Longtime Calgary radio staples Sportsnet 960 The Fan and 660 NewsRadio have been abruptly pulled off the air in the middle of the day.Rogers Sports & Media will be cutting 230 positions across its division and shuttering six radio stations.These stations include 1130 NewsRadio and Sportsnet 650 in Vancouver, NewsRadio 95.7 in Halifax, and 570 NewsRadio in Kitchener, alongside the aforementioned Calgary stations.Employees had reportedly been notified this morning about the closure.“The media business continues to face headwinds driven by declining advertising revenue and changing audience habits,” a spokesperson from Rogers Sports & Media is quoted as saying about the sudden closure and mass layoff."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,” the statement to Broadcast Dialogue reads.Sportsnet will reportedly be moving away from producing Calgary Flames radio broadcasts, and Vancouver Canucks radio broadcasts will move to another Rogers-owned station in the city..The closures come just a day after Rogers Communications Inc. announced it had acquired the remaining 25% stake in Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment (MLSE) from Kilmer Sports for $4.35 billion.This acquisition means that Rogers Communications is now the sole owner of the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Toronto Raptors, Toronto FC, and the Toronto Argonauts.The timing of Monday's announcement and the abruptness of Tuesday's radio station closure may highlight that this may have been a plan long in the works high up at Rogers.Commentary from people involved in the Calgary radio community is mourning the loss of two institutions of the local radio circuit.Sportsnet senior columnist Eric Francis tweeted that it was a "Sad day for all my talented brethren on Fan 960," and it was also a "sad day for Flames fans too.".This leaves Calgary with no local sports radio and an unclear future regarding where Flames fans can listen to their team's games next season....more to come
