The abrupt cancellation of national morning show Canada AM after more than four decades on the air came as a shock to fans, as media watchers say it is one more blow to journalism as conventional broadcasters strive to remain profitable in an increasingly fractured media universe.

On Thursday, CTV announced it was cancelling Canada AM, which would have celebrated 44 years this September, and that the final show would be broadcast Friday.

“I must say, it was a bit surreal,” says Seamus O’Regan, a former co-host of the show who is now the member of parliament for St. John’s South. “There is certainly shock that we are losing a very important national voice for news.”

O’Regan was in an Ottawa heritage committee meeting discussing the precipitous state of the Canadian broadcasting industry when he heard the news.

Are you sad to see the cancellation of Canada AM?

“I feel like I’m wearing this black arm band as people are coming up to me to commiserate.”

O’Regan’s co-hosts included CTV chief anchor Lisa LaFlamme and current host Beverly Thomson. He says he decided to fly to Toronto to be present for the final broadcast at CTV studios.

CTV declined to comment beyond their news release. But a spokesperson said a new morning show will be announced next week. Sources say the new hosts are rumoured to be Anne-Marie Mediwake, formerly of the CBC, and E Talk’s Ben Mulroney. A CTV spokesperson said the new show will air in the same time slot as the old Canada AM show.

CTV says Canada AM hosts Beverly Thomson and Marci Ien will remain with Bell Media, while Jeff Hutcheson will retire. Canada AM over the decades has been a venerable brand, created in the wake of the success of U.S. morning television shows such as Today. It has been an incubator for some of the top broadcast talent in Canada and the U.S., including John Roberts, Pamela Wallin, Valerie Pringle and Thalia Assuras.

Conventional broadcasters have seen their earnings badly hurt by the social media landscape. BCE Inc., parent company of Bell Media, has targeted $60 million in cost savings for this year alone.

Jeffrey Dvorkin, director of the journalism program at the University of Toronto and the former ombud and vice-president of news for National Public Radio (NPR), says profit margins are under attack for conventional media broadcasters, as executives struggle to find ways for cost savings “The transition is painful. The larger question is whether these organizations feel any obligation to provide quality information and news rather than just be transmitters of eyeballs to advertisers,” says Dvorkin.

Fans expressed outrage on social media that the show was being cancelled with only a 24 hour warning. The connection between hosts and viewers is especially strong in morning television, where a strong familiarity can develop over viewers listening to television over their first cup of coffee.

“Way to go, CTV destroying a brand that’s four decades old,” said one post.

U of T’s Dvorkin, says CTV likely found it more strategic to move on quickly.

“I guess the preferred approach is to rip the bandage off and get it over with rather than prolong the agony. Just take the hit and move on,” says Dvorkin. “Turning it into a long goodbye could boomerang reputationally.”

O’Regan called the show a major loss for Canadian broadcasting.

“What we have seen and heard from our constituents is that they want Canadian stories and they don’t understand why all these sources are losing money,” says O’Regan. “The question we will have to ask ourselves is, what is the government and industry role in all this?”

Dvorkin says he fears that the replacement show will likely be heavier on entertainment programming and lighter on news.

“The success of morning news shows is that they don’t do a lot of news, there’s less and less reporting and more chat and interviews,” says Dvorkin. “That’s the cheaper way to do television and a lot less costly than having a bureau in Baghdad.”

Mulroney was a former entertainment reporter on Canada AM and is a long-running host on CTV’s entertainment show E Talk. He also honed his morning hosting chops as a guest co-host with Kelly Ripa on the much larger platform of American morning television. If he is the final choice, he will likely bring his celebrity focused expertise to the morning show.

CTV chief political commentator Craig Oliver says, along with many Canadians, he was a “little surprised” that the show ended with only 24 hours notice. “But nothing lasts forever. It had a good run.”

Oliver was the first producer of Canada AM, helping to create the show in 1972 when he was first hired away from the CBC.

Oliver says his then boss (CBC anchor) Knowlton Nash told him it wouldn’t last.

“He said, you’ll be back here (at the CBC) in six months,” said Oliver. “Nobody thought Canadians would watch morning television. The hardest part was just getting people to come in so early in the morning.”

CTV has already gone through some major restructuring at their news divisions, including laying off some well known anchors from their CFTO local Toronto news affiliate last year.

“There is some significant margin contraction due to rising costs of sport content and spending investment,” said one major bank analyst interviewed by the Star who declined to be named.

“They have a commitment to sports, and they have a commitment to other digital ventures such as Crave TV. That leaves some of these traditional shows out in the cold that may or may not survive in this new landscape.”

CTV says their news channel will simulcast in Canada AM’s 6-9 a.m. time slot beginning on Monday till the transition to the new show.

“We are incredibly thankful to our viewers from coast-to-coast-to-coast who have been with us on this journey and a heartfelt part of our TV family all these years,” anchors Thomson, Ien and Hutcheson said in a joint statement. “We are extremely proud of Canada AM. It has been our privilege to be part of this historic Canadian series that brought us the opportunity to work with such an incredible team.”

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They came, they hosted, they conquered. For many of the hosts and anchors of CTV’s Canada AM provided a showcase for their talents and a jumping-off point for a stellar career. Here’s a sampling of some of them and what else they did.

Carole Taylor

First co-host in 1972

Hosted W5, became chair of the CBC 2001-05, Minister of Finance in BC 2005-08, adviser to BC Premier Christy Clark in 2016.

Sandie Rinaldo

Anchor 1980-85

Weekend anchor CTV national news in 1985, reporter and host of W5

Pamela Wallin

Co host 1981-84, 1991-92

Pamela Wallin Live on CBC 1995-99, consul general to New York in 2002, appointed to Canadian Senate 2009.

John (J.D.) Roberts

Co host 1990-92

CBS chief White House correspondent, CNN in 2006 as senior national correspondent, joined Fox news 2011 in same position

Keith Morrison

Co-host 1992-95

Correspondent on DatelineNBC since 1995, appeared on Seinfeld in 1992, stepfather to actor Matthew Perry.

Valerie Pringle

Co-host 1993-2001.

Hosted travel and documentary programs, received Order of Canada in 2006, spokesperson for Canadian Foundation for AIDS Research

Lisa LaFlamme

Co-host 2001-03

Foreign correspondent for CTV National News in 2003, head anchor of CTV National News since 2011.