Toronto Sports Media Discussion Thread - v7 (2022 Edition)

[hockeywiz542]

Paving the way for our future

www.bce.ca

June 14, 2023

Open letter: paving the way for our future

A message from Mirko Bibic

Dear Bell team members,

I wanted everyone to hear from me directly about organizational changes that are taking place now and through June across the entire Bell organization.

Over our 143-year history, one of the things that has set Bell apart is our ability to reinvent ourselves when faced with challenge, technological evolution and change. Our industry, like other highly competitive industries, is unforgiving to those who don’t adapt. At Bell Canada, every year we can expect to lose over $250 million in legacy phone revenues. Across Bell Media’s news operations, despite being Canada’s news leader, we incur $40 million and growing in annual operating losses, and the profitability of our radio business has been cut in half since the onset of COVID. These are three examples, but they show that to succeed in today’s challenging economic, regulatory and competitive environment and be ready for what comes next, we need to accelerate our shift away from how telecom and media companies have operated in the past.

A very important part of this shift is aligning our cost structures to the revenue potential of each business segment we operate in. Doing so will lower our overall costs and give us the room to fund new growth opportunities to better serve our customers and ensure our future success.

It is for this reason that we will be implementing significant reductions on our team at all levels of the company. These changes will reduce our workforce by 1,300 positions, where possible eliminating vacant positions to minimize the impact on our team. These roles are largely in management, which will see a reduction of 6%. And there will be 20% fewer executive roles in the company than in 2020. The job reductions are consistent with but smaller than similar reductions announced by other leading technology and media companies across North America in recent months.

While it doesn’t make the news any easier, I wanted to be upfront with all of you about this. We know our decisions have a real impact on our friends and colleagues. That’s why it is so important for me to ensure respect and transparency throughout the process.

Please know we will support each person affected, including fair and reasonable severance packages along with career transition services. And for anyone who needs additional support, they can continue to access our health benefits, including confidential resources like our Employee and Family Assistance Program (EFAP), mental health and virtual health care programs.

While we are eliminating roles in areas where demand and revenue are declining, we are continuing to invest in key growth areas. This means continued capital investment where warranted, strategic acquisitions, new partnerships and service launches to improve our competitiveness and innovation agenda, as well as hiring in growth areas to ensure our long-term success.

Recent accomplishments and announcements pave the way for our future, such as:

• Our new partnership with Air Canada to support newcomers to Canada and keep travellers connected

• Our historic content agreement with Warner Bros. Discovery to help us reach new audiences with the most compelling content

• Our exclusive agreement through Staples to increase our distribution

• Major improvements in customer service and the continued rollout of Canada’s best and largest fibre optic and 5G networks to better serve our customers

• The recent acquisition of Montréal-based cloud services leader FX Innovation to deliver end-to-end solutions to Canadian businesses

Bell is the company it is today because of the hard work of our collective team – past and present – and some difficult decisions we have made along the way to get here. I want to thank each person departing our company for their contributions and encourage you to take full advantage of our support programs.

To every Bell team member working to chart our future forward – thank you for your continued dedication and focus. I am very confident about what lies ahead, and I promise to keep you informed and supported as we chart the future together.

Mirko Bibic
President and Chief Executive Officer
BCE Inc. and Bell Canada

 

[Evilhomer]

It's awesome investor relations/HR work when you try to trump up your accomplishments while carpet-bombing your employee base. Kudos, Bell. Stay golden.

 

[wingman75]

I get we should be mad at Bell, shitty of them to terminate so many good people, but let's be real, how many of us have been listening to Leafs Lunch? It's got a small base, the quality of the show has gone way downhill. If people wanted to save the show they should have tuned it and kept the ratings up. I rather listen to Mike DeStefano on locked up leafs than Leafs Lunch.

While not in Toronto, I used to take in the Leafs Lunch content... but I have not watched (or listened or streamed) regularly since the Overdrive guys left. I would say I have taken in at most 10 shows since then... and even then, it has been mostly bits and pieces.

With everyone getting their content from podcasts now, radio is most definitely a dying industry. While this sucks for those who lost their jobs, the writing for this was on the wall. The talented will find a way to be heard, and many will fade into the sunset in retirement.

Terrible that these things happen abruptly like this. I hope everyone affected and their families land on their feet.

 

[Roadhog]

That leave’s Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal left.

Until their individual NHL rights deals run out, then they'll be gone.

Scrolling through a thread on the SOWNY board, a lot of broadcasting types sounding prophetic after questioning why a phone company would get into broadcasting all those years ago.

 

[al secord]

Paving the way for our future

www.bce.ca

June 14, 2023

Open letter: paving the way for our future

A message from Mirko Bibic

Dear Bell team members,

I wanted everyone to hear from me directly about organizational changes that are taking place now and through June across the entire Bell organization.

Over our 143-year history, one of the things that has set Bell apart is our ability to reinvent ourselves when faced with challenge, technological evolution and change. Our industry, like other highly competitive industries, is unforgiving to those who don’t adapt. At Bell Canada, every year we can expect to lose over $250 million in legacy phone revenues. Across Bell Media’s news operations, despite being Canada’s news leader, we incur $40 million and growing in annual operating losses, and the profitability of our radio business has been cut in half since the onset of COVID. These are three examples, but they show that to succeed in today’s challenging economic, regulatory and competitive environment and be ready for what comes next, we need to accelerate our shift away from how telecom and media companies have operated in the past.

A very important part of this shift is aligning our cost structures to the revenue potential of each business segment we operate in. Doing so will lower our overall costs and give us the room to fund new growth opportunities to better serve our customers and ensure our future success.

It is for this reason that we will be implementing significant reductions on our team at all levels of the company. These changes will reduce our workforce by 1,300 positions, where possible eliminating vacant positions to minimize the impact on our team. These roles are largely in management, which will see a reduction of 6%. And there will be 20% fewer executive roles in the company than in 2020. The job reductions are consistent with but smaller than similar reductions announced by other leading technology and media companies across North America in recent months.

While it doesn’t make the news any easier, I wanted to be upfront with all of you about this. We know our decisions have a real impact on our friends and colleagues. That’s why it is so important for me to ensure respect and transparency throughout the process.

Please know we will support each person affected, including fair and reasonable severance packages along with career transition services. And for anyone who needs additional support, they can continue to access our health benefits, including confidential resources like our Employee and Family Assistance Program (EFAP), mental health and virtual health care programs.

While we are eliminating roles in areas where demand and revenue are declining, we are continuing to invest in key growth areas. This means continued capital investment where warranted, strategic acquisitions, new partnerships and service launches to improve our competitiveness and innovation agenda, as well as hiring in growth areas to ensure our long-term success.

Recent accomplishments and announcements pave the way for our future, such as:

• Our new partnership with Air Canada to support newcomers to Canada and keep travellers connected

• Our historic content agreement with Warner Bros. Discovery to help us reach new audiences with the most compelling content

• Our exclusive agreement through Staples to increase our distribution

• Major improvements in customer service and the continued rollout of Canada’s best and largest fibre optic and 5G networks to better serve our customers

• The recent acquisition of Montréal-based cloud services leader FX Innovation to deliver end-to-end solutions to Canadian businesses

Bell is the company it is today because of the hard work of our collective team – past and present – and some difficult decisions we have made along the way to get here. I want to thank each person departing our company for their contributions and encourage you to take full advantage of our support programs.

To every Bell team member working to chart our future forward – thank you for your continued dedication and focus. I am very confident about what lies ahead, and I promise to keep you informed and supported as we chart the future together.

Mirko Bibic
President and Chief Executive Officer
BCE Inc. and Bell Canada

Didn't the Raptors just hire him?

 

[MilkofthePoppy]

Bell cut 1300 people today.

Link

Also apparently Edmonton 1260 was a taken off while live on air?

Good, no mercy for the lying press. They can learn to code.

 

[Maple Leaf]

Kessel is talking smack winning 3 cups as a third liner what about as the top line player did anyone ask him that?

 

[CabanaBoy5]

Kinda sad to see Leafs Lunch go after all these years. It was fun to put the ear pods on during lunch and listen to some Leafs talk. I've heard some of those ESPN or CBS American shows and they're just pitiful. Talk endlessly about College or NFL Football and hockey is rarely mentioned. What are the best Leaf related podcasts where we can get our Leaf fix, particularly during the season?

 

[francis246]

Kessel is talking smack winning 3 cups as a third liner what about as the top line player did anyone ask him that?

He got robbed of a conn smythe, Kessel was remarkable in both penguins playoff series. Kessel has every right to talk shit. The media were scumbags while he was here.

 

[Nineteen67]

Good, no mercy for the lying press. They can learn to code.

They probably learned to code and created the Chat AI BS that compiles and regurgitates their lies.

 

[TheTotalPackage]

Kessel is talking smack winning 3 cups as a third liner what about as the top line player did anyone ask him that?

His Stanley Cup rings look no different than Crosby's and Malkin's. His name is forever etched on the Cup three times as well. No one in 5 years let alone 50 is going to give a crap if he was on the 1st or 3rd line or eating popcorn in the pressbox.

 

[WillNy29]

Good, no mercy for the lying press. They can learn to code.

you mean the lugenpresse? where have I heard that before

 

[MilkofthePoppy]

you mean the lugenpresse? where have I heard that before

Wherever you heard it, it was an accurate assessment. The media is nothing more than rumor mongers and trash rummagers. Good riddance.

 

[The Iceman]

His Stanley Cup rings look no different than Crosby's and Malkin's. His name is forever etched on the Cup three times as well. No one in 5 years let alone 50 is going to give a crap if he was on the 1st or 3rd line or eating popcorn in the pressbox.

Hot dogs in the press box, not popcorn.

 

[TheTotalPackage]

Hot dogs in the press box, not popcorn.

Well played, and certainly an oversight on my part.

 

[pcruz]

Gabby on the Bob McCown podcast just shred the common misconceptions of the Leafs fanbase in regards to Florida and the 2nd round loss:

Namely, he explained all about how he coached his team to beat Vegas this year, before getting canned in Vancouver.

Talked about how Vegas preferred to take the punch to the face and then beat Florida between the whistles instead. Toronto fans call this team soft for doing just that.

Talked about the change in Eichel where he saw a player willing to give up points in order to play a better 200 ft game.
Lauded the rest of the VGK for doing just the same.

 

[Mess]

 

[TMLBlueandWhite]

Rogers and Bell buying this team has been nothing but bad.

Giving customers the corporate finger is their specialty. Give an inch and they'll take a mile. Or, in this case, give a penny and they take a dollar.

It's one thing to ice a loser hockey team every year.

But this franchise goes the extra mile. By controlling the media that would otherwise report honestly about the teams circumstances. So the halfwits in charge can escape all criticism.

Just astonishing levels of arrogance.

I don't even know why I care anymore. Nothing is ever gonna change. Not so long as making money is the priority of everyone in the entire organization.

It's my fault for expecting these guys to care about winning.

 

[Nineteen67]

View attachment 718806

There will be zero positive talk about the nhl and they’ll only discuss it when they they can create a negative story. Very much the same with blue jays, so it'll probably do OK in that market.

 

[pcruz]

Rogers and Bell buying this team has been nothing but bad.

Giving customers the corporate finger is their specialty. Give an inch and they'll take a mile. Or, in this case, give a penny and they take a dollar.

It's one thing to ice a loser hockey team every year.

But this franchise goes the extra mile. By controlling the media that would otherwise report honestly about the teams circumstances. So the halfwits in charge can escape all criticism.

Just astonishing levels of arrogance.

I don't even know why I care anymore. Nothing is ever gonna change. Not so long as making money is the priority of everyone in the entire organization.

It's my fault for expecting these guys to care about winning.

I remember when the teachers were going to buy the team, it was the same story then.

It was the same thing when teacher sold.

Leafs fans are never happy.

You claim the only goal is to make money, but somehow ignore that the team has by a gigantic margin, the biggest and most extensive staff in the NHL.
They have done all they could to bury bad contracts, and went as far as trading for Horton who was injured and never would play again, all because the insurance claim for him had been denied and Toronto didn't mind paying the real money to the player whole he was on LTIR.

The truth doesn't, in any way, match the accusations of not wanting to ice a winning team.

It's just sour grapes and willful ignorance that leads to those claims.

 

[TMLBlueandWhite]

I remember when the teachers were going to buy the team, it was the same story then.

It was the same thing when teacher sold.

Leafs fans are never happy.

You claim the only goal is to make money, but somehow ignore that the team has by a gigantic margin, the biggest and most extensive staff in the NHL.
They have done all they could to bury bad contracts, and went as far as trading for Horton who was injured and never would play again, all because the insurance claim for him had been denied and Toronto didn't mind paying the real money to the player whole he was on LTIR.

The truth doesn't, in any way, match the accusations of not wanting to ice a winning team.

It's just sour grapes and willful ignorance that leads to those claims.

If winning was a priority, then these players will take less this time around, Keefe will be fired, Dubas would have been fired for performance related reasons, and one of the core four would have been traded by now.

The lack of accountability in this organization Leafs me to believe they don't really care about winning.

It's all about the money.

 

[pcruz]

If winning was a priority, then these players will take less this time around, Keefe will be fired, Dubas would have been fired for performance related reasons, and one of the core four would have been traded by now.

The lack of accountability in this organization Leafs me to believe they don't really care about winning.

It's all about the money.

Do you prefer a Hurricane model:

Win a cup, make a final, then spend 18 years in obscurity.

Or be a team that for 7 consecutive years is improving and breaking franchise records, with players doing things never before done in the 106 year history of the franchise?

Always with the chance to win given any number or small changes to their fortune or the fortune of their opponents.

 

[Nineteen67]

Do you prefer a Hurricane model:

Win a cup, make a final, then spend 18 years in obscurity.

Or be a team that for 7 consecutive years is improving and breaking franchise records, with players doing things never before done in the 106 year history of the franchise?

Always with the chance to win given any number or small changes to their fortune or the fortune of their opponents.

Winning a Cup and making a final and going 18yrs still being better than the franchise that won one round in the same 20 yr period.

I can’t speak for everyone but I think that’s a no brainer.

 

[Larcos_Unal]

Feel for Al's brother but let's face it, he and Tocheri running a radio show was absolute amateur hour shit.

 

[TMLBlueandWhite]

Do you prefer a Hurricane model:

Win a cup, make a final, then spend 18 years in obscurity.

Or be a team that for 7 consecutive years is improving and breaking franchise records, with players doing things never before done in the 106 year history of the franchise?

Always with the chance to win given any number or small changes to their fortune or the fortune of their opponents.

Yes actually.

I would much rather have a cup, another cup finals appearance, and a bunch of series wins the last twenty years, than what the Leafs have accomplished.

I'm surprised I have to even say that.

Carolina has vastly outperformed the Leafs the last twenty years.

It's not even close.