Newcap Media has announced it will sell Soft AC 650 CISL Vancouver BC to Rogers Media for an undisclosed amount.
The purchase of CISL gives Rogers Media a home for the NHL’s Vancouver Canucks. Rogers had announced in March that it will takeover the radio broadcasts of the franchise next year from Bell Media Sports “Team 1040” CKST.
The purchase gives Rogers a fourth station in Vancouver joining “News 1130” CKWX, Variety Hits “Jack 96.9” CJAX, and CHR “Kiss Radio” 104.9 CKKS-2. Upon closing of the deal, Rogers will flip CISL to Sports as “Sportsnet 650“. In addition to the Canucks, CISL will also carry Toronto Blue Jays baseball.
Newfoundland Capital Corporation (“Newcap” or the “Company”) announced today that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Newcap Inc., has entered into an agreement to sell its Vancouver AM station, CISL, to Rogers Media Inc. (a division of Rogers Communications Inc.). Subject to approval from the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (“CRTC”), Rogers will acquire the wholly owned subsidiary of Newcap Inc. that owns and operates CISL. Rogers has submitted its application to the CRTC requesting approval for the change in ownership of this station.
“We are grateful for the contributions of CISL and its employees during their time as part of the Newcap family,” noted Rob Steele, President and Chief Executive Officer. “While we generally are acquirers, not sellers, we believe that this transaction is in the best interest of our shareholders. We remain committed to the Vancouver community through our two remaining FM stations, Z95.3 and LG 104.3.”
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One of Canada’s largest and most passionate sports markets is about to get a lot more premium sports content, as Sportsnet will launch a new, all-sports radio station – Sportsnet 650 – in Vancouver this fall.
Rogers Media will acquire the Vancouver AM station CISL from Newcap Inc. (a wholly-owned subsidiary of Newfoundland Capital Corporation Limited), subject to approval from the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), and will change the station’s format to all-sports. The transaction is expected to close in summer 2017.
“We are excited to build upon our strong radio brands in the Vancouver market. With Vancouver being such a passionate sports town, there is a strong appetite for all-sports radio that delivers engaging conversation, wide-ranging opinion, and top-tier live sports content,” said Julie Adam, Senior Vice President of Radio, Rogers Media.
Sportsnet 650 will have year-round top-tier sports content, including Vancouver Canucks and Blue Jays games, plus the MLB post-season. Additional programming details and on-air personalities will be announced in the coming months.
“Vancouver has an incredibly loyal fan base, and this is a natural fit to expand our Sportsnet offering,” said Scott Moore, President of Sportsnet, Rogers Media. “Sportsnet has been strongly committed to the Vancouver community since the network’s inception in 1998 when we first began televising Canucks games.”
Sportsnet 650 marks the third all-sports radio station for Sportsnet, alongside stations Sportsnet 590 The FAN in Toronto and Sportsnet 960 The FAN in Calgary.
Said Al Dark, Senior Vice President of Sales, Rogers Media: “Sportsnet is Canada’s number one sports brand, and we are thrilled we have another platform for our advertisers to reach their target audiences.”
The AM 650 station will continue to be broadcast in its current format until Sportsnet 650 radio launches in the fall.
And, Rogers announces that the Sportsnet branding will indeed be used here…
http://media.sportsnet.ca/2017/04/sportsnet-launches-all-sports-radio-station-in-vancouver-this-fall