Is Toronto sport radio ready for a dedicated daily basketball show?

[digitalallstar]

I'm a field tech that drives around the city everyday and I yearn for a steady dose of basketball talk and analysis. I get some of that from YouTube but it's kind of hard to consume that content while I'm driving. Podcasts are a good solution but I find that most of those shows that have hardcore Raptors content usually have a hard time garnering analysis from a range of external sources so they tend to get tunnel vision when it comes to the Raptors. American podcasts are usually thin on Raptors and can be biased. I feel like an hour long slot on Fan590 or TSN1050 during the day would satisfy most fans.

Historically the local stations have had dedicated 1 hour for Hockey or Baseball around mid day. Both local stations have upped their hockey content to 2 hours. I usually turn off the radio during those times. It's become nothing more than puckheads bantering about the same stuff everyday with stale analysis and a never ending drone of cliches and cutting to commercial with heavy metal guitar riffs. It's a culture stuck in the past.

I know most of the answers on this board would be yes, we're ready. But do you think we're at a point where a dedicated hour in this city would be a net positive for these stations. Would it draw enough of an audience to drive profit for Rogers or Bell? If the local stations decide to host an hour long show, who would you like to host? What regular personalities would you like to have on a round table. What do you guys think?

[Bull-E]

After years of neglect, I'm too jaded by our local sports radio to care if they ever put any real focus on basketball. I prefer to put my support behind those Podcasts that you're speaking about. I actually find more insightful analysis on those than any of the mainstream generalist fluff radio usually provides.

[joseph227]

Hockey and baseball have their own shows because most radio listeners are boomers. Basketball has a younger fanbase and know how to put on a podcast...

[Scott Hall]

Yeah can't remember the last time I listened to radio...

Also why did the Fan 590 ever get rid of Hoops? Still to bad longtime caller Raptorize John never got to see the Chip

[planetmars]

I hate the 2 hour "hockey lunch" or whatever they call it. I was listening to the radio the other day and they had an hour dedicated to the Leafs.. and that was before their 2 hour segment. Raps just won the chip and they still get no love. It's disgusting.

Podcasts have to be downloaded, synced up etc.. It's sometimes just convenient to turn on the radio as you are in traffic. So yes, they should definitely have at least one hour dedicated to the NBA.

I would put two guys on the show that scream at each other. Make it as entertaining as possible. Very little analysis to start off. Then slowly after a year or two bring in insightful guests/hosts that know what they are talking about. At that point the casuals will learn more about the game and can understand the nuances. Can't shock them out of the gate, or else nobody will listen.

It really is a shame that the Raptors are owned by a media company, but the same media company owned channels don't promote their product well enough. We just saw how much the Raptors are valued at as well. It's so bizarre.

[TorontoBaller]

I turn on the radio and check 590 and 1050

If they're talking pucks I turn on music.

Sometimes they talk nba... but it's seldom.

[Reeko]

Tim and Sid were pretty much the only radio show that would talk about the Raptors with any kind of consistency or knowledge. Now that they are on tv, there is nothing left on radio. A basketball radio show will probably come soon, now that the demographic that grew up watching the Raptors from its inception is reaching the ages of 30-40.

[Tor_Raps]

it's why i listen to Sirius NBA Radio majority of the time.

[raptorlife2]

I called the fan after they recently changed their format and asked why they wouldnt put a daily Hoops show on mid day.

The program director had no interest in hearing it.

They do have a weekly show called hoops but its on at midnight which is stupid

Tim and SId are now on the radio at 5pm they do talk more Raptors. however it would be nice if there was a daily NBA show at 1pm seeing that the defending champs live here

[TravisScott55]

Toronto sports radio is trash. They talk more about the Jays than the Raptors.

[SHFT]

We definitely do but I personally dont care what Rogers and Bell employees are going to say about their own team lol. IMO it would be more tunnel vision than a potentially biased fan doing a podcast actually trying to present something unbiased. Employees of the corportation will always toe the line.

Right now it doesnt matter to me because a 15 game streak deserves a ton of praise but before in the Lowry / Demar era we had glaring holes about our franchise guy. Employees for TSN and Sportsnet are never going to call that out (obviously) and it strings the fans along.

Imo its the one drawback of Rogers / Bell owning the team. They own the media they can print and say whatever they want. (To be clear i like them as owners, cant have everything)

Sent from my LG-H915 using RealGM mobile app

[SFour]

podcasts are the new wave...Bill Simmons just sold his The Ringer podcast to Spotify for $250 million....if you have spotify just go to the podcasts sports section and there a bunch of NBA podcasts, and Raptors podcasts. Radios are for older people, which is why Leafs and Blue jays get so much air time.

some good basketball podcasts on Spotify:

The Lowe Post
All The Smoke (Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson are the hosts)
The Ringer NBA Show
No Dunks (Tas, Skeets - guys from The Starters)
Raptors Over Everything

[J-Roc]

With the various podcasts, including the ability to listen to the basketball clips from current radio shows, why would we need something else? And I think those interview with US media, by our media, are overrated, because those guys will play up to the audience. I'd rather hear Kendrick Perkins give us props on a US show, than on Tim and Sid or Overdrive.

[Zeno]

We definitely do but I personally dont care what Rogers and Bell employees are going to say about their own team lol. IMO it would be more tunnel vision than a potentially biased fan doing a podcast actually trying to present something unbiased. Employees of the corportation will always toe the line.

Right now it doesnt matter to me because a 15 game streak deserves a ton of praise but before in the Lowry / Demar era we had glaring holes about our franchise guy. Employees for TSN and Sportsnet are never going to call that out (obviously) and it strings the fans along.

Imo its the one drawback of Rogers / Bell owning the team. They own the media they can print and say whatever they want. (To be clear i like them as owners, cant have everything)

Sent from my LG-H915 using RealGM mobile app

I’m not a Leafs fan, but is that really the case, whenever I actually turn on the radio and hear them talking Leafs they seem overwhelmingly negative. Watching on NBA league pass, some basketball broadcasts are definitely selling something. You can definitely feel the team influencing the broadcasts. Ours is not excluded from this though not the worst. But on radio, it seems more arms length with Tim and Sid for example or Jd Bunkis and Donovan Bennett.

[Kingsway_fan]

Hockey and baseball have their own shows because most radio listeners are boomers. Basketball has a younger fanbase and know how to put on a podcast...

So true.... baseball and hockey have one thing in common..mostly old white dudes following... old school ... in my neighborhood... very true.... but demographics are changing so that is reflected in direction we are headed... which is great for Raptor and basketball fans....

[digitalallstar]

I think there's a missed opportunity here for advertisers. I'm 42 now and I'm at the peak of my spending power. I am also pretty adept with technology. It's my career. But I'm getting to that age, as someone mentioned earlier, where turning on the radio in my service vehicle and having it play in the background is just easier.

[digitalallstar]

it's why i listen to Sirius NBA Radio majority of the time.

I really don't want to pay for content. I'd rather have to listen to a couple of minutes of advertising. My Bell bill is high enough.

[dgr81]

it's why i listen to Sirius NBA Radio majority of the time.

this.

i refuse to give either toronto sports station a single listen. they can keep their 24/7 hockey talk to themselves.

[dgr81]

it's why i listen to Sirius NBA Radio majority of the time.

I really don't want to pay for content. I'd rather have to listen to a couple of minutes of advertising. My Bell bill is high enough.

you can do 30 day sirius trials every 30 days.

takes a minute every month.

[GED Education]

I have yet to find a person in Toronto who talks about the Jays with such interest in December than the guys at the Fan590.