Exploring some options in the wake of Fan 960’s unceremonious closure

There is a temptation to treat the closure of Sportsnet 960 The Fan (or Fan 960 as we all called it) as another sad-but-inevitable story about AM radio.

People listen to podcasts now. Advertising revenue is down. Everybody carries a streaming device in their pocket. Rogers claims the station averaged only about 1,200 active listeners between October and May, so the spreadsheet probably made the decision look obvious. 960 and Calgary’s 660 NewsRadio were among six stations closed by Rogers, affecting 80 radio employees and contributing to 230 job losses across its media division.

But reducing this to changing listening habits misses what Calgary has actually lost.

Sportsnet 960 was not simply the frequency where Flames games appeared, it was the daily meeting place for the city’s sports community. It employed broadcasters, producers and reporters. It created hours that needed to be filled with interviews, analysis, arguments and follow-up questions. It gave players, coaches and management somewhere to answer for what was happening.

Most importantly, it paid people to pay attention.

Calgary’s Flames media ensemble was already becoming alarmingly small. But how many reporters will actually be assigned to attend every practice, morning skate and press conferences next season without 960? How many will travel regularly? How many have the time and financial backing to develop sources, notice patterns, and ask the second question when the first answer does not make sense?

In practical terms, Francis and Pike may be the only two obvious daily fixtures left. That is not a criticism of anybody covering the team part-time, nationally or independently. It is a warning about how close Calgary is getting to a marketplace where most Flames information originates only from the Flames themselves.

Team websites, social accounts and in-house video departments produce plenty of content. They do not produce independent journalism. Their job is to promote the organization, not challenge it.

What happens to the games?

The immediate issue is finding somewhere for fans to hear Flames games next season.

Rogers has said it will continue carrying Vancouver Canucks radio broadcasts on another one of its Vancouver properties. It specifically said, however, that Sportsnet will no longer produce Flames radio broadcasts. The Flames were reportedly informed of the decision the day the station closed and are now examining their options. They have yet to release an official statement.

The most obvious existing candidate, perhaps, is QR Calgary at 770 AM. It already operates a news-talk format with a significant sports component and recently signed another three-year agreement to carry Calgary Stampeders games. It has the signal, the sales infrastructure and an audience accustomed to spoken-word programming.

QR could probably accommodate Flames games without becoming an all-sports station. It could add pre-game and post-game programming and perhaps a weekly Flames show.

The problem is that carrying 82 games is not the same as replacing Sportsnet 960. Fans might regain the play-by-play while still losing the morning conversations, afternoon interviews, breaking-news coverage and daily pressure that came with a full-time sports operation.

The more ambitious possibility is Stingray.

When Bell closed TSN 1260 in Edmonton in 2023, Stingray partnered with Jason Gregor’s production company and The Nation Network to launch Sports 1440. The partnership combined a terrestrial radio station with independently produced programming and digital distribution through the OilersNation ecosystem.

The Edmonton experiment provides an almost suspiciously convenient blueprint for Calgary.

Stingray already operates XL 103 and 90.3 AMP Radio in Calgary, and the CRTC recently approved its acquisition of CHUP-FM, giving it three FM stations in the market once that transaction is completed.

Could Stingray convert one of those stations to sports? Perhaps, although abandoning an established music format for a business model Rogers just declared unsustainable would be a serious gamble.

A hybrid approach seems more realistic. Stingray could carry the games on an existing FM station while partnering with an outfit like FlamesNation to produce several hours of daily digital programming. The shows could be streamed live, distributed as podcasts and selectively aired over the radio when schedules allow.

That would not recreate 960 exactly, but it might build something better suited to how people consume audio in 2026.

FlamesNation has an opening

FlamesNation is already closer to filling the discussion gap than anybody else.

Barn Burner airs every weekday and has produced hundreds of episodes with Dean “Boomer” Molberg, Ryan Pinder and Rhett Warrener. It already functions as a digital sports-radio show, complete with live interaction, prominent guests, long-form discussion, and many sponsors and advertisements in the local marketplace.

The next step could perhaps be a larger FlamesNation audio network: a morning program, Barn Burner in its established slot, an afternoon news show and live post-game coverage. Some of the people displaced from 960 could theoretically provide an instant roster of experienced Calgary broadcasters and producers.

The Nation Network also has the advantage of already being involved in the Edmonton radio partnership. This is not a completely new business concept for the company.

But FlamesNation cannot fill the journalism gap merely by creating more talk shows.

Analysis is not reporting. Commentary is not reporting. Reacting to a press conference on YouTube is not the same as having somebody in the room asking the question.

Any serious expansion should include more money for accredited beat coverage, not just more microphones. The opportunity is to build a digital outlet that reports first and reacts second.

Could the Flames simply do it themselves?

Another possibility is for the Flames to produce their own audio broadcasts and distribute them through an app, website, podcast platforms and a terrestrial radio partner.

That arrangement could preserve familiar voices, maintain access throughout southern Alberta and allow the team to control production costs. A local station could purchase or receive the finished broadcast without needing to build an entire sports department.

It would solve the mechanical problem of getting games to listeners.

It would do nothing to solve the larger problem of independent coverage, though. In fact, it could move even more Flames content under the direct control of the organization.

The likely answer is a combination

There may not be another Sportsnet 960.

The economics that killed it will not disappear because fans are angry. A replacement station would still need advertisers, production staff, broadcast equipment, rights agreements and enough listeners to justify the expense.

The best outcome may be a combination of several ideas: a company such as Corus or Stingray carrying the games, the Flames producing or helping finance the broadcast, and FlamesNation expanding its digital programming and reporting operation.

That could keep the games available and give displaced broadcasters somewhere to continue their work.

But Calgary should not lose sight of the larger issue while waiting for a new radio deal.

A professional sports team can be extensively promoted while being poorly covered. There can be endless clips, podcasts, reaction videos and social posts while fewer people are actually gathering original information.

The danger is not that Flames fans will have nothing to consume. There will be more content than ever.

The danger is that fewer and fewer of the people creating it will be paid to go into the room, look the organization in the eye and ask what is really going on.

That is what Calgary lost when 960 went silent.

A weekly watch on the Flames radio-rights situation would be useful until a deal is announced; say the word and I’ll set it up.

Daniel is a lifelong Flames fan who now resides in Windermere, BC.