Rogers Sports & Media is closing six radio stations and firing approximately 230 employees across Canada [1], [2].
These cuts signal a significant retreat from traditional terrestrial broadcasting as major media conglomerates struggle to maintain profitability in a challenging market. The closures remove established news and sports outlets from several major Canadian urban centers, impacting local information access.
The company announced the changes on Tuesday, July 2 [3]. The closures include Sportsnet 650 and News 1130 in Vancouver, 660 NewsRadio and Sportsnet 960 in Calgary, 95.7 News Radio in Halifax, and CKLW in Kitchener [4].
Of the total staff reductions, 80 employees were fired specifically due to the station closures [1]. An additional 150 employees were fired across the country as part of the broader restructuring [1]. This brings the total number of positions cut nationwide to 230 [2].
Rogers said the decision is part of corporate restructuring and cost-saving measures [1], [2]. The company is streamlining its operations to better navigate the current media landscape, a move that reflects a broader industry trend of shifting resources away from linear radio toward digital platforms.
The loss of these stations marks the end of several long-standing broadcast presences in Western and Eastern Canada. In Calgary and Vancouver, the closures eliminate dedicated sports and news frequencies that served as primary hubs for local athletics and civic reporting [2], [4].
“Rogers Sports & Media is closing six radio stations and firing approximately 230 employees across Canada.”
The scale of these layoffs and closures suggests that traditional radio is no longer a viable standalone profit center for Rogers Sports & Media. By eliminating 230 positions and shuttering six stations, the company is prioritizing lean operations over geographic reach. This move likely precedes a further pivot toward digital-first content and podcasting, where overhead is lower and audience data is more precise than in traditional AM/FM broadcasting.
