In a sobering announcement that reverberated across the Canadian media landscape, Rogers Sports and Media has confirmed extensive Rogers radio closures, shuttering six stations and eliminating approximately 80 positions. The drastic measures, impacting prominent outlets in Vancouver, Calgary, Halifax, and Kitchener, signal a profound shift in the company’s strategic outlook amid mounting industry pressures.
Specifically, the axe fell on Vancouver’s Sportsnet 650 and 1130 AM, Calgary’s Sportsnet 960 and 660 NewsRadio, Halifax’s 95.7 NewsRadio, and Kitchener’s 570 NewsRadio. Eighty dedicated employees now face an uncertain future. Zac Carreiro, a spokesperson for Rogers, articulated the rationale behind this difficult decision. “The media business continues to face headwinds driven by declining advertising revenue and changing audience habits,” Carreiro stated via email. “These changes are part of our plan to focus our investment in areas that will drive growth long-term.” He further emphasized the “difficult but necessary decision” after a comprehensive review, attributing the closures to “declining audience and revenue trends.”
The Shifting Tides of Canadian Radio: Rogers Radio Closures
This widespread contraction in Canadian radio isn’t an isolated incident; it reflects a broader transformation in how audiences consume content, particularly sports. Christopher Waddell, former director of Carleton University’s School of Journalism and Communication, observed a significant migration of listeners from traditional sports radio to the burgeoning world of podcasts. “For people who are interested in sports, almost everybody has an opinion about sports and many of them have podcasts now, too,” Waddell noted. This fragmentation of audience makes attracting advertisers increasingly challenging for legacy broadcasters.
Rogers acknowledged the stark reality of dwindling listenership, citing an average of just 1,200 listeners for its Calgary sports radio station and 2,100 for its Vancouver counterpart during a recent seven-month period. Adding to the complexity, traditional sports radio stations now contend not only with new media but also with the very teams and leagues they cover. “The leagues themselves do a lot of their own work. They have their own websites, they have their own reporters at some games, they may be doing podcasts, athletes are doing podcasts,” Waddell explained. He grimly concluded that “what came as an outgrowth of sports radio has now devoured sports radio.”
Despite these extensive Rogers radio closures, the company asserts it will continue to operate 44 radio stations across nearly 30 communities, pledging ongoing investment in local news where stations have been impacted. Furthermore, Rogers will maintain Vancouver Canucks game broadcasts on another local property, though Calgary Flames radio coverage will cease. This move follows previous job cuts in 2024 within Rogers’ audio business, highlighting an ongoing struggle within an unpredictable advertising market. The announcement also comes on the heels of Rogers’ recent acquisition of the remaining 25 percent stake in Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment (MLSE) for $4.35 billion, consolidating its ownership of major sports franchises like the Maple Leafs and Raptors.
The broader context of these cutbacks underscores a worrying trend for local media across Canada. Bell Media, a competitor, shuttered Vancouver’s TSN 1040 in 2021, marking a similar blow to local sports coverage. Waddell expressed his discouragement at the ongoing disappearance of local news outlets. “There’s already been a big cutback in print versions of local news, or online versions of local news as traditional newspapers who went online have shut down,” he lamented, reflecting on the profound shifts in current market realities. While public broadcasters may fare better, private entities like Rogers face an uphill battle in the evolving media landscape.
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