Corus Entertainment Inc. expects to reduce 25 percent of its full-time workforce by the end of next month compared to the start of its fiscal 2023, as the company continues to "aggressively cut costs."

The job losses, which amount to around 800 positions, come during a tumultuous year for the Toronto-based broadcaster, which is mired in declining advertising revenues, regulatory challenges, and licensing battles.

Corus announced on Monday a loss attributable to shareholders of $769.9 million in the latest quarter compared to a loss of $495.1 million a year earlier as its revenue declined by 16 percent. The company’s total revenue in the third quarter was $331.8 million, down from $397.3 million a year earlier.

This decline came as television revenue fell in the quarter by 17 percent to $308.2 million compared to $371.2 million a year ago, while radio revenue declined by 9.9 percent to $23.6 million compared to $26.2 million in the previous year.

Co-CEO John Gosling said during a conference call with analysts, "We are making tough decisions to shut down lines of business that we can no longer sustain and temporarily halt long-term development activities while we implement efficiency initiatives."

"Our plan is to emerge as a smaller but more profitable company with a sustainable future."

The company attributed the drop in advertising this year partly to the residual effects of the 2023 Hollywood strikes that delayed the production of key programming, along with inflationary and competitive challenges.

In May, Canada's broadcasting regulator approved the company's request to ease some Canadian content spending requirements after it warned of an increasingly dire financial situation. The CRTC noted that the risk of Corus exiting the Canadian broadcasting landscape "would significantly reduce the options available to Canadian viewers for content."

Then last month, the company lost rights to major brands like HGTV, Food Network, Cooking Channel, Magnolia Network, and OWN, effective at the end of this year.

This was due to Rogers Communications Inc. signing a multi-year deal with Warner Bros. Discovery for popular lifestyle and entertainment brands in Canada starting January 1.

Rogers is also set to acquire Canadian programming rights from Bell Media for television channels such as Discovery Channel Canada, Discovery Velocity, Discovery Science, and Animal Planet.

Corus shortly thereafter announced that Doug Murphy would retire from the top position and that Gosling and fellow executive Troy Reeb had been appointed as co-CEOs.

Reeb told analysts that Corus intends to continue providing domestic content and cooking content under the new brands of television channels following the Warner Bros. deal with Rogers.

He said the company is exploring "all legal and regulatory remedies" in response to that agreement, stating, "Our intention is to do what we need to do to protect our business."

Reeb and Gosling declined to provide further details, such as whether Corus would follow Bell Media's lead by seeking an injunction to prevent the broadcast of Warner Bros. Discovery content when Rogers takes over as the rights holder.

Gosling said, "I don't think we want to reveal the overall strategy at this stage, but... don't assume that our only line of defense is through the regulatory body."

Corus reported that its losses in the third quarter amounted to $3.86 per diluted share for the quarter ended May 31, compared to a loss of $2.48 per diluted share in the same quarter last year.

On a normalized basis, Corus says it lost $0.10 per share in this quarter compared to a normalized profit of $0.09 per share last year.

The company's shares fell four cents, or 20 percent, to 16 cents on Monday morning.

Drew McReynolds, an RBC analyst, noted in a memo that "given the operating environment that continues to face challenges," Corus shares are expected to remain "under pressure."

As part of Corus's cost-cutting plan, Reeb said the company’s news division "will continue to drive industry-leading efficiency efforts," relying on digital technology to continue creating local content.

He stated that the company must "double down on efforts to reduce legacy costs, not just in news, but across all areas of the business."

He said, "We are fortunate at Corus because we have a tremendous legacy in our brands."

"But that does not mean we have to carry old cost structures as well."