1 of 1- RadioActive
- Moderator
Offline 
2024: The Most Dramatic Year Ever In Southern Ontario Radio?
We’re not even close to the New Year yet, but I feel pretty confident 2024 could easily be seen as the most dramatic year for Canadian radio in the medium’s history.
It started on February 8, with a stunning announcement from Bell Media that hit the industry – and the SOWNY Board – like a nuclear bomb. Declaring radio is ‘no longer a viable business,’ the company announced it would be selling 45 of its stations across the country, and paring some 4,800 jobs.
The Ontario stations affected and their new owners were:
CKLH, Hamilton, Ont. (Whiteoaks)
CHRE, St. Catharines, Ont. (Whiteoaks)
CHTZ, St. Catharines, Ont. (Whiteoaks)
CKTB, St. Catharines, Ont. (Whiteoaks)
CKLY, Lindsay, Ont. (Durham Radio)
CKPT, Peterborough, Ont. (Durham Radio)
CKQM, Peterborough, Ont. (Durham Radio)
CFJR, Brockville, Ont. (My Broadcasting Corporation)
CJPT, Brockville, Ont. (My Broadcasting Corporation)
CFLY, Kingston, Ont. (My Broadcasting Corporation)
CKLC, Kingston, Ont. (My Broadcasting Corporation)
CJOS, Owen Sound, Ont. (ZoomerMedia)
It came less than a year after Bell shuttered CFRN in Edmonton and CJBK in London, among others, and put CKOC, CHAM and CKWW up for sale. But there was more bad news to come.
Along came Corus, which experienced a series of financial setbacks, and was forced to announce massive cutbacks, which included firing employees and shutting down some of its radio stations across the country. Among them: CKLG in Vancouver and CHQT Edmonton. But when CHML suddenly signed off last week with no notice, it was totally unexpected and marked the end of a near 97-year-run for the veteran Hamilton outlet.
Neeti P. Ray was approved for his takeover over of the two Hamilton stations and the one in Windsor, but it wasn’t until this week when we finally found out his plans. Windsor stayed with the hits, CKOC started playing them again and CHAM’s Funny 820 got the last laugh as an almost indefinable South Asian-Reggae format.
And that's only a partial list of all the changes. I honestly can’t remember such a seismic shift in Canadian radio as the one we’ve seen in the last year. And there’s still half of 2024 left to go.
So what’s next? Frankly, I’m almost afraid to find out.
- paterson1
- Member
Offline
Re: 2024: The Most Dramatic Year Ever In Southern Ontario Radio?
Bell Media didn't pare 4,800 jobs. BCE which has many divisions, including Bell Media, cut 4,800 jobs, with many at Bell Mobility. A few hundred were vacant positions that won't be filled. Why do we keep getting this wrong??
But yes it has been a big year especially for radio with lots of changes. Jobs have been lost, some stations have been hiring. Bell Media for example is showing 12 openings including a studio news director for CP24.
- tdotwriter
- Member
Offline
Re: 2024: The Most Dramatic Year Ever In Southern Ontario Radio?
Quite possibly. I'm relatively young (29), but I can't recall any other year that's had as much "action" as 2024 in the world of broadcast media. What I think we're seeing is a rapid trend towards de-consolidation of broadcast media ownership, especially in smaller markets, and that's a very good thing. The loss of AM outlets in Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton and Hamilton are highly unfortunate, but there's really nothing to stop a new contender from buying stations with still-valid licenses from those corporate owners or if necessary, applying for new licenses and acquiring the transmitter facilities, and I'm "cautiously optimistic" that some entity or individual will try to make a go of it for at least some of those stations.
The future, even in the near term does indeed seem slightly frightening to me, but the industry and the CRTC alike set the broadcast landscape up for something that was fundamentally unsustainable from the 1990s to the 2010s, and what we're seeing now is the unraveling of it, and the apparent shift back towards local ownership is good news for all of us.
- haydenmatthews14
- Member
Offline
Re: 2024: The Most Dramatic Year Ever In Southern Ontario Radio?
When is Whiteoaks going to take over the Niagara stations along with Hamilton's 102.9? Beacause it still awaiting CRTC approval. I am curious of what they are going to do with the stations like: change the branding names of the stations but keeping the formats the same, or change one of the stations to a different format. We will have to wait and see.
- eladb
- Member
Offline
Re: 2024: The Most Dramatic Year Ever In Southern Ontario Radio?
haydenmatthews14 wrote:
When is Whiteoaks going to take over the Niagara stations along with Hamilton's 102.9? Beacause it still awaiting CRTC approval,
I believe the CRTC hearing on Whiteoaks' purchase of the Bell stations in Hamilton and St. Catharines is scheduled for October 8.
Last edited by eladb (August 20, 2024 4:50 pm)