TORONTO – Bell Media cut the sports departments at its local TV stations in Kitchener, London and Windsor Tuesday as part of its ongoing rationalization of operations in its local broadcasting division.
In January, the company cut a number of employees across radio and TV – and eliminated the sports department at CTV Two in Barrie.
Its union, Unifor, issued an angry release. "People turn to local television to keep up on what is happening in their communities," Unifor media director Howard Law said in the release. "These cuts give people less of a reason to turn to local news. The CRTC is about to grant CTV a new license for local TV programming, they had better be paying attention to this.”
A total of 18 positions were eliminated this week at CTV stations, including nine in Kitchener, four in London/Windsor, three in Calgary and two in Edmonton.
With more cuts expected at CTV stations across Canada, Unifor said that it is calling on the federal government to move quickly on the review of the industry outlined in last week's budget. It was thought the sports segments on the stations will be replaced by a national package, but so far CKCO Kitchener has aired no sports at all on its late night news.
"There are some simple moves the federal government could make to help ensure the viability of this vital industry, including regulatory and tax changes," Law added. "Unifor will be very active during the coming review of the industry."
Bell Media’s official statement is similar to the one it made in January. “We have reduced a number of broadcast positions at Bell Media local TV stations as part of a larger restructuring at Bell Media. The restructuring is a response to the challenges we and other Canadian media companies are facing on multiple fronts: changing broadcast technologies and growing international competition, a tough advertising market and ongoing regulatory pressure,” a spokesman said in an email.
