TORONTO – This fall Rogers Sports and Media will bring together all of its news radio stations under one brand: CityNews.
Grouping stations of a similar genre has been a growing trend, as we have reported here, as it is a way for multiple station owners to streamline operations and bring down costs.
The company assures this is a change in brand identity only and the move is not accompanied by layoffs.
“While the name and branding for each news radio station will be updated, loyal listeners will still get the same great reliable content from 680 News (Toronto, pictured), News 1130 (Vancouver), 660 News (Calgary), News 95.7 (Halifax), and 570 News (Kitchener),” says the press release.
“Putting our incredible team and all of our resources behind one brand will help to strongly convey who we are to audiences and advertisers, plus it gives us the opportunity to produce more content for social and digital to better serve each community,” said Julie Adam, president of news and entertainment, in the release. “News plays a pivotal role in our organization, providing an essential service for Canadians and we’re excited to make this move to cement our investment in local news.
The unified brand approach builds on last year’s rebrand of Ottawa’s 1310 News, which changed its name to CityNews Ottawa & The Valley and the two local news websites merged into one. “This has had a positive effect in the local market, with a 31% increase in digital listening year-over-year and a 37% increase in ‘first preference’ choice by local audiences,” says the Rogers release.
Launching alongside the rebrand will be a new unified CityNews website and app, where consumers can easily find their local news for Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Montreal, Ottawa, Winnipeg, Halifax, and Kitchener.
The branding for each radio station will be unveiled in the fall.
