Earlier this week, Bell Media announced a shake up of its media holdings. The corporate behemoth will unload dozens of radio stations, in addition to cutbacks at its television holdings.
But as it turns, a company offering to buy 21 of those radio stations, Vista Radio, is based right here on Vancouver Island.
Nicholas Arnold is an on-air personality at Duncan’s Sun FM radio station.
“In your Cowichan Valley weather, we’re expecting many cloudy skies this weekend,” he told listeners on Friday.
He does it all, news, weather, and plays the music.
“That is Canadian artist Fall Out Boy on 89.7 SUN FM,” he said.
The Duncan radio station is one of 49 currently owned by Courtenay-based Vista Radio.
Now it’s adding 21 more, according to Bryan Edwards, president of Vista Radio.
“These radio stations that we purchased, or are in the process of purchasing, I actually ran 25 years ago. I’m very familiar with them,” he told CHEK News on Friday.
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The SUN FM office in Duncan is pictured on Feb. 9, 2024.
Earlier this week, Bell Media announced a series of cuts to its media holdings, including the sale of 43 of its radio stations.
“I’m furious. This is a garbage decision by a corporation that should know better,” he said. “We’ve seen over the past years, journalistic outlets, radio stations, small community newspapers bought up by corporate entities who then layoff journalists, change the offering, the quality of offering to people.”
On Thursday, B.C. Premier David Eby also took a swing at Bell Media.
“Bell and corporations like Bell have overseen the assembly of local media assets that are treasures to local communities. They bought them up like corporate vampires. They sucked the life out of them, laying off journalists. They have overseen the crapification of local news by laying off journalists. And now they say it’s no longer economically viable to run these local radio stations.”
Edwards says Vista Radio is offering to retain all former Bell Media employees at the 21 stations it’s buying.
And says it may even look at increasing staffing.
“Yes, absolutely, over time,” Edwards said. “Year one is going to be our toughest year, because nothing turns on a dime. But I would think, and we’re thinking by the second year, we’ll start adding more talent to those radio stations.”
MTY Food Group Inc. says its profit and revenue both slid in its most recent quarter.
The restaurant franchisor and operator says its net income attributable to owners totalled $34.9 million in its third quarter, compared with $38.9 million a year earlier.
The results for the period ended Aug. 31 amounted to $1.46 per diluted share, down from $1.59 per diluted share a year prior.
The company behind 90 brands including Manchu Wok and Mr. Sub attributed the fall to impairment charges on property, plants and equipment along with intangibles assets.
Its revenue decreased slightly to $292.8 million in the quarter from $298 million a year ago.
While CEO Eric Lefebvre saw the quarter as a sign that the company’s ongoing restructuring is starting to bear fruits, he said the business was also hampered by significant delays in construction and permitting that resulted in fewer locations opening.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 11, 2024.
Taiga Motors Corp. says the Superior Court of Québec has approved its sale to a British electric boat entrepreneur.
The Montreal-based maker of snowmobiles and watercraft says it will be purchased by Stewart Wilkinson.
Wilkinson’s family office is behind marine electrification brands that include Vita, Evoy, and Aqua superPower.
Wilkinson and Taiga did not reveal the terms or value of the deal but say Wilkinson will assume Taiga’s debt to Export Development Canada and has committed to funding Taiga’s business plan.
The companies say the transaction will allow them to achieve greater economies of scale and deliver high-performance products at compelling prices to accelerate the electric transition.
The sale comes months after Taiga sought bankruptcy protection under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act to cope with a cash crunch.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 11, 2024.
Toronto-Dominion Bank is facing fines totalling about US$3.09 billion from U.S. regulators in connection with failures of its anti-money laundering safeguards.
The bank also received a cease-and-desist order and non-financial sanctions from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency that put limits on its growth in the U.S. after it was found that TD had “significant, systemic breakdowns in its transaction monitoring program.”
