By TSM
EDITED:
As if hockey fans needed another reason to get excited about the return of the #NHL on @Sportsnet …
Welcome to the team, Chris Cuthbert!! 🎙️🌟
➡️ https://t.co/vrMVv3ThuX
Stay tuned for more #NHLonSN broadcast team & coverage details in coming weeks! pic.twitter.com/OEMPmVy9B1
— Sportsnet PR (@SportsnetPR) June 5, 2020
When Christmas comes in June after a really, really, really shitty couple of months. With a ton of respect to TSN and the current talent at Rogers, Jordan Banks just dramatically improved his talent bench. With credit to Brian Burke for the quite, If Chris Cuthbert calls Leafs games the city may very well name schools and roads after Jordan Banks..
I am not sure if any other talent have moved from TSN to Sportsnet since the deal was announced, apologies if I am forgetting you but wow this is really big news for when the games re-start.
ok.. back to regular programming.
Once again, no specific topic du jour instead some quick hits and then this week’s interview with Joe Siddall.
Another casualty of the Corona is the radio ratings that usually go on right now. In normal times we’d be talking about the Spring Book that just hit. Well, I can tell you that the radio business has taken a massive hit. No one is commuting and no one is in their waiting rooms so the overall audience has been destroyed. Here is what I know in the absence of an actual report:
OverDrive continues to lead the way in the sports world. Even in the Corona their radio ratings are not nearly as bad as everyone else’s. They bested Tim and Sid in all demographics and continued to dominate the market even when it is down. One of the biggest ratings losers is the Blair Show. While they beat TSN the audience numbers are tiny and their lead in a few months vs. Cauz was a few points here and there. The morning drive audience was deeply affected by the lack of sports and drive, however, the Fan morning show was higher than TSN’s however from an industry sales executive, “neither station or show is willing to talk about the am drive as a result of this book.
One surprising number in the overall book is that AM 640 has really taken a hit. In some demos and some slots, they are below the sports stations!
All and all the ratings, in my opinion, are only an indication that these are unusual times.
Are you listening to the radio more or less these days?
The NBA has announced it’s plans to get back to playing. The NHL has done the same. Now we wait. Baseball is back in the mid 90’s where owners and players can’t agree on much.
Here is what I have been told by, multiple executives. The NHL would love for Toronto to be a HUB market. The NHL will only have one feed of each game and they really want to have one for Rogers and once for NBC. No broadcasters will be in the arena, instead, they will be in a studio calling from monitors. Bettman really would like Toronto to take advantage of the top Rogers hockey crews. It sounds like Toronto is too unstable to allow the accommodations needed to make that happen. Everyone who is in the arena is going to be tested likely daily so that is another thing that needs to be considered. With probably Toronto out, I am told that the next probable possibility is Edmonton. Multiple sources told me that current PM believes this will be viewed very favorably by those in Alberta which would help re-election (seriously) time. The bottom choice would be Vancouver. The early money is on Las Vegas to be the hub city in the USA.
In baseball, all we are missing is Donald Fehr and Bud Selig and the whole 1990’s MLB war would be right back! Personally, I think many in the media are being used to further one side over the other. I don’t think the public has the appetite to take sides right now. My general sentiment is figure it out or don’t just make up your mind.
Someone in the TV industry said to me this week that what we don’t realize during normal times is that the vast majority of tv shows we watch all follow 1-3 different general storylines. Right now, none of them are different or relatable so many of us are getting bored in the some old same old. I started watching the League last night on FX/HULU- it’s filthy disgusting but hilarious. If you are in fantasy sports and looking for some good sports relatable humor and haven’t seen it you will enjoy this. On the same network, Dave is pretty good too.
If you don’t follow Linda Cohn on Twitter you should be.
What do you mean “Nobody cares about hockey”. Very disappointed and surprised you would make a statement like this @maxkellerman. It’s insulting to this great game, those associated with it ,cover it, and to the passionate fan base here in the United States. #NHLhttps://t.co/mMWYgRj75v
— Linda Cohn (@lindacohn) June 4, 2020
and
For those @Twitter users, like me, losing followers because you care, post and share thoughts, videos, reports of what is going on in our country right now, instead of just sticking to sports, don’t worry about it. As my mother used to say “Their Loss”. Keep being you. ❤️
— Linda Cohn (@lindacohn) June 1, 2020
Finally…
One day, a college quarterback at Central Michigan University who was born, raised and living in Windsor Ontario (just outside of Detroit) got a call from a scout from the Montreal Expos to try out for their team. The rest is history.
You’ve heard him on the radio and you’ve seen him on TV. If you are at all like me you probably don’t know much about Joe Siddall. This is his story and it is a mix of every emotion you have in your arsenal.
After multiple years in the minor leagues, Joe made it to the bigs, playing for the Montreal Expos under Felipe Alou. A defensive catcher he enjoyed stops with the Marlins, Tigers and Red Sox before hanging them up and becoming a bullpen guru for the Tigers.
Joe and his wife, both from Windsor, living in the same neighborhood they grew up in lived what sounds like a typical life with 4 kids until tragically their youngest son Kevin lost a heroic battle to Cancer. Kevin was 14 at the time
In the fog of grieving, Jerry Howarth reached out and the next thing he knew he was the radio play by play voice of the Toronto Blue Jays.
Joe’s a thoughtful broadcaster who has endeared himself to Blue Jays fans of all ages. His mix of personal experience, dedication to honesty and integrity and his family have continued to guide him in his life. Admittedly, I knew very little about the man behind the voice that I’ve grown to like telling me stories while providing analysis. I know some now but look forward to learning more in the future.
Joe and his family are involved in many functions honoring Kevin’s memory. Please consider giving here.
Brought to you by Bleav, Betonline.ag, sleepenvie and Van Der Hout Jewelry.
COMMENTS
According to this tweet, 590 got a 0.6 and TSN a 0.3. Woof. I realize that’s not broken into M25-54, but still.
https://twitter.com/1236/status/1268231165380624389?s=21
At a 0.3, if Overdrive did comparatively well, then the rest of the lineup must be barely registering a pulse.
I’m not surprised The Fan did badly as well. I like Writers Bloc, but Tim/Sid isn’t a radio show. Rest of the day – meh. Can’t believe how badly Rogers and current management ruined a heritage station. They should be replaced.
Also – is Max Kellerman really all that wrong? None of the US sports podcasts I listen to talk hockey at all.
I know it has its fans but I’m not sure it’s a national point of conversation there like football, basketball, baseball.
I don’t understand this part. If the broadcasters muct call the games remotely, then what does it matter where the hub city is located? The “top Rogers hockey crews” can call any game from anywhere if they have no choice but to watch it on TV. They could be in Japan and do it.
TSN1050 looking like financial geniuses if Matt Cauz’s solo show is competing with Deitsch, Blair, and Brunt in the ratings. I sincerely hope no re-org decisions are made based on this book. The Numeris numbers are meaningless once you take car commuters out of the equation. That said, their internal streaming and podcast numbers will tell the real story regarding which shows are keeping their digital audience. Personally, my sports podcast listening is way down since the pandemic set in. I can only listen to so much speculation in a week.
On another matter, Bob’s youtube videos are averaging 1k views in Week 2 of the show. Hopefully he realizes this format is probably not the best one for whatever he had planned for his big return.
I’ve given up on Writer’s Bloc.
While still a Deitsch fan; Blair’s condescending refusal to respect others’ views drove me away and Brunt has become just another “go along to get along” Rogers voice.
It sounds like Bob needs 590 and 590 needs Bob.
The best part of Bob’s show was the roundtable discussions and interviews with guests so I’m not too interested in hearing him kibbitz with random people for 5 minutes. Coupled with this, 590 putting a TV show on radio in the main drive-home slot in this market is insulting to listeners. Still holding out hope for a reunion.
Daniel: I believe those numbers are full day…
@Justin…I agree with your take. Today’s current 590 lineups only reinforce how much we lost when the Roundtables and Bob when engaged with a (high quality & also axed by SN) roster of Canadian and American guests; were shown the door.
The minute segments are no substitute, but they do remind us of what a radio professional sounds like compared to today’s “stars”.
No one covering the Jays has responded to Singh’s tweet. I think that gives it credibility because if he was making it up they would all be rushing to deny it and cry foul. And none of them can publically admit that Singh is telling the truth, because then they are admitting to protecting a bigot. So they are saying nothing so the tweet doesn’t gain more notice and hoping no one in the media investigates it, which no one will because sports journalists protect their own.
What is the Singh tweet?
Bob isn’t coming back. Easy to forget but his numbers were in steady decline before the plug was pulled. It’s conceivable Overdrive would’ve still caught up by this point with him on the air. Also, the YouTube videos are doing just a bit better that Zaun’s were after two weeks, not exactly a ringing endorsement. If he were to say launch a podcast, I’d bet it wouldn’t be in the top 25 of sports after the initial algorithm bump. Don Cherry’s is currently #33, right below 3 wrestling podcasts and above Puck Soup. But the most recent episode is ranked #141.
Demo numbers are here. It’s a 1.4/0.9 for 590/1050 respectively. Which is actually better than I was expecting given there is nothing to talk about for most of the period. Numbers our west held in much better too. How does Calgary drop to just 3.2 from 3.8? More people must be absolute diehards than I thought.
“Bob needs 590 and 590 needs Bob”
That was perfect.
I never laughed out loud so much at anything on network television as I did watching S1 E1
of The League and the birthday song.