TORONTO — Rogers Sports and Media has cut a “few dozen” jobs in its audio business amid what it describes as an unpredictable advertising market that has led to declining revenue.
The company said Wednesday the job cuts reflect the “need to face that reality and adjust our operating expenses” in order to compete in a changing environment.
“With the radio industry continuing to feel the pressure of an uncertain advertising market, we made some difficult but necessary changes in our audio business impacting roles in several markets,” Rogers spokesperson Charmaine Khan said.
“We recognize and thank the team members who are leaving us for their dedication to our listeners and advertisers.”
Rogers has 56 radio stations across the country. It also has a podcast and streaming audio network.
The company said there would be no closures as part of the move, as all radio stations, programming and podcasts would continue to run.
Last month, Rogers chief executive Tony Staffieri told financial analysts on a conference call discussing the company’s third-quarter results that Rogers Sports and Media “had a strong quarter” during the three-month period ended Sept. 30.
The company said media revenue increased 11 per cent in the quarter compared with the same time last year, although that was “primarily as a result of higher sports-related revenue.”
Christopher Waddell, a professor emeritus at Carleton University’s School of Journalism and Communication, said advertising has been declining across traditional news, prompting broadcasters to cut back on expenses.
“It’s understandable because they have less revenue, but the problem with it, in part, is when you cut back and you reduce the number of people you have, that allows you to do less,” he said.
“It means people notice that you’re not doing what you used to do before, and they go somewhere else.”
Waddell called the effect a “death spiral,” where audiences dwindle and advertisers have even less of an incentive to continue spending their ad dollars there.
“They can’t sell the advertising for the price they sold it for before because the audience is smaller, so they get less money for advertising, so then they lay more people off, and the circle just kind of keeps repeating,” he said.
“And that’s what we seem to be seeing in this case.”
In October 2023, Rogers closed its CityNews Ottawa radio station, formerly known as 1310NEWS, and laid off newsroom staff, citing dwindling audiences and regulatory challenges. The company said fewer than 10 employees were affected and the outlet would maintain an online presence supported by two digital reporters.
Rogers also offered voluntary departure packages to some employees last year amid its integration with Shaw Communications Inc. after the closure of its $26-billion purchase of the company.
An internal memo said “most corporate and line of business employees” up to the senior director level of the company could apply for the package. But the company had said sports and media staff — including on-air talent, producers, directors, writers and media technology operators — were not eligible.
Most employees in customer-facing jobs were also excluded from that eligibility.
At the time, Rogers also confirmed “a small percentage” of employees had left the company involuntarily since the Shaw merger, but did not say how many employees would be affected by either the voluntary departure program or other cuts.
Then in May, Rogers-owned Citytv shut down its Canadian daytime television talk show, “Cityline,” after four decades.
Some of Rogers’ competitors have also announced recent job losses in their media divisions.
In February, BCE Inc. announced it was cutting nine per cent of its workforce, amounting to 4,800 jobs at all levels of the company. It said fewer than 10 per cent of the total job cuts were at its Bell Media subsidiary.
The shakeup came as Bell Media ended multiple television newscasts and made other programming cuts, along with the sale of 45 of its 103 regional radio stations.
In November 2023, Quebecor Inc.’s TVA Group also announced the layoff of 547 employees, or 31 per cent of its workforce. That was part of a restructuring that included an overhaul of its news division, the end of its in-house entertainment content production activities and the optimization of its real estate holdings.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 20, 2024.
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