The Southern Ontario/WNY Radio-TV Forum » @CityNewsTO Twitter Site Already Up In Advance Of New Branding Monday

RadioActive · October 15, 2021 9:37 am

Monday marks the day when 680 News fades into history and becomes CityNews680. The station has been promoting the change for some time and says listeners will notice the difference.

"Our radio station name will also sound slightly different. Both teams will merge and create a nationally recognized local news powerhouse across multiple platforms, with the radio station formally becoming CityNews 680."

I'm guessing it will sound a lot more like what 'RB is doing, where CFTO news people anchor some of the newscasts. Perhaps the same will happen for them on 680 between TV duties. But we'll see if this results in any staff reductions. (Always a possibility at Rogers, which has done it too many times to count.)

The new Twitter feed, @CityNewsTO, is already up and running. The replacement website, citynews680.com, brings up a blank page as of this posting, but it's clearly there as well, since you don't get an error saying address cannot be found.

It's coming: 680 NEWS and CityNews to join forces Oct. 18

RadioActive · October 15, 2021 1:12 pm

Tim Brown 2016 wrote:
Is the "EVERYWHERE" being brought back, or does CityNews (TV) still use it?

I guess we'll find out Monday, but I did hear Richard Southern at the Doug Ford news conference on Friday identifying himself as being from "CityNews 680." So they're working on getting used to it. (I wonder how long it will be before someone slips and says "680 News" on air once the change is official?)

RadioAaron · October 15, 2021 1:32 pm

Tim Brown 2016 wrote:
Is the "EVERYWHERE" being brought back, or does CityNews (TV) still use it?

Citytv brought it back a little while ago. I'll guess they'll use it on radio too.

Radiowiz · October 15, 2021 3:48 pm

RadioAaron wrote:
Tim Brown 2016 wrote:
Is the "EVERYWHERE" being brought back, or does CityNews (TV) still use it?
Citytv brought it back a little while ago. I'll guess they'll use it on radio too.

In today's times "Everywhere" is an excellent choice of wording, since CityNews will be on TV, radio, tablets, laptops, mobile phones, computers etc...EVERYWHERE!
Then also, everywhere news is, so it has two meanings now.

Accessible everywhere, and covering news...everywhere.

RadioAaron · October 15, 2021 5:42 pm

Radiowiz wrote:
RadioAaron wrote:
Tim Brown 2016 wrote:
Is the "EVERYWHERE" being brought back, or does CityNews (TV) still use it?
Citytv brought it back a little while ago. I'll guess they'll use it on radio too.
In today's times "Everywhere" is an excellent choice of wording, since CityNews will be on TV, radio, tablets, laptops, mobile phones, computers etc...EVERYWHERE!
Then also, everywhere news is, so it has two meanings now.

Accessible everywhere, and covering news...everywhere.

I didn't think of it that way, but good point.

RadioActive · October 17, 2021 4:23 pm

The new website is up - and yes, Everywhere is part of the logo.

https://toronto.citynews.ca/

RadioActive · October 18, 2021 12:06 am

They actually made a big deal of the final "680 News" I.D. at midnight, with the anchor throwing to the control room, where the midnight crew applauded the end of the old branding. After one last time check ("680 News time at the tone is midnight"), the new I.D. aired and their top story was - you guessed it - the beginning of "two newsrooms coming together" with the start of CityNews680.

Its own news director admitted in their first story that it was slightly overhyped. "Nothing's changing," Amber LeBlanc said in the first report. So if that's the case, what is the big deal? In any event, at least they didn't throw to a national newscast out of B.C. as they've often done on the weekend overnights, so that's something.

RadioActive · October 18, 2021 12:24 am

The launch was not without at least one glitch online - their new website proudly displayed the weather below as being 9 degrees - which was certainly possible. But if it truly was "Party Sunny" just after midnight, I'd say they would have had a whole new lead story!

ckg927 · October 18, 2021 10:28 am

To back up the OP: http://toronto.citynews.ca seems to be working just fine.

Also, I should add that I follow not only CityNews 680 on Twitter, but virtually every one of the CityNews stations. (Hey, I'm a news junkie! Sue me! ) All of them that I've seen so far have made their old accounts inactive and promoted the new accounts.

RadioActive · October 18, 2021 10:56 am

680news.com redirects to the new site. So does citynews.ca, the old TV station URL. I suspect that's so people unaware of the change can still get there. How long that lasts is unknown.

RadioActive · October 19, 2021 10:06 am

I listened to them this morning. I was surprised to hear that in most cases, they refer to it solely as "CityNews" as opposed to "CityNews680." They only use the frequency very occasionally and it doesn't appear to be as important a part of the branding as I thought it would be.

Radiowiz · October 19, 2021 10:51 am

RadioActive wrote:
I listened to them this morning. I was surprised to hear that in most cases, they refer to it solely as "CityNews" as opposed to "CityNews680." They only use the frequency very occasionally and it doesn't appear to be as important a part of the branding as I thought it would be.

I'm actually very upset that they don't say 680 enough, and for good reason. "CityNews 680" shows that I've got the local feed on 680 AM in Toronto, and not the national "All news radio" feed.

I like to hear "680" said as much as possible.

Dale Patterson · October 19, 2021 10:58 am

>> But we'll see if this results in any staff reductions.

I'd be surprised if it didn't, sadly.

torontostan · October 19, 2021 8:12 pm

Not being much of a technical fella... could someone enlighten me as to why it is that 680 always comes in terrible? No matter what car I'm driving or which GTA city I'm driving through, I find their station has a terrible amount of interference compared to other major AM stations in the City. I can hear the news, but there's always this brutal noise behind the program audio. Anyone experience the same? Why is that?

RadioAaron · October 19, 2021 9:52 pm

Radiowiz wrote:
RadioActive wrote:
I listened to them this morning. I was surprised to hear that in most cases, they refer to it solely as "CityNews" as opposed to "CityNews680." They only use the frequency very occasionally and it doesn't appear to be as important a part of the branding as I thought it would be.
I'm actually very upset that they don't say 680 enough, and for good reason. "CityNews 680" shows that I've got the local feed on 680 AM in Toronto, and not the national "All news radio" feed.

I like to hear "680" said as much as possible.

They're just preparing for when the CRTC inevitably loosens ownership restrictions and it becomes Citynews 96.3

turkeytop · October 19, 2021 10:38 pm

RadioAaron wrote:
[
They're just preparing for when the CRTC inevitably loosens ownership restrictions and it becomes Citynews 96.3

Wait a minute. Isn't 96.3 the Classical Music station?

Radiowiz · October 20, 2021 1:40 am

RadioAaron wrote:
They're just preparing for when the CRTC inevitably loosens ownership restrictions and it becomes Citynews 96.3

If that day ever comes, I think Citynews would end up on 96.7, not 96.3 and Classical music will be left alone.
I don't doubt that Rogers would declare that 680 needs more protection than AM 740 because it's a more costly format to run (and blah blah blah...)