After cutting over 200 media jobs in the Toronto area, Bell Media isn’t done yet. The company has now axed three TSN radio stains in Vancouver, Winnipeg and Hamilton.
TSN 1040 in Vancouver, TSN 1290 in Winnipeg and TSN 1150 in Hamilton have shut down as of Tuesday, February 2021.
As expected, people were not happy about how the news came about today, with some employees unaware of the cuts, during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Being told the message that played on @TSN1040 this morning about no longer being a sports station came out of Toronto and people in the building weren't aware what was happening until they started getting texts from listeners about it. They couldn't have done this last night?
— Steve Ewen (@SteveEwen) February 9, 2021
Just texted a TSN radio employee to say I was sorry to hear the news. Their response?
"What news?"
Ugh.
— John Hodge (@JohnDHodge) February 9, 2021
My radio geek heart is breaking. So much carnage today as TSN radio goes dark and dozens more lose jobs / careers across the country.
I just can’t even.
You want to support local?
LISTEN TO RADIO.— Buzz Bishop (@buzzbishop) February 9, 2021
Are we done falling hook, line, and sinker for Bell's bullshit PR campaign? Is this the last straw? Let's Talk about the millions in cheap publicity (and pandemic money) they lapped up and then spit in our face.
— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) February 9, 2021
TSN 1040 was Vancouver’s longest-running and highest-rated sports radio station. The TSN 1040 website now states:
We have some news to share today about changes to our programming. CKST 1040 AM will no longer be a sports talk radio station.
It was a difficult decision, but the realities of the quickly evolving broadcast media landscape in Canada have made this change unavoidable.
The same message was also echoed on the TSN 1290 website.
As for TSN 1150, it is now BNN Bloomberg Radio 1150 and “will continue to focus on the same key demographic while offering more breadth of content covering business, innovation, tech and sports,” explains the TSN.
Despite the recent job cuts by Bell Media, parent company BCE Inc. recently announced it would invest $1 to $1.2 billion over the next two years to expedite its fibre and rural wireless home internet rollout.
It was recently disclosed BCE Inc. collected $122.9 million from Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS), while also increasing its dividends payout to shareholders.
