By Pakar PBN Article content
Friday marked the on-air debut of Funny 1040, Bell Media’s comedy-focused replacement for TSN 1040, the popular local sports radio station that was abruptly pulled off the air despite nearly 20 years of good ratings.
Funny 1040, Vancouver’s newest radio station, seems unlikely to win over many fans.
Get the latest from Patrick Johnston straight to your inbox
Advertisement 2
Article content
Along with the broadcast launch, Bell fired up a new Twitter account for the station — they had deleted the TSN 1040 account on Tuesday morning, around the time they took over the station’s airwaves remotely — and its first tweet was met with universal condemnation and mockery.
Article content
Canucks Report
Article content
Advertisement 3
Article content
Fans of the former station, which was founded as TEAM 1040 in 2001 before being re-branded to TSN 1040 in 2014, were quick to call out Bell for their destruction of the popular local station and the manner in which they dismissed the station’s staff.
Advertisement 4
Article content
The inaugural tweet was both responded to and quote-tweeted with nearly 1,000 comments in the six hours after it’s release, nearly derisive in tone. Many also mocked Bell’s let’s talk social media initiative, which took place just 1.5 weeks before 1040’s sudden demise.
Advertisement 5
Article content
On top of the flat-out anger towards Bell for shutting down a station that had created a strong sense of community over the years, other commenters took time to share cynicism about the new station’s likely sources of comedians, expressing little expectation that the station will air anything other than big-name comedians, providing little or no space for young up-and-comers.
Advertisement 6
Article content
Recommended from Editorial
-
Don Taylor talks about all-sports radio wars and how ‘I still feel like I have things to say’
-
Vancouver’s TSN 1040 pulled off air as Bell Canada continues with cuts
pjohnston@postmedia.com
Article content
Comments
Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion and encourage all readers to share their views on our articles. Comments may take up to an hour for moderation before appearing on the site. We ask you to keep your comments relevant and respectful. We have enabled email notifications—you will now receive an email if you receive a reply to your comment, there is an update to a comment thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information and details on how to adjust your email settings.