• My Account
  • Your Profile
  • Member Archives
Thursday, March 30, 2023
Cart / $0.00

No products in the cart.

Fybush.com
  • Home
  • Archives
  • Subscribe
  • My Account
  • Store
    • Cart
    • Checkout
  • About/Contact
    • Scott Fybush
    • Copyright Information
    • Privacy Policy
  • Fybush Media
  • Links
No Result
View All Result
Fybush.com
  • Home
  • Archives
  • Subscribe
  • My Account
  • Store
    • Cart
    • Checkout
  • About/Contact
    • Scott Fybush
    • Copyright Information
    • Privacy Policy
  • Fybush Media
  • Links

No products in the cart.

No Result
View All Result
Fybush.com
No Result
View All Result

NorthEast Radio Watch 2/15/2021: Bell Cuts End, With Format Change

Scott Fybush by Scott Fybush
February 15, 2021
in Free Content, Northeast Radio Watch
1

In this week’s issue… Bell flips in Hamilton – CRTC says “no” – Michaels sells in North Country – Clendenin buys in PA – Last day for NY’s 1560?

By SCOTT FYBUSH

Jump to: ME – NH – VT – MA – RI – CT – NY – NJ – PA – Canada

What may have been North America’s most aggressive run of broadcast consolidation and job cuts has come to an end, for now.

We may never have a complete list of everyone who lost jobs at Bell Media’s radio and TV stations across Canada; the company isn’t saying, and so it’s up to intrepid reporters including Montreal’s Steve Faguy and the crew at Broadcast Dialogue to try to assemble a list from social media sources and observation.

Until Wednesday, Bell wasn’t even confirming that the cuts were happening – or when they’d end. That’s when a memo emerged from Bell Media president Wade Oosterman announcing that the cuts were “an unfortunate and often high-profile reflection of the change necessary for Bell Media to prevail in a transforming sector that has also been uniquely impacted by COVID-19,” and that they’d come to a close.

Oosterman’s memo said many of the cuts could have been made last year, “if not for the work here at Media and across the company to help get the national Bell team through 2020 intact,” which included federal wage support that presumably kept jobs intact for some period of time.

There’s plenty of corporate-speak – “streamlining the way we work to enhance our efficiency, reduce our costs, and make Bell Media more accessible and easier to deal with for all stakeholders: audiences, creators, technology partners, advertisers and distributors,” as well as at least some acknowledgement of how devastating all those job losses are to the real human beings affected by them.

And the memo came with some additional news: format changes at three of Bell’s AM sports stations that had carried the corporate “TSN Radio” branding. In Vancouver and Winnipeg, CKST (1040) and CFRW (1290) flipped to the “Funny” comedy format Bell already uses on other small AMs, including CHAM (820) in Hamilton; while the format won’t draw big ratings, it’s inexpensive to operate, which means Bell won’t be losing money at those stations.

Because Funny is already on the air in Hamilton, the third TSN station dropping the sports format had to go in a different direction. That’s CKOC (1150), which had flipped to sports from oldies in 2015, serving as the flagship for Tiger-Cats CFL football and Bulldogs minor-league hockey.

CKOC was in an odd position with the format: much of its coverage (if not its official sales market) overlaps with another Bell station, TSN Radio flagship CHUM (1050) from Toronto. The Hamilton TSN signal broke away from the network for several local shows each day, but also spent a lot of time simulcasting with Toronto.

As of Wednesday, that’s all changed – CKOC is now Bell’s second all-business format, using the same “BNN Bloomberg Radio” branding as Vancouver’s CFTE (1410), which itself flipped from sports back in 2018. There’s no local programming on the new “BNN Bloomberg Radio 1150,” as best we can tell, but lots of recycling from Bell’s BNN Bloomberg TV network, which itself draws heavily from the US-based Bloomberg TV channel.

(Where do the Ti-Cats and Bulldogs end up? No announcements have been made yet, but we’d be unsurprised if the football team goes back to its former home, Corus’ CHML 900.)

The TSN Radio format continues at several other Bell markets beyond Toronto, including Ottawa’s CFGO (1200) and Edmonton’s CFRN (1260) – and it continues in one more market where Bell may well have wanted to make bigger changes. (Read on in our subscriber-only content.)

CALENDARS ON CLEARANCE

If you don’t have your 2023 Tower Site Calendar yet, now is the perfect time to get it. Because we have lowered the price to just $14.

The calendar has great photos of broadcast sites near and far (everywhere from Navajo Nation on the cover to Boston to Toronto to Texas, and beyond), plus a lovely “centerfold” you can keep on your wall for 2024.

It’s still shipping regularly, and you can have yours in just a couple of days!

Order your copy and you’ll see what we mean.

If you have already ordered your calendar, make sure you check out the other items in the store, too!

Log In


Join Now | Lost Password?

Share this:

  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • Pocket
  • Email
  • Print
  • More
  • Facebook
Tags: BellCJADCKGMCKOCJeff PierceJoel ShimerJohn CatsimatidisRobb HanrahanShannon HollyW298CAWABCWCNSWDNYWHMQWHP-TVWJLKWODEWPLAWPVQWSLPWWFKWXJX
Previous Post

NorthEast Radio Watch 2/8/2021: Bell Slashes; Seven Mountains, FLN Grow

Next Post

Limbaugh Dead; What Next for Talk Radio?

Scott Fybush

Scott Fybush

Editor/Publisher, NorthEast Radio Watch and Tower Site of the Week

Related Posts

NorthEast Radio Watch 3/27/2023: Seven Mountains Rearranges Altoona
Free Content

NorthEast Radio Watch 3/27/2023: Seven Mountains Rearranges Altoona

In this week’s issue… Format shuffle follows Forever's Altoona exit - Public TV job cuts in Mass. - Another AM gone - ATSC 3 launches in Rochester - Tower sells Elmira - Saga Portland making "Whoopie" - PLUS: Baseball On...

by Scott Fybush
March 28, 2023
The Hornby building
Free Content

Site of the Week 3/24/2023: CFZM 740/CJBC 860, Toronto

Visiting one of the most iconic AM sites remaining in all of Canada

by Scott Fybush
March 24, 2023
NorthEast Radio Watch 1/30/2023: FCC Picks Noncomm FM Winners
Free Content

NorthEast Radio Watch 3/20/2023: FCC Imposes New PIRATE Fines

In this week’s issue… FCC imposes hefty fine on NYC pirate - Audacy sells transmitter sites - Michael Kay sticks around - FLN, Calvary swap signals - PA AMs find new owner - New format on the border - Remembering...

by Scott Fybush
March 20, 2023
The radio building
Free Content

Site of the Week 3/17/2023: Bell Media, Toronto

Inside one of the most historic broadcast facilities in Toronto

by Scott Fybush
March 17, 2023
Next Post
NorthEast Radio Watch 2/10/2020: Talkers Brace for Rush Aftermath

Limbaugh Dead; What Next for Talk Radio?

Please login to join discussion

Log In


Join Now | Lost Password?

Get Fybush.com Updates

Get Fybush.com updates emailed directly to your inbox!

Fybush.com Twitter List

My Tweets

© 2023 JNews - Premium WordPress news & magazine theme by Jegtheme.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Archives
  • Subscribe
  • My Account
  • Store
    • Cart
    • Checkout
  • About/Contact
    • Scott Fybush
    • Copyright Information
    • Privacy Policy
  • Fybush Media
  • Links

© 2023 JNews - Premium WordPress news & magazine theme by Jegtheme.

 

Loading Comments...
 

You must be logged in to post a comment.