Rogers made more cuts on Tuesday - including clearing out another entire newsroom. Already there's some backlash from at least one sponsor.

"Timmins-James Bay MP Charlie Angus reacted to the layoffs in a Facebook post today (Nov. 24).

"The decision by Rogers to fire local radio voices in Timmins and pipe in their show from Toronto is insulting. Our office often runs radio ads to highlight local issues for residents. Rogers disregard for the people of our region has made me seriously rethink any ads on this station," he wrote.

Rogers cannot be happy when a prominent politician who's also an advertiser starts noticing what they're up to. More Roz & Mocha and less local there, too. 

Rogers lays off five employees in Timmins

 

November 25, 2020 11:29 am  #24


Re: Rogers Cuts in the West/New Breakfast Television Nationwide early 2021

Well first off it isn't just Rogers and Bell that are consolidating programming on some stations.  All of the broadcast groups big and small are doing the same thing.  It all started slowly a few years ago in smaller markets but COVID has made it necessary. 

Which is better, some network or syndicated dayparts, or close the station down? Timmins has 8 radio stations of which Rogers had two.  In North Bay 10 radio stations serve the city with 3 owned by Rogers. Bell has no stations in these markets. 

For any business, including media, economics determines what they can and will do.  Right now and for the next while, radio advertising revenue has been very poor, and in some already weak markets a disaster.  So this is the result. If you have been losing money and prospects for any lift in revenues are not good, changes happen. 

We may see a lot more regional and national programming in the months ahead.  At least so far broadcasters are producing the shows in house and largely staying away from US syndication.   Likely because it is cheaper to do it this way, and the fact that many US syndicated offerings, so far at least, have not been that popular with audiences. And frankly, most that I have heard really aren't that good.

     Thread Starter
 

November 25, 2020 12:40 pm  #25


Re: Rogers Cuts in the West/New Breakfast Television Nationwide early 2021

 

November 25, 2020 12:49 pm  #26


Re: Rogers Cuts in the West/New Breakfast Television Nationwide early 2021

paterson1 wrote:

    Timmins has 8 radio stations of which Rogers had two. In North Bay 10 radio stations serve the city   

Wolfman Jack, to caller:   What kind of entertainment do you have in that town?

Caller to Wolfman:   All we got is YOU

(from American Graffiti)

 

Last edited by geo (November 25, 2020 12:51 pm)

 

May 22, 2022 8:07 pm  #27


Re: Rogers Cuts in the West/New Breakfast Television Nationwide early 2021

BT was live in Niagara Falls for Friday’s show and it looked to be a dismal turnout for their live audience.

 

May 22, 2022 8:38 pm  #28


Re: Rogers Cuts in the West/New Breakfast Television Nationwide early 2021

I took a peak at “national” BT on Citytv Vancouver a couple weeks ago.

The news ticker at the bottom was all local Toronto and Ontario news.

They could at least make an effort to put in local headlines for Vancouver. They have the newsroom to do it.

I have pretty low expectations with Rogers though. They also air Ontario-specific ads on Sportsnet Pacific that are of no relevance to us in BC.

Last edited by MJ Vancouver (May 22, 2022 8:39 pm)