(January 12, 2011) Change is the operative word in the sports radio business these days with TSN contemplating a dive into the sports talk radio pool. Not to be outdone, competitor Rogers is re-branding its radio station in Toronto as Sportsnet Radio The Fan 590 and in Calgary as Sportsnet Radio The Fan 960. The idea is to extend the Sportsnet brand throughout Rogers’ holdings and create a more homogeneous feel inside and outside the company.

The announcement was made in a press release Wednesday from Rogers executive Scott Moore. Much money and credibility have been invested in the FAN brand since it began at CJCL 1430 in 1992, so it was kept as part of the title. But Sportsnet Radio will speak to the Rogers brand, say sources there, and help with a much-needed integration of the image.

Industry insiders have described Rogers as a silo operation where the various arms of the company – TV, radio, publications, cable, cell phones – have traditionally had little co-operation with one another. In some cases it has been more like open hostility between the branches of the company. The Sportsnet people would rather have chewed ground glass than promote FAN 590 and vice versa. The challenge for the new management of Rogers Media under president Keith Pelley is to allow for cross-promotion and co-operation – long a strong suit of CTV.

The silo effect is not uncommon. When Usual Suspects worked at CBC in the 1980s and ‘90s, the resentment between radio and TV, national and local departments bordered on open warfare. It was an industry joke that press conferences had one crew from each of Global, CTV and CITY – and five crews from CBC.

But successive managements have quelled much of that by integrating promotions, assignment desks and staffing. While traditionalists howled every step of the way, the moves have saved crucial money and created a more unified promotional face for CBC. Rogers hopes it works the same for them.