Sports radio listeners noticed something unusual on SN650 Tuesday morning. Vancouver woke up to syndicated programming instead of its regular local morning show.
What We Know: Mike Halford and Jason Brough were absent from SN650’s morning lineup on Tuesday. Instead, the station carried Westwood One programming. Meanwhile, Postmedia reported staff members were called to a 10 AM all-hands meeting where management is expected to outline the station’s future. At that meeting, station personnel were informed that SN650 in Vancouver and SN960 in Calgary were shutting down. Rogers will return the licenses for both stations. The company is also shutting down four news/talk stations around the nation.
What’s They Said: “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 — we continue to own and operate 44 radio stations in nearly 30 communities across the country and to invest in local news in the impacted markets.” -Rogers spokesperson
What Remains Unclear: Which station in Vancouver the NHL’s Canucks will utilize as its radio flagship going forward. Rogers will keep the rights for that team, but will use another station. Rogers will stop producing content for the Calgary Flames.
What It Means: The developments recall Bell Media’s abrupt shutdown of TSN 1040 in 2021. At the time, Halford and Brough were removed from the air without warning. Moreover, these moves underscore the challenges facing AM sports radio as audiences increasingly shift to on-demand and streaming audio.
Barrett Media produces daily content on the music, news, and sports media industries. Sign up for our newsletters to stay updated and get the latest information right in your inbox.
Garrett Searight is Barrett Media’s News Editor, which includes writing daily news stories, features, and opinion columns. He joined Barrett Media in 2022 after a decade leading several radio brands in several formats, as well as a 5-year stint working in local television. In addition to his work with Barrett Media, he is a radio and TV play-by-play broadcaster. Reach out to him at Garrett@BarrettMedia.com.