News Article: 1260 shut down by Bell

[5 Mins 4 Ftg]

A sad day for sports fans in Edmonton. In a hockey mad town such as Edmonton it is too bad to see this happen as there was some good content available via radio and resulting podcasts to play later if you couldn't listen live.

Pretty sure the main players will land on their feet with new podcasts and opportunities but the world of sports talk radio seems pretty much dead. Will really miss Rishaug on the AM show and Strudwick but no doubt they will pop up in new podcast forms soon to add to what they already do.

I had the opportunity to be in studio on the air a few times in the past over there to talk some hockey and even guest host once with some of the hosts. All good people including the behind the scenes talent.

Bell, Lets Talk....about your crappy near monopoly.

Click to read more...

 

[McOilers97]

Was shocked to turn on 1260 this morning and find this out.

Saw that Gregor tweeted that he and Strudwick and Connor Halley will be back in some capacity though. Probably some of the others will be as well.

 

[Slugman]

Actually pretty bummed about this

 

[Cagey B]

I rarely listened.. but this is is shocking... FU Bell

 

[Yukon Joe]

I rarely listened.. but this is is shocking... FU Bell

So it's all your fault then!

Actually - maybe it's all my fault. Me and my family used to be a Numeris family, so when I listened to 1260 that actually showed up in the ratings quite literally. But those personal meters were a pain to wear and my kids could never be bothered to wear them so we quit and sent our meters back.

 

[Rpenny]

Now that I have had a beat to think about this. Makes sense that they kill it now. Hockey season is over and lets face facts. Between now and September. The guys on the radio would get desperate to fill air on most shows.

 

[Yukon Joe]

Now that I have had a beat to think about this. Makes sense that they kill it now. Hockey season is over and lets face facts. Between now and September. The guys on the radio would get desperate to fill air on most shows.

I don't know though - they managed to stay on air in 2020 when there were literally no sports going on. They've always managed to fill in their airtime even in summer.

1260 is the only sports-based closure announced today. Mostly Bell is merging some tv stations and closing either comedy or news radio stations.

Bell cutting 1,300 positions, closing or selling 9 radio stations

BCE Inc., which owns Bell Canada, is cutting 1,300 positions and closing or selling 9 radio stations. Find out more.

financialpost.com

 

[TB12]

Their "Bell Let's Talk" initiative just rings more and more hollow with every passing year as they continue to close stations and put 100's of people out of work.

 

[rboomercat90]

I watched ctv local news this morning and Gazzola was on around 6:30 with the 1260 banner behind him. He was behaving like it was a normal day. I’m guessing most or all had no idea this was coming until shortly before 9 am today. Bell is a special company.

 

[Spawn]

Damn that sucks. Sports radio isn’t really my cup of tea nowadays but sucks for everyone laid off and also for the people who listen every day. Now the only local Oilers related radio is from the rights holders which is never the best.

Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto all spared? As if people didn’t already think TSN had an eastern bias lol.

 

[Drivesaitl]

Never listened to it. Wouldn't know its gone. Wasn't 1260 CFRN years ago?

When did it become TSN?

 

[Tarus]

Wow, that's quite a shock.

Sounds like Bell media blindsided everyone.

 

[Sniper99]

R.I.P. Oodle Noodle and Legacy Heating and Cooling commercials
Podcasts are taking over I think.

 

[CupofOil]

I don't listen as often as I used to but some of the podcasts were my go to thing when there was hockey news.

If somebody can, send an update about where these guys end up.
That's lots of jobs that got lost overnight. Crazy

 

[DynamiteKid]

I've been listening to podcasts more and more.
Hopefully (1) they still continue them and (2) there are more of them and/or longer ones to help fill the day.

 

[Yukon Joe]

Never listened to it. Wouldn't know its gone. Wasn't 1260 CFRN years ago?

When did it become TSN?

CFRN (AM) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Wow - had no idea the CFRN station was so old - it goes back to the very early days of radio, going back to 1927. In 1976 it was the 4th most listened to radio station in Edmonton.

But anyways, it changed format to all-sports in 2002 as part of The Team, and kept that branding even after The Team radio network died and 1260 stayed on its own. It was then sold and adopted the TSN Radio monicker in 2013.

And note it isn't changing formats - they're just closing up the whole radio station.

 

[Golden_Jet]

Never listened to it. Wouldn't know its gone. Wasn't 1260 CFRN years ago?

When did it become TSN?

Probably number of listeners and/or profitable. Also Toronto and Ottawa went to ESPN radio from 12-4, not sure about Montreal, but they usually do that for summer programming and vacations.

 

[Drivesaitl]

CFRN (AM) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Wow - had no idea the CFRN station was so old - it goes back to the very early days of radio, going back to 1927. In 1976 it was the 4th most listened to radio station in Edmonton.

But anyways, it changed format to all-sports in 2002 as part of The Team, and kept that branding even after The Team radio network died and 1260 stayed on its own. It was then sold and adopted the TSN Radio monicker in 2013.

And note it isn't changing formats - they're just closing up the whole radio station.

In the early 70's the two most listened to stations were CFRN and Ched. Ched was the more modern listening of the two and the more rock oriented. CFRN was more contemporary and pop. Ched had the much more followed on air personalities like Wes Montgomery.

I haven't listened to radio for decades. Last I listened was Sirius. AM was never well suited for music but was passable in Transistor radio times or with cheaper players. AM doesn't have the modulation of FM or other forms of listening. I could see AM however being perfectly fine for audio voice broadcasts, podcasts or the sort.

 

[Lacaar]

Damn, wishing all the people that worked there the best. I'm going to miss it.
I almost always listened when driving during the morning and day. Not so much at night when espn was on.

I will definitely be supporting them via podcast downloads though. Here are some I listen to that I enjoy.

Got Yer Back - Rishaug and Strudwick
DFO Rundown - Seravelli and Gregor
Daily Faceoff - Seravelli and Tyler Yaremchuk and others
Oilers Now - Stauffer - I jokingly call the live radio show commercials now.. no f***ing wonder am Radio is dying. the content time is barely over 50%. 25% commercials and 25% news. Podcast is soo much better to listen to. Though sometimes they ninja a commercial right in the middle of a conversation haha.

Let me know if there's any others locally I'm missing. I'll definitely check them out and support our local broadcasters.

 

[soothsayer]

Having a radio job is almost as precarious as making a living through a youtube channel these days. I imagine Dustin Neilson understood this, given how he branched out to CFL play calling and such.

 

[Fourier]

Wow. That is really a shock.

 

[Yukon Joe]

Having a radio job is almost as precarious as making a living through a youtube channel these days. I imagine Dustin Neilson understood this, given how he branched out to CFL play calling and such.

The precariousness of AM radio was pretty much a running joke on the morning show so I have no doubt that while Dusty and LTE are disappointed by what happened, they are by no means surprised.

I do wonder how many people that used to work there decide to get into some more stable and secure job, like selling drugs (joke!). But more seriously - I mentioned the Winnipeg radio station TSN 1290 closed down two years ago. The afternoon show used to be Hustler & Lawless. Gary Gawless took a job with the Vegas Golden Knights when that team started, no doubt knowing which way the winds were blowing. The afternoon show then became Hustler and Rick Ralph.

After 1290 closed, Hustler (who does the Lock Shop with Dustin Nielson) opened his own daily sports podcast. I think he's doing well, but I also think he has to work his ass off. Anyways at one point on Hustler's podcast he had his old partner, Rick on. Rick was now selling mortgages, and sounded pretty happy about it.

 

[Heavy Dee]

A small independent in the fm band should seize this opportunity to sell air time to those guys. They had a decent market share.

Not a fan of YouTube shows because its difficult and expensive to access while on the road.

 

[Jet Walters]

 

[Hemsky4pm2]

I think the primary reason TSN1260 is shuttering is because they don't have the rights to Oilers broadcasts. I do not think the Edmonton market can support multiple sports radio channels, particularly with growing podcast content options. All the best to the employees behind the mics and behind the scenes. I hope eveyone lands on their feet.