It gets worse - they've also put CKOC & CHAM up for sale, although they remain on the air.

"Bell Media is also selling Hamilton's AM Radio 1150 and AM 820, as well as Windsor's AM 580, to an undisclosed third party, subject to CRTC approval."

This also includes immediately signing off CJBK London. Here's that online announcement. What a sad day for radio in Canada.

The company with no experience in running radio stations has proven how poor they were at it, along with the sad state of AM radio, as well. 

Here are the details of the bloodletting, including over a thousand people losing their jobs. 

Bell cutting 1,300 positions, shuttering six radio stations

If someone like Zoomer Radio purchased CHAM they would get a super strong signal that reaches north and west and could set up a southern Ontario-wide network aimed at folks who still listen to radio.

Just a thought.
 

Ironically a good place to get updates on this is via Bloomberg Canada TV, a division of BCE Inc

RIP CJBK. You were a great station once. 

Some preliminary questions from this:

-Does the CRTC have something to say about the sudden shutdown of all these stations, without notice? Is there no obligation to at least turn in the licence first?

-Does anyone have any clue about who might be buying CKOC, CHAM & CKWW? From the announcement, it sounds like the "undisclosed third party" is getting all of them and they're not being sold separately. I, for one, will really miss CHAM, a go-to station when there's nothing else on or you wake up in the middle of the night and can't get back to sleep. It was entertaining, although Bell gave it as little attention as humanly possible. 

-What does this mean for the now few existing stations that this horrible company continues to control? I notice they kept their stations in Montreal and Toronto. What happens to these outlets in the long run?

I absolutely love (read: hate) part of their explanation for this. True, radio is suffering losses and the biz isn't what it used to be. But one of Bell's execs - who conveniently still has his job - actually has the gall to blame the CRTC's efforts to cut cell phone costs as a contributing factor for this latest outrage. 

From the Canadian Press article linked in a post above, citing executive vice-president and chief legal and regulatory officer Robert Malcolmson:

"He took aim at “relentless regulatory intervention” by the CRTC, under Ottawa’s direction, that has prioritized measures to bring down the cost of telecommunication services.

"Noting that the cost of wireless service has declined around 25 per cent and the cost of broadband high-speed internet has gone up by less than one per cent over the last three years, despite Canada’s overall high inflation, Malcolmson said “maybe it’s time to declare victory” for Ottawa.

“I think the government’s sort of populist focus on pricing isn’t necessarily in line with current reality and the government has created an intensely competitive industry structure that they should allow to play out,” he said."

I was under the impression these divisions were separate and one had nothing to do with the other. To blame the CRTC's far too belated attempts at bringing down inflated cell phone prices (which for the record, I honestly have not noticed to be working) for cutting 1,300 radio jobs and closing six radio stations is an absolute abomination.

A pox on Bell and all its corporate execs. What a terrible, terrible owner of such precious resources. They should all be ashamed of themselves. It's another dark day for radio in Canada and once again, just like Feb. 2021, it's the Bell that tolls. 

RadioActive wrote:

I was under the impression these divisions were separate and one had nothing to do with the other.  

So long as they fall under the same ticker symbol what affects one affects the others.

A source says longtime CTV reporters Glen McGregor and Joyce Napier are among those cut. Can anyone confirm?

Just now tuned in to CJBK. They're just playing some kind of bland musi.c, the kind you get when your phone call is placed on hold. They periodically repeat a recorded message that, as of 11:00 AM sthe station is closed. 

They thank their sponsors and their listeners for their support. Not a word of thanks to their staff. I wonder if the staff had any advance notice at all.

When I first came to London in 1996 there were 3 AM stations. Now we're down to one.

 

Closing CTV's London and Los Angeles bureaus means the loss of two well-respected, excellent correspondents.......
Paul Workman and Tom Walters.  I hope these gentlemen land in other capacities or jump ship to CBC.

RadioAaron wrote:

RadioActive wrote:

RadioAaron wrote:

So long as they fall under the same ticker symbol what affects one affects the others.

The company I worked for always said the various divisions had to make a profit and stood on their own and did not reflect the performance of the other areas of the business. It does not surprise me that Bell doesn't go by that standard. 

Was it publicly listed?
 

Absolutely. They always told us when these things happened not to worry, because each division was judged on its own profits. That's not to say there weren't occasional cuts - maybe 10 or 20 people. Not 1,300!

I can't remember a worse or darker day in Canadian broadcasting history. Let's talk, Bell. You guys are an awful company. 

Broodcaster wrote:

If someone like Zoomer Radio purchased CHAM they would get a super strong signal that reaches north and west and could set up a southern Ontario-wide network aimed at folks who still listen to radio.

Just a thought.
 

Zoomer already has good signal coverage to the west. Here in London, it's solid both day and night. Much better than CHAM.
 

paterson1 wrote:

It will be interesting to see who bought CHAM, CKOC and CKWW.  Possibly an ethnic broadcasting group?

Gotta think so...or religious.

Would be neat if someone with deep pockets started a hobby station like WECK or WABC

I'm thinking that it might be Vista / Westkirk Capital who will be the new group lined up to acquire CKOC, CHAM and Windsor's CKWW...

Maybe the new buyer (whoever they end up being) will flip and sell one of the two Hamilton outlets... if so, my guess would be to keep 1150, and re-sell 820....


 

Last edited by Glen Warren (June 14, 2023 2:28 pm)