paterson1 wrote:

If they can get almost a billion for the Senators, couldn't a few of these closed stations maybe have a second life? But from someone or some group not currently in broadcasting.

I thought of that, too, but would remind everyone that Bell had no real experience in broadcasting after they took over some of the biggest stations in the country.

We now know how that turned out. 

I believe this is the biggest one-day broadcasting layoff in Canadian history.

Perhaps those who survived can relax knowing they can't possibly fire anyone else - there'd be no one left to run the stations!

Is Corus next? They are struggling now, especially since the Rogers-Shaw merger. Can we see a major shakeup in radio with Corus struggling and with Bell pulling this crap. I would assume that the shuttered stations will go up for sale if they do not turn over the license or there will be new stations that will apply for those frequencies. I had heard that there were some changes going to happen but my source told me that the Virgin Morning show was just going to be the Kitchener and London show adding Toronto. Things like that nothing to major. But clearly, there is a lot more going on. My thoughts go out to the 1300 losing jobs though as this is an awful thing to have happen today or any day to be honest. 
 

Restating a comment I made several months ago, many AM stations are worth more dead than alive.  I'm betting that the transmitter sites will all be sold for development. A few years ago, CBC rebuilt CBR 1010 and sold off the former site at a very tidy profit.
My second guess is that the buyer of the three stations is an ethnic or religious broadcaster.  The two Hamilton stations have much stronger signals in Toronto than all the other ethnic stations except CHIN and Fairchild on 1430.  They would vastly outperform CJMR and CJOY (Mississauga/Oakville).
CKWW on 580 isn't a flamethrower, but its signal does very well, being at the low end of the dial and the ground conductivity in that area being very high.

RadioAaron wrote:

paterson1 wrote:

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

Gotta think so...or religious.

So much for whatever WTSS-FM will be at getting Toronto donations! How many of these kinds of stations can the GTHA market support? If you guys are right and a new owner is going to convert one of the Hamiltons to a religious format, that would make at least four -WTSS, WDCX, CJYE and CKOC(?) - all battling for the worshippers' dollar at their broadcast collection plates.  

CTV National News Executive Producer Rosa Hwang was also dismissed, effective immediately. I remember her name coming up when Lisa Laflamme was fired. What do they have against her?

I'm surprised the Hamilton stations seem to be saved, since no one actually works on either one. Bell keeping Bounce 102.9. Will the new owners move? All three stations are in the same building beside Limeridge Mall in Hamilton. In all honestly, if they want actual staff, depending on the format, I'll apply!
 

Last edited by Brad (June 14, 2023 5:39 pm)

Bell is also closing CTV National foreign bureaus in London, and Los Angeles, while staffing/focus at the Washington D.C. bureau will be adjusted.  

CTV National Executive Producer Rosa Hwang is no longer with CTV.


 

eladb wrote:

What a brutal day for radio!

BTW, I understand that Leafs Lunch on TSN 1050 has been cancelled as part of these Bell cuts.

Here's the scoop on what's happening at TSN 1050.
https://clearthis.page/?u=https://www.thestar.com/sports/leafs/2023/06/14/leafs-lunch-on-tsn-1050-cancelled-as-part-of-latest-bell-media-cutbacks.html

Does it seem like other media companies have smaller but more frequent waves of layoffs? Bell’s seems to always have  massive cuts every couple of years, but the others (Corus, Rogers, CBC etc) have always been incremental ones that occur throughout.

Who would be interested in buying the three AM Ontario stations that are for sale?

paterson1 wrote:

 Bell closing the stations in larger markets like Winnipeg, Vancouver, Calgary would mean that the CRTC could have a call for applications for these frequencies or some of them?  There are always a few people with stars in their eyes or more money than they know what to do with that may be interested. 

I would think that it would be significantly cheaper to buy them, as Bell would have sold them for basically anything. If there was no interest in that, I can't imagine anyone trying to start from scratch.

We may see applications from existing AM stations to move to better vacated frequencies though. Rogers moving SN650 to 1040 seems obvious, for example.

Last edited by RadioAaron (June 14, 2023 7:25 pm)

From the Vancouver Sun. (Could this also be the eventual fate of the legendary 1050 CHUM?)

After a century on the air the former CFUN goes radio silent

And from the Edmonton Sun:

Loss of Edmonton's only sports radio station a sad day for the city

The problem is these AM transmitting sites are reaching end of life and are sitting on large parcels of real estate. That and the power they consume. To further compound the problem, auto manufacturers are removing AM from vehicles 

Yes, radio is having a rough time right now in the face of new (and old) technology. But I put a lot of the blame on Bell itself, taking in too much in a business they knew absolutely nothing about. All of a sudden, execs. with no broadcasting experience in any way suddenly own CFRB & CHUM, two of the most legendary stations in the country (although shadows of their former selves.)

So what did they do? They converted CHUM into one of the lowest rated sports outlets in the country just to keep the TSN brand alive. And they fired almost every single newsperson from CFRB, which had been the station's hallmark. Clearly they don't know or care about radio. 

And while Bell blames the CRTC for trying to (unsuccessfully in my opinion) cut cell phone bills, providing them a lame excuse for these outrageous layoffs, I will agree the CRTC does get some of the fault. They should never have given Bell CP24. 

That was a City TV station through and through, including using City TV personalities. It had all the hallmarks of the old City (which Rogers has done its best to dismantle) that was part of its charm. Again, Bell had no idea what to make of it and the CRTC should have let Rogers keep it. 

I have no love for Rogers, as all here know, but I will say one thing in their favour - they know radio, having owned many stations throughout the country for decades. And while there are occasional layoffs there, they have never done anything as egregious as this at their various properties. They understand the medium. My sense is Bell's management never did. 

Running a radio station is not like running a phone company. The day Bell got into the radio business, this was going to happen. And now, sadly, it has. Radio's' troubles aside, they have no one to blame but themselves. It's just too bad they had to take so many talented people out with them. . 

I'm wondering if, since Bounce 102.9 is the only station left of the Hamilton cluster, might Bell just consolidate it with the St Catharines stations, and just run it from there as a "Hamilton station".  That way they could move out of the Upper Wentworth building.

It's hard to lament CKOC being on the selling block.  It became a facsimilie of itself during the final music days as "Classic Hits", and a mere shadow of itself with TSN and Bloomberg formats.  So I've long since stopped mourning the disappearance of that station.  And CHAM's heydey ended by the mid-90s.  It's comedy format was hard to tolerate (re: understand) on processed AM radio, and often, I then wanted to hear the rest of a comedy routine as opposed to a sample.  So it never much worked for me.

I think the talk outlets that remain on 1010, 610 and 800 will eventually reemerge on FM someday.  That possibility has been discussed here before.  I loved AM as a boy (and get a bit misty-eyed when I think about it), but it;s toast.  Bell can't take all of the blame for AM's disappearance.  All companies have experienced a drop in AM listenership, and promote apps, smart speakers and streaming instead.

RadioActive wrote:

Never thought I'd be saying this, but I have to give credit to NT1010's Reshmi Nair. While this is undoubtedly the biggest business story of the day in Canada, I was sure you'd never hear a word about it on any Bell station.

But she not only did the story on air, she actually listed all the shuttered stations and the ones for sale. I was sure there would be radio silence on 1010 about this. I was wrong. And good for her for letting the listeners know. 

[Edit:] Thought it only fair to also note that Marc Patrone, who does a show on Sauga960 of all places and a former CRTC Commissioner, condemned Bell for the job losses and the reduction in choice, and jokingly suggested the owners of Sauga960 take over the places that are for sale. 

Other than the two people cited here, I have not heard this on any other station.

[Second edit] Oakley brought up the massive cuts in his 5:30 PM "Topics Worthy of Discussion" panel and gave it quite a bit of air time (two segments.)

Richard Southern also noted it in his business report on CityNews. Both Global and CTV reprinted the Canadian Press story on their websites, as did the CBC. So at least they did mention it. 

CTV Edmonton's TV newscasts also reported the closure of TSN 1260 today. However the script is probably vetted and approved by some manager at Bell.