Rogers Sports & Media will bring its news radio stations across the country under the CityNews banner, starting this fall.
The move will see Rogers’ so-called “Green Brand” stations – Toronto’s 680 News (CFTR-AM), News 1130 (CKWX-AM) Vancouver, 660 News (CFFR-AM) Calgary, 570 News (CKGL-AM) Kitchener and News 95.7 (CJNI-FM) Halifax – follow the lead of Ottawa’s 1310 News (CIWW-AM), which rebranded as CityNews Ottawa & The Valley last year and its TV and Radio websites merged into one.
Rogers says the Ottawa rebrand has resulted in a 31% increase in digital listening year-over-year and a 37% increase in “first preference” choice by local audiences, according to Leanstream data provided by the broadcaster. Rogers added that yesterday’s Numeris Spring ratings release also saw the news/talk station earn its highest ratings since fall 2013.
“Combining our award-winning news teams builds on the strength and reputation of stations like 680 News and shows our deep commitment to continue delivering the best news to audiences, on any platform, simplifying the choice for consumers with one brand offer,” said Dave Budge, VP of News & Information, Rogers Sports & Media, in a company announcement.
The branding for each radio station will be unveiled this fall. Launching alongside the rebrand will be a unified CityNews website and app.
“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,” added Julie Adam, President of News & Entertainment, Rogers Sports & Media. “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. I am so proud of our News team and grateful for everything they do.”
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