Rogers shuts down 2 Vancouver radio stations, lays off hundreds across the country

Two radio stations owned by Rogers went off the air yesterday morning as the company slashed hundreds of jobs across the country.

Listeners expecting Canadian content when they tuned to Sportsnet 650 AM in Vancouver on Tuesday heard a syndicated American talk show instead.

Rogers Sports and Media pulled the plug on a total of six stations across the country, including Sportsnet 650 and News 1130 in Vancouver.

“I was part of the launch of Sportsnet 650,” said broadcaster Scott Rintoul, who Rogers let go in a previous round of layoffs.

In an interview, he told CTV News he knows what his suddenly out-of-work former colleagues must be feeling.

“I think you and I both know it’s not this lucrative career in Canada. So, it’s something that you’re passionate about,” Rintoul said. “And in many cases, people have foregone other lucrative opportunities to do this because it’s something they care about.”

In addition to the 80 people losing their jobs because of the decision to close the six radio stations, a Rogers Sports and Media spokesperson confirms it let go an additional 150 employees across the country.

The company said the decision was difficult but necessary.

“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,” Rogers spokesperson Zac Carreiro told The Canadian Press in an emailed statement.

Carreiro said the company still owns 44 radio stations in 30 communities and would “invest in local news in the impacted markets.”

In Vancouver, the company still owns the radio rights for Canucks games, and the company said it will broadcast them on one of the other stations it still operates in the market.

During his tenure as managing editor at News 1130, Bruce Claggett sometimes had to inform staff about layoffs – until one day in 2020 when he himself was let go.

“I know the feeling on both sides of that. And it’s brutal. These are people that not only have families, but they’ve also invested there themselves 24-7, because news doesn’t stop,” Claggett said in an interview with CTV News.

Former sportscaster Perry Solkowski spent time at CTV News and Sportsnet 650 and has been laid off more than once.

He now works in finance and said he hopes people let go in Tuesday understand there is a future beyond broadcasting.

“Realize you have a great skill set. It might not look good on a resume, but once you start talking to people, you can move to a lot of different careers. And I’m proof, as an old guy I could do it,” he said.

The closure of Sportsnet 650, News 1130, and the other four Rogers stations comes five years after Bell Media shuttered TSN’s all sports radio stations in Vancouver and other cities.

Bell Media is the parent company of CTV News.

With files from the Canadian Press