Rogers shuts down six radio stations across country, 80 jobs cut
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- Rogers Sports and Media is shutting down six radio stations in four markets — Vancouver, Calgary, Halifax, and Kitchener — including Sportsnet 650 Vancouver and Sportsnet 960 Calgary.
- The closures affect 80 employees, with Rogers citing declining audience numbers and lower advertising revenue as the cause.
- Calgary's 660 NewsRadio and Vancouver's 1130 AM are among the news stations being closed, alongside Halifax's 95.7 NewsRadio and Kitchener's 570 NewsRadio.
- Rogers will retain 44 radio stations in nearly 30 communities, and its Toronto-based Sportsnet 590 continues to operate.
- The Calgary sports station averaged just 1,200 listeners from October to May; the Vancouver sports station averaged 2,100 over the same period.
- Vancouver Canucks games will still air on a Rogers radio property, but Calgary Flames radio broadcasts are being discontinued.
- A "small number" of additional on-air jobs are being cut across TV and radio, including unionized TV newsroom positions in Toronto and Vancouver, with a voluntary departure program starting in August.
Why it matters: For the four affected cities, local newsradio simply disappears, and Calgary Flames fans lose their team's radio broadcasts — direct service cuts confirmed in Rogers' own statement. With 80 of roughly 230 jobs in Rogers Sports and Media eliminated in a single announcement, the company is explicitly redirecting investment toward properties it believes can grow, per spokesperson Zac Carreiro.
