According to Broadcast Dialogue, Rogers will turn in the license for 1310am (on the air since 1922) while the Country format will return from the smaller rimshot 92.3 signal (which will presumably become JACK) 

Radio Bob wrote:

At 1:00pm, not news, but a liner saying "CKBY is back." (paraphrasing the rest, can't remember it word for word). "Playing country music for the Ottawa Valley, CKBY 101," followed by a country song.
Any bets it will be VT'd from elsewhere?

The existing CKBY at 92.3 is networked all day except 1-4pm

RadioActive wrote:

This news makes me wonder about the future of CKGL-AM in Kitchener. It's an expensive format in a relatively smaller market where I believe 680 comes in just fine, and often simulcasts its Toronto big brother overnight to cut costs. Could Rogers also look to shutter this station, which has been on the air since 1949? 

I would hope not, but if they can't make a go of it in a news-generating city like Ottawa, I fear for the future of a station in a much smaller market.

(By the way, a great bit of trivia about the now late lamented CIWW 1310. When it signed on 74 years ago, its original call letters were CKCO. Those calls, of course, were later awarded to Channel 13 in Kitchener, which CKGL calls home. Somehow, it all fits together...)

At least in Kitchener, they're the only player. 1310/101 was second-in in Ottawa, and never really dented CFRA. Canada's biggest CBC market, too.

ED1 wrote:

For a city the size of Ottawa, it really does feel like an underserved market when it comes to news and information.

Not just the size, but it's the seat of the federal government, and thus generates headlines and stories pretty much non-stop. And yet Rogers insists there's no audience for an all news format? I find that hard to imagine. 

RadioActive wrote:

ED1 wrote:

For a city the size of Ottawa, it really does feel like an underserved market when it comes to news and information.

Not just the size, but it's the seat of the federal government, and thus generates headlines and stories pretty much non-stop. And yet Rogers insists there's no audience for an all news format? I find that hard to imagine. 

In terms of what's happening at Parliament Hill, then yeah Ottawa is covered by almost everyone.

But in terms of local news that ISN'T Federal politics (city hall, schools, crime, neighbourhood news etc), it's only really CBC/SRC, Bell (CTV/CFRA), and I guess RNC (TVA/Noovo) on the French side (not counting the newspapers).

RadioAaron wrote:

It hadn't been all-news in years.

...and THAT is the problem. The good people of Ottawa deserve an ALL NEWS format, but it's just to costly to run.

(I may beg to differ, but...)
 

I figured something was up.  I have not heard CityNews Ottawa Andrew Boyle doing the early morning news run.  
He is excellent.
Dumping the news format is a good idea.  Rogers was just incompetent.  They never returned my phone calls, and did everything on the cheap.  
As George Thorogood says, "Do it right or don't do it at all."
I hope they continue with the Jays broadcasts.

If virtually nobody is listening to the station, no reason for Rogers to keep it on the air.  Ottawa/ Gatineau is a good sized market but also with a lot of radio stations.

CKGL Kitchener is a busy operation with talk shows, local live sports coverage, and lots of ads.  Also it is the only local talk/news/sports outlet in the market beyond K/W including Cambridge, Guelph and all of Wellington/Waterloo counties.  They have a strong signal day and night in these areas. 

AM radio's days are numbered, but for now, unless Rogers Media is in real dire straits financially, CKGL should be ok. CHYM FM has been number one in this market by a long shot for a long long time. 

In the article, what were the regulatory AM restraints Rogers mentioned?  Bell said the same thing when they closed the AM stations earlier this year but didn't give any explanation.

This isn't my comment. It belongs to valued SOWNY poster Saul, who accidentally left it in another thread. I'm reproducing it here so you can see what he had to say.

Saul wrote:

I'm hearing a loop forwarding message recording ... how the station has 'sadly closed' ... yadda yadda. It's getting crushed by La Mega from Dearborn. The nation's capital couldn't support two news-talk AM stations? 680 News is useful for three minutes whenever I'm in my car. Was the programming on 1310 truly compelling? And it was carried on FM 101.1. "Ottawa, thank you" the loop says. Um, will anyone but us radiophiles hear the tower fall?

I'm hearing a loop forwarding message recording ... how the station has 'sadly closed' ... yadda yadda. It's getting crushed by La Mega from Dearborn. The nation's capital couldn't support two news-talk AM stations? 680 News is useful for three minutes whenever I'm in my car. Was the programming on 1310 truly compelling? And it was carried on FM 101.1. "Ottawa, thank you" the loop says. Um, will anyone but us radiophiles hear the tower fall?

... Thank you to RadioActive for noticing my comment, above, in another thread, and posting it here...
 

They are simulcasting the country format on 101.1.
Perhaps 92.3 will jump to Christmas music before the "new" format.

darcyh wrote:

Another 50 KW albeit directional AM station off the air. Since June three AM stations in Ontario. CJBK London, CKPC Brantford and 1310 Ottawa. Does not bode well for the future. I wonder how much the land where the transmitters are located is worth.
 

CIWWs towers are right beside the 416. The land would probably fetch quite a sum
 

darcyh wrote:

Another 50 KW albeit directional AM station off the air. Since June three AM stations in Ontario. CJBK London, CKPC Brantford and 1310 Ottawa. Does not bode well for the future. I wonder how much the land where the transmitters are located is worth.
 

It still peeves me off to see these once proud stations shut down. The only common thread seems to be they were all locally owned at one time then purchased by large conglomerates. No doubt AM radio is a tough business; all these stations were located in relatively large cities. Could reasonable profit not be eked out with even a small audience. Some broadcasters have the knack...

ED1 wrote:

Probably a lot to do with getting these AM sticks in compliance with Industry Canada's Safety Code 6...

https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/health-risks-safety/radiation/occupational-exposure-regulations/safety-code-6-radiofrequency-exposure-guidelines.html

It might have been cheaper to just shut down these AM transmitters than to get them up to code. 

Bingo.  And fewer and fewer engineers know AM  transmitters.