CBC Vancouver is dropping its veteran weatherman Phil Reimer from its dinner-hour and late-night news after 19 years on the job.

Effective Sept. 2, the change also affects Reimer’s four-year forecasting job on CBC Newsworld’s The National.

cbc regional director Donna Logan says weather reports will be read by the anchor. The change, she explains, is due to budget constraints and the fact that weather news is available through more media such as The Weather Network.

Without the cost of Reimer’s contract and the time and effort required to do the outdoor stand-ups, the news programs will realize considerable cost savings, says Logan, though she could not be specific.

Logan would not confirm other rumors that sports coverage is being chopped to 90-second highlights and three weekly features and that the newscast will comprise 10 minutes of headline news followed by features and analysis. Those decisions will be made later in August, she says.

Reimer, meanwhile, will focus on his production company Philmer Marketing, which has produced 160 television shows including Doctor, Doctor.