Corus Entertainment to slash 300 more jobs

Media company reports losses grew to 769.9M in its latest quarter

- ANA PEREIRA

Corus Entertainment, Canada's largest independent media company and parent of Global News, said it is planning hundreds more layoffs and several programming changes as it attempts to avoid what analysts have called a looming bankruptcy.

Along with reporting a loss in revenue in the third-quarter, Corus announced Monday that it will be reducing its full-time headcount by 300 employees in the next two months. By August, it will have shed 800 positions, or 25 per cent of its workforce, since the beginning of the 2023 fiscal year.

Corus also said it will cease operating "two legacy AM radio stations" in Vancouver and Edmonton. Three weeks ago, it cancelled Global TV's Big Brother Canada after 12 years on air.

On Monday, Corus reported a loss of $769.9 million in the third quarter compared with a loss of $495.1 million a year earlier. Revenue decreased by 16 per cent in the quarter to $332 million.

Television revenue in the quarter dropped to $308.2 million compared with $3712 million last year, while radio revenue slipped 9.9 per cent to $23.6 million versus $26.2 million a year earlier.

Over the past year, the broadcaster has been treading water as advertising spending on mainstream television plummeted, competition from foreign streaming giants ramped up, all while regulatory spending requirements on Canadian programming hampered profitability.