The decline of Vancouver sports media & its effect on Lions

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Sir Purrcival
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And that is why they are loosing the likes of fans like me. I detest Facebook and really want nothing to do with twitter either. It may be the way of today but I'm not really willing to make the switch. I have made my living with computers and the last thing that I want to do is to live my life through them. I'm sure someday, we may not even play the games anymore. Some form of computer simulation will take over. The art of conversation, the trust in a good and knowledgeable reporter/writer all appear to be disappearing in the maw of keyboarding in the virtual world. "Surrogates" may not be that far off.
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David
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B.C.FAN wrote:Twitter is the favourite platform of journalists, news junkies and U.S. presidents, but more people rely on Facebook for news and information. Here are the comparative numbers for Facebook and Instagram
Never sure how accurate these "follows" are to begin with. I am surprised/not surprised (given Vancouver media's soft spot for the Whitecaps) that this didn't receive any play here, but some guy in the States recently took the time to do an audit of all the MLS teams to determine activity of alleged Twitter followers, and discovered that only a combined 27% of Vancouver Whitecaps followers are real (not sure of all the metrics but I think it has to do with things like re-tweets etc). Seems the club has been fudging its numbers - in a big way!

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DH :cool:
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SammyGreene
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Hardly surprised at all to see the Whitecaps manufacturing their interest and popularity. TV numbers and general discussion about the club is more of a real indication of interest.

Rogers have announced today they have purchased CISL 650 and turning it into an all-sports station. So that's where the Canucks have landed and Bell's competition has arrived. What happens to the Lions broadcasts rights now? What on air personalities jump over to 650?

http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/spor ... tion-fall/
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David
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SammyGreene wrote:Rogers have announced today they have purchased CISL 650 and turning it into an all-sports station. So that's where the Canucks have landed and Bell's competition has arrived. What happens to the Lions broadcasts rights now? What on air personalities jump over to 650?
Interesting times. Being a Rogers owned station, I don't expect the Leos/CFL to get a lot of love over there. Mind you, I don't think they get the attention they deserve on TSN and they own the rights!! As for personalities, I would not be surprised to see Rick Dhaliwal jump over from News1130 (at least he's proven himself to be firmly in the Lions' corner through the years) and it will be interesting to see where Scott Rintoul ends up. He's the Lions play-by-play announcer of course, but he was let go by TSN1040. A capable host.

In other news, I heard that Barry MacDonald has taken a buy-out at TSN1040 which is why we haven't heard him in the afternoon drive time slot for the past couple of months. I figured he was on depression leave again (I like MacDonald very much - he's a skilled interviewer). Never could figure out though why they needed 3 guys in that slot (Donny and Moj....plus you throw in the kid who gets a lot of air time, and it's a crowded booth!).

No word on Bro Jake in the mornings who hasn't been heard from in a couple of months either, but I smell a rat there. I've noted many more lively, heated debates now with Sat Shah and other guest hosts. Jake simply doesn't know enough about sports to take a firm stand against Pratt. He may be a sponsor's best friend, but he certainly doesn't do much for all-sports radio.


DH :cool:
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Hambone
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David wrote:
SammyGreene wrote:Rogers have announced today they have purchased CISL 650 and turning it into an all-sports station. So that's where the Canucks have landed and Bell's competition has arrived. What happens to the Lions broadcasts rights now? What on air personalities jump over to 650?
Interesting times. Being a Rogers owned station, I don't expect the Leos/CFL to get a lot of love over there. Mind you, I don't think they get the attention they deserve on TSN and they own the rights!! As for personalities, I would not be surprised to see Rick Dhaliwal jump over from News1130 (at least he's proven himself to be firmly in the Lions' corner through the years) and it will be interesting to see where Scott Rintoul ends up. He's the Lions play-by-play announcer of course, but he was let go by TSN1040. A capable host.

In other news, I heard that Barry MacDonald has taken a buy-out at TSN1040 which is why we haven't heard him in the afternoon drive time slot for the past couple of months. I figured he was on depression leave again (I like MacDonald very much - he's a skilled interviewer). Never could figure out though why they needed 3 guys in that slot (Donny and Moj....plus you throw in the kid who gets a lot of air time, and it's a crowded booth!).

No word on Bro Jake in the mornings who hasn't been heard from in a couple of months either, but I smell a rat there. I've noted many more lively, heated debates now with Sat Shah and other guest hosts. Jake simply doesn't know enough about sports to take a firm stand against Pratt. He may be a sponsor's best friend, but he certainly doesn't do much for all-sports radio.

DH :cool:
Too bad re: B-Mac. I like him too. Terrific sense of humour. I especially used to like when he and Taylor would get going on something with the double entendres. They'd just be cracking each up the further down into the gutter they got. Just could tell the could easily go farther but preferred to stay employed. I'd noticed Jake being inconspicuously absent lately but thought the same re: Pratt earlier in the winter. Didn't know if there was a reason or just a case of vacation time for both. Doesn't much matter. I was only able to pick up the show on my 10 minute morning commutes when winter atmospheric conditions up north allowed it in both FSJohn and now 100 Mile House. Those are over so I won't be able to pick it up again until late fall.
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David wrote:
SammyGreene wrote:Rogers have announced today they have purchased CISL 650 and turning it into an all-sports station. So that's where the Canucks have landed and Bell's competition has arrived. What happens to the Lions broadcasts rights now? What on air personalities jump over to 650?
Interesting times. Being a Rogers owned station, I don't expect the Leos/CFL to get a lot of love over there. Mind you, I don't think they get the attention they deserve on TSN and they own the rights!! As for personalities, I would not be surprised to see Rick Dhaliwal jump over from News1130 (at least he's proven himself to be firmly in the Lions' corner through the years) and it will be interesting to see where Scott Rintoul ends up. He's the Lions play-by-play announcer of course, but he was let go by TSN1040. A capable host.

In other news, I heard that Barry MacDonald has taken a buy-out at TSN1040 which is why we haven't heard him in the afternoon drive time slot for the past couple of months. I figured he was on depression leave again (I like MacDonald very much - he's a skilled interviewer). Never could figure out though why they needed 3 guys in that slot (Donny and Moj....plus you throw in the kid who gets a lot of air time, and it's a crowded booth!).

No word on Bro Jake in the mornings who hasn't been heard from in a couple of months either, but I smell a rat there. I've noted many more lively, heated debates now with Sat Shah and other guest hosts. Jake simply doesn't know enough about sports to take a firm stand against Pratt. He may be a sponsor's best friend, but he certainly doesn't do much for all-sports radio.


DH :cool:
I would suspect you hear Dhaliwal on both stations, 1130 and 650. 1130 is also a Rogers property so he wouldn't necessarily be "jumping" to another outlet. Rick gives us lots of mention on air and if James Cybulski has a prominent role at the new station, he has been on 1130 the last few months, I could see him also talking lots of football as he does excellent work with Davis Sanchez on CFL.ca.

I fought this battle at 1040 for years and hate to do it again here but would respectfully dis-agree that the station doesn't do enough Lions. Especially in season when they will have two Wally hits, multiple player interviews, several Lowell appearances and various TSN panel members on shows per week. Last season they upped the coverage even more by sending the afternoon show on a few road trips for extended game coverage. It's the same in every CFL market minus Saskatchewan: Hockey talk will dominate because that's what listeners want the most. I highly doubt SNET 960 in Calgary, TSN 1260 in Edmonton, TSN 1200 in Ottawa, TSN 690 in Montreal and TSN 1050 in Toronto have more football than hockey talk. It's the same in virtually every market except Regina.. More hockey talk because that's what listeners want. But I would also stack 1040's CFL coverage up against any of those, minus Regina. Maybe an unpopular take on here, but I feel I know a bit about this topic.
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David
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I respectfully disagree Matt. No one on here would reasonably expect Lions coverage to mirror that of the Canucks, or really, even come close. Hockey is Canadian sports talk radio's security blanket. Station execs and hosts know (as you're well aware) that they can bring up hockey discussion 12 months a year and there will be no shortage of interest among its listeners. I get that.

A better comparison is how CFL is covered vs NFL. While I agree that 6 months a year TSN1040 gives the Lions a pretty good ride (and in fairness, I have documented examples on this board how they send their staff to Kamloops to cover camp, and BMac and Donnie went to Montreal and provided some great on-air interviews etc.), AFTER the last Sunday of November, it's basically tumbleweeds. Spaghetti Westerns. Sergio Leone. Cue the theme to Ennio Morricone's "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly."

I'll document all of the NFL-Seahawk insiders they line up during the off-season (Doug Ferrar, Mitch Berger, Charean Williams, Don Banks, Alex Marvez, Ion Rapoport....shall I go on??). CFL/Lions coverage pales by comparison. Again, I accept that the CFL and Lions aren't everyone's cup of tea. It's not like I expect air time in equal doses (although this is a Canadian market, not American - I wish it weren't the case), I think they sell their listeners short in terms of talking points. Yes, Matt Sekeres is pretty good about having Wally Buono on his show 12 months of the year, and when big stories break they usually have it covered (I recall Jovan being interviewed after the trade, and JJ when he was in town not long ago). But those are few and far between.

What about more national guys like Duane Forde to give us draft insight? Or Gary Lawless to talk about the fall of Jeffrey Orridge and some search committee names? Matt Dunigan to tell us whether Vince Young will succeed or fail? Those are off the top of my head and I could come up with 5-10 questions for each of them to engage listeners. It's not rocket science.



DH :cool:
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David wrote:I respectfully disagree Matt. No one on here would reasonably expect Lions coverage to mirror that of the Canucks, or really, even come close. Hockey is Canadian sports talk radio's security blanket. Station execs and hosts know (as you're well aware) that they can bring up hockey discussion 12 months a year and there will be no shortage of interest among its listeners. I get that.

A better comparison is how CFL is covered vs NFL. While I agree that 6 months a year TSN1040 gives the Lions a pretty good ride (and in fairness, I have documented examples on this board how they send their staff to Kamloops to cover camp, and BMac and Donnie went to Montreal and provided some great on-air interviews etc.), AFTER the last Sunday of November, it's basically tumbleweeds. Spaghetti Westerns. Sergio Leone. Cue the theme to Ennio Morricone's "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly."

I'll document all of the NFL-Seahawk insiders they line up during the off-season (Doug Ferrar, Mitch Berger, Charean Williams, Don Banks, Alex Marvez, Ion Rapoport....shall I go on??). CFL/Lions coverage pales by comparison. Again, I accept that the CFL and Lions aren't everyone's cup of tea. It's not like I expect air time in equal doses (although this is a Canadian market, not American - I wish it weren't the case), I think they sell their listeners short in terms of talking points. Yes, Matt Sekeres is pretty good about having Wally Buono on his show 12 months of the year, and when big stories break they usually have it covered (I recall Jovan being interviewed after the trade, and JJ when he was in town not long ago). But those are few and far between.

What about more national guys like Duane Forde to give us draft insight? Or Gary Lawless to talk about the fall of Jeffrey Orridge and some search committee names? Matt Dunigan to tell us whether Vince Young will succeed or fail? Those are off the top of my head and I could come up with 5-10 questions for each of them to engage listeners. It's not rocket science.



DH :cool:
What do you think they are talking about on TSN 990 Montreal this week? Alouettes mini-camp or Habs post mortem? Ditto for the Senators playoff run on the Ottawa station. And both those stations are the rightsholders for those CFL teams.

I see what you are saying about offseason talk maybe a bit lacking, but I tried it many times when I worked there and nothing but crickets. Most listeners don't care what goes on in other CFL cities so the Vince Young topic probably not a good one to pursue... I wish I was wrong, but just stating the facts and listener demographics. Canucks draft lottery hopes and new head coach are now topics of the week... So on that front I encourage you and everyone else to keep it locked to BCLions.com for all the daily mini-camp talk! Plenty more to come and I posed a new topic with my mini-camp preview and positional breakdown.
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David
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What do you think they are talking about on TSN 990 Montreal this week? Alouettes mini-camp or Habs post mortem? Ditto for the Senators playoff run on the Ottawa station. And both those stations are the rightsholders for those CFL teams.
What part of "I don't expect Lions coverage to mirror that of Canucks" or "the better comparison is CFL vs NFL" did you miss? Please don't insult my intelligence. I know that hockey playoffs, a new coach, and the NHL draft are going to dominate coverage. I am saying there's 6 months of off-season and many available guest spots and important off-season league initiatives that TSN1040 completely ignores.

When you say you had crickets, no one is asking for listeners to call in when there is CFL discussion or guests. I am just asking for a little more parity when it comes to football talk, which is almost completely one-sided in favour of the NFL. If people aren't interested, it's quite likely that listeners who follow the league know it's a complete joke when it comes to getting any substantive CFL news from that station and don't bother tuning in.

BCLions.com? Appreciate the fine work you do but it's preaching to the converted. I am very worried about the tens of thousands of casual and non-fans getting exposed to the ever-dwindling and segmented Lions content. True story. About 3 or 4 months ago I was wearing a Lions jacket that featured the 60th anniversary logo. A older guy stopped me outside the grocery store to study the logo. He said - in all seriousness I might add - "the Lions? Are they still around?"



DH :cool:
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David wrote:
What do you think they are talking about on TSN 990 Montreal this week? Alouettes mini-camp or Habs post mortem? Ditto for the Senators playoff run on the Ottawa station. And both those stations are the rightsholders for those CFL teams.
What part of "I don't expect Lions coverage to mirror that of Canucks" or "the better comparison is CFL vs NFL" did you miss? Please don't insult my intelligence. I know that hockey playoffs, a new coach, and the NHL draft are going to dominate coverage. I am saying there's 6 months of off-season and many available guest spots and important off-season league initiatives that TSN1040 completely ignores.

When you say you had crickets, no one is asking for listeners to call in when there is CFL discussion or guests. I am just asking for a little more parity when it comes to football talk, which is almost completely one-sided in favour of the NFL. If people aren't interested, it's quite likely that listeners who follow the league know it's a complete joke when it comes to getting any substantive CFL news from that station and don't bother tuning in.

BCLions.com? Appreciate the fine work you do but it's preaching to the converted. I am very worried about the tens of thousands of casual and non-fans getting exposed to the ever-dwindling and segmented Lions content. True story. About 3 or 4 months ago I was wearing a Lions jacket that featured the 60th anniversary logo. A older guy stopped me outside the grocery store to study the logo. He said - in all seriousness I might add - "the Lions? Are they still around?"



DH :cool:
I've heard stories like your encounter as well and to be honest I think it is either just plain ignorance or people trying to be smart asses that make comments like that. Not because of how much media coverage the team gets.
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Wally on with Moj tonight saying he was glad to hear Scott Rintoul was coming back to 1040 to do play by play this coming season. So the rights aren't going anywhere. Not sure if Scotty reconsiders if Rogers offers him a full time gig.
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David wrote:
No word on Bro Jake in the mornings who hasn't been heard from in a couple of months either, but I smell a rat there. I've noted many more lively, heated debates now with Sat Shah and other guest hosts. Jake simply doesn't know enough about sports to take a firm stand against Pratt. He may be a sponsor's best friend, but he certainly doesn't do much for all-sports radio.


DH :cool:
No major loss.
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ESPN laid off a number of on-air personalities today, including Pierre LeBrun, one of the hockey analysts who does a regular guest spot with Sekeres and Price on TSN 1040. ESPN has lost 10 million subscribers in recent years as viewers cut the cord. This serves as a good warning to the CFL that the TSN gold mine it tapped in the current TV contract may be short-lived.

ESPN Layoffs Target On-Air Personalities
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B.C.FAN wrote:ESPN laid off a number of on-air personalities today, including Pierre LeBrun, one of the hockey analysts who does a regular guest spot with Sekeres and Price on TSN 1040. ESPN has lost 10 million subscribers in recent years as viewers cut the cord. This serves as a good warning to the CFL that the TSN gold mine it tapped in the current TV contract may be short-lived.

ESPN Layoffs Target On-Air Personalities
I don't know if I'm much worried about that. Again it's all part of the changes to all media platforms being driven by ever evolving technology. Centuries ago news was delivered by the town crier or word of mouth. Then came the newspaper followed by radio and television. Every step of the way purveyors of older technology had to adapt and adjust for the way new technology impacted them. Internet and digital will force television to adapt just as it has print and radio. The challenge for the ESPNs and TSNs of the world is how to take the problem that is declining subscribers through cord cutting and turn it into opportunity through streaming and digital. How do they convert what will be lost television revenues into digital and streaming revenues? Sportsnet saw this coming which is a big reason why their blockbuster deal with the NHL isn't strictly for Canada's national television rights to NHL games but also Canada's national digital rights.
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And yet when you wanted watch the CFL online live, you couldn't unless you either had a Rogers Cable account or Cogeco. Neither of which we had in the West. I don't know if that is still the case but since I gave up cable TV few years back, there was no way to stream at the time. Trying to tie alternative media to conventional media is a sure fire way to piss off those who are willing and able to consume content via different means but are stymied by such nonsense as that.
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