“Is regular network TV programming dead? These four Canadian broadcast execs say no, it’s evolving.” That’s the headline to a feature I wrote appearing in Saturday’s Toronto Star. Read the full story here if you’re a subscriber or, better yet, buy a copy. People have been writing the network TV obit for years. Tina Fey
Ron MacLean surprised me at the start of the latest edition of brioux.tv: the podcast. The Hockey Night in Canada anchor and host of Battle of the Blades (airing Thursdays on CBC) was asked, as is every guest, just why the heck he was talking to me on the podcast. I ask this each episode
This was a hard year for hockey. The NHL got smacked into the boards in March and was shut down right before another Stanley Cup run. When a plan emerged to mount a 60-day playoff tourney in “The Bubble,” it was always seen for what it was — a way to salvage what remained of
Add August to the months during which The Toronto Maple Leafs can’t win a playoff series. After hitting the draft lottery motherload in 2015 and 2016 and signing free agent John Tavaris, the Leafs have not won a single NHL playoff round. All that promise four years ago — the right coach, the right GM,
How devestating would it be if sports gets shut down again a few days after baseball tries to sneak in a 60 game season? The news that 14 players and team members on the Florida Marlins have been diagnosed with COVID-19 has sent MLB officials scrambling to determine if the pandemic is simply too much
CTV’s at home, virtual upfront presentation for advertisers took a while to start streaming Tuesday afternoon. The same thing happened Monday to Rogers/Citytv/Sportsnet. Before we all make with the media companies that can’t run media jokes, these presentations are complex productions shared with thousands of ad buyers simultaneously, on a variety of systems, across Canada
It now looks like everybody except The DeFranco Family, Dick Assman and Don Cherry will be taking part in Sunday’s all-star, Canadian talent extravaganza, Stronger Together, Tous Ensemble. When the first long list of names were announced, a lot of us wondered: what about Drake? Well, he’s now closing the 90-minute, commercial-free, multi-network show. He’ll
Are you’re going batty without baseball? The folks at Rogers have cooked up something they hope you’ll flip over: Tonight, Sportsnet is re-airing Game 5 of the 2015 ALDS, the one where Blue Jays’ slugger Jose Bautista flipped his bat after hitting an unforgettable home run. The exciting Jays playoff game airs at 8 p.m.