CTV confirms 105 layoffs in Toronto

A little more than a week after CTV chief Ivan Fecan warned staff of impending layoffs, the private broadcaster has announced it is cutting "approximately" 105 positions.

"Virtually all of these positions are here in Toronto," spokeswoman Bonnie Brownlee said about the cuts on Thursday.

Brownlee added that she doesn't "have the full breakdown" of the divisions affected.

CTV Inc. owns and operates 27 conventional television stations across the country and has news bureaus across Canada and internationally, including in Washington, London and Beijing.

Its parent company, CTVglobemedia Inc., owns sports channel TSN, music network Much Music, arts and culture channel Bravo and more than two dozen other specialty TV channels.

CTVglobemedia also owns the Globe and Mail newspaper as well as 34 CHUM radio stations across the country.

"No further reductions will be taken for the balance of this year," according to an e-mail staff received on Thursday from Dawn Fell, CTVglobemedia's executive vice president of human resources and operations.

Last week, Fecan — who serves as chief executive officer of CTV as well as president and CEO of CTVglobemedia — informed employees that layoffs, a hiring freeze and other operational changes were pending because of declining ad revenues, in part because of the global economic downturn.

Earlier this month, media giant Canwest announced it was cutting 560 jobs — about five per cent of its workforce — including 210 jobs on its broadcast side.

Conventional TV broadcasters have complained of declining revenues in the face of rising competition from pay and speciality services.

In July, Statistics Canada reported that revenue for conventional television fell by 5.3 per cent, slipping to $1.267 billion in 2007 from 2006. By comparison, pay television revenue in Canada rose by 13.5 per cent for the same period, hitting $547 million in 2007.

In the spring, CTV and Canwest Global teamed up to call on the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission to enact a controversial carriage fees proposal to help traditional broadcasters. The CRTC rejected the idea.

The CBC, which was also calling for the introduction of carriage fees, will be carrying out its own cost-cutting plan, given the current economic climate.

However, in his note to staff on Friday, CBC/Radio-Canada president Hubert Lacroix said "where others are contemplating and predicting layoffs, we are looking to put in place and push forward with solutions that won't involve cutting jobs."

With files from the Canadian Press