TORONTO – CTV has cut 118 jobs and pulled the plug on local programming at its conventional ‘A’ stations Tuesday, part of its on-going efforts to cut costs.
Effective immediately, ‘A’ Morning, the three-hour local morning show produced separately in Victoria, London and Barrie, has been cancelled, while the evening, late night and weekend newscasts have been cancelled in Ottawa.
"These are extremely difficult and challenging decisions to make given it’s not about the quality of our ‘A’ programming or that we have achieved double-digit audience growth," said Paul Sparkes, executive vice president of corporate affairs for CTVglobemedia, in the statement. "We simply can’t monetize our success. We are doing everything we can to hang on to conventional television, but as we continue to stress, the conventional model is now broken. In the long term, the only real solution is fee-for-carriage."
The job cuts impact the ‘A’ stations in Victoria, London, Barrie and Ottawa, and represent approximately 28% of the ‘A’ stations’ overall staff count.
Tuesday’s announcement includes the staff reductions confirmed by CTV last week, when it announced that it will not seek licence renewals for the ‘A’ stations in Wingham, Wheatley and its re-broadcaster in Windsor.
