Facing Inviability: Bell Media to Offload 45 Radio Stations.
BCE Inc. to Divest 45 of Its 103 Regional Radio Stations Amid Nine Percent Workforce Reductions BCE Inc. has initiated the sale of 45 out of its 103 regional radio stations while implementing a nine percent reduction in its workforce, which includes journalists and other employees at its Bell Media subsidiary. The impacted stations are located in British Columbia, Ontario, Quebec, and Atlantic Canada.
In an open letter signed by CEO Mirko Bibic on Thursday, the company announced plans to cut 4,800 jobs spanning all levels of the organization.
Some employees have already received notifications or were scheduled to be informed on Thursday about impending layoffs, while the remainder will be notified by spring. Bibic mentioned that the company will leverage vacancies and natural attrition to minimize the number of layoffs as much as possible.
This marks the second significant layoff at the media and telecommunications conglomerate since last spring, when six percent of Bell Media positions were eliminated and nine radio stations were either closed or sold.
In a separate internal memo, Bell Media president Sean Cohan stated that the company plans to sell off 45 radio stations to seven different buyers: Vista Radio, Whiteoaks, Durham Radio, My Broadcasting Corp., ZoomerMedia, Arsenal Media, and Maritime Broadcasting. The sales are contingent upon CRTC approval and other closing conditions.
“That’s a significant divestiture. It’s because it’s not a viable business anymore,” said Bell chief legal and regulatory officer Robert Malcolmson in an interview with The Canadian Press.
“We will continue to operate ones that are viable, but this is a business that is going in the wrong direction.”
The company refrained from disclosing the specific number of job cuts allocated to Bell Media.
Malcolmson noted that Bell Media is currently undergoing a ‘digital transformation’ concerning both entertainment and news.
However, the sustainability of prioritizing digital expansion for the company’s profitability is yet to be determined.
This encompasses two pieces of legislation aimed at supporting Canada’s struggling media industry: Bill C-18, also known as the Online News Act, designed to compel tech giants to compensate Canadian news organizations for their content, and Bill C-11, which amends the Broadcasting Act to mandate digital platforms like Netflix, YouTube, and TikTok to contribute to and promote Canadian content.
Ottawa remains at an impasse with Meta, Facebook’s parent company, regarding C-18, as the company persists in blocking news links on its platforms. Meanwhile, the federal government has capped the amount of money that broadcast media can receive from Google’s $100 million annual payments at $30 million, with the remaining funds allocated to print and digital news outlets..
The job cuts at Bell Media on Thursday are directly linked to regulatory guidance outlined in Bill C-11, according to Malcolmson.
Last year, the CRTC conducted a hearing to consider whether streaming services should make an initial contribution to the Canadian content ecosystem to address disparities with local companies. The commission aims to enact new regulations by late 2024.
However, the Bell executive emphasized the company’s urgent need for relief, proposing a fund where streamers would subsidize local or national news as a potential solution.
Over the past year, Bell has contested various regulatory rulings that it argues have exacerbated challenges for its struggling broadcast division.
This includes an October appeal to the Federal Court of Appeal aimed at overturning a CRTC decision renewing its broadcast licenses for an additional three years. Bell contended that the decision was made without a public hearing and could potentially prejudice its requests made in June to waive local news and Canadian programming requirements for its television stations.
In his letter, Bibic highlighted that Bell Media’s advertising revenues declined by $140 million in 2023 compared to the previous year, with the news division experiencing over $40 million in annual operating losses.
Furthermore, Bell indicated potential reductions in network investments within its telecom sector, citing disagreements with the CRTC over what it perceives as “predetermined” regulatory directives.
Regarding the company’s reputation amidst ongoing cutbacks, Malcolmson pointed out that Bell’s executive team has undergone reductions in recent years, and executive salaries remain stagnant.
“We have a duty both to our shareholders and to our employees to make sure we manage the business in a rational way,” he said.
