Rogers to Shutter Six News and Sports Stations in Canada

Canadian media company Rogers Sports and Media is shutting down six of its news and sports stations, including CISL-AM, Vancouver “Sportsnet 650”; CFAC-AM, Calgary “Sportsnet 960”; CFFR-AM, Calgary “660 NewsRadio”; CXWX-AM, Vancouver; CJNI-FM, Halifax “NewsRadio 95.7”; and CKGL-AM, Kitchener “570 NewsRadio.”  Yahoo! is reporting that Rogers says the closures will mean layoffs for 80 employees of the stations. Other simultaneous staff reductions at Rogers are costing another 150 people their positions. These cuts are revenue based as Rogers spokesperson Zac Carreiro states, “The media business continues to face headwinds driven by declining advertising revenue and changing audience habits. These changes are part of our plan to focus our investment in areas that will drive growth long-term. After a thorough review of our radio stations, we have made the difficult but necessary decision to close six radio stations in four markets due to declining audience and revenue trends.” Rogers will continue operate 44 radio stations in some 30 markets. See the Yahoo! story here.