The AM dial has gotten quieter in Vancouver.
Bell's massive layoffs announced earlier today include the shuttering of several radio stations, including two in Vancouver.
As of 8 a.m., June 14, Funny 1040 (CKST) and Bloomberg BNN 1410 (CFTE) both stopped broadcasting their regularly scheduled programming.
"The realities of AM Radio in the broadcast media landscape have made this change unavoidable," states a message on both stations currently broadcasting in Vancouver. "We want to thank our advertising partners, sponsors and everyone who has contributed to this station over the years."
Funny 1040 launched in February 2021, as TSN 1040 (which had been Team 1040 before that) was closed with its own round of layoffs. At the time there was a huge outpouring on social media for the long-time sports radio station. Funny 1040 has not, so far, received the same reaction.
BNN Bloomberg 1410 (CFTE) didn't carry much local content (aside from weather and traffic updates), with most of its shows syndicated through the Bloomberg network and coming from eastern cities. Prior to being a business station, 1410 was a TSN radio station from 2014 to 2018.
Before covering sports, CFTE had been CFUN 1410; the station had a history stretching back to the early days of radio. The original station, CJCE, was founded in April of 1922; at the time it was one of 39 (or fewer) across the country. In 2019 it became the oldest broadcasting radio station in Canada when Montreal's CINW closed.
As part of the restructuring and closures, an estimated 1,300 positions are being cut by Bell. It's unclear how many were in Vancouver.
It's also unclear what will happen to the broadcasting licenses Bell has for the stations. While it closed six stations on June 14 across Canada, it also sold three others in Ontario.
Bell still owns several media brands in Vancouver, including CTV, 94.5 FM Virgin Radio and Move 103.5 FM.
