Bleav in The Pressrow

Adam Seaborn joins Jonah Sigel for part two of the focus on ratings this time on radio ratings specifically. The rating world was evolving pre-Covid and the decrease of audience due to audience behavior, i.e. staying at home vs. commuting has accelerated that change. What that means for ratings and ad sales is critically important to the industry.

Who are the winners, and losers and where is this all headed?  Tune in to learn more.

For over 22 years Barb Digiulio was a prominent voice at The Fan 590. First handling news and traffic when the station was 1430 and then handling hosting and co-hosting duties when Rogers purchased the station. Name the personality, over the years Barb has worked with them in sports. Elliotte Friedman, Dan Shulman, Bob McCown, George Stroumboulopoulos, and many, many more.

After that Barb moved over to the news side of the business...

For many, no Sunday is complete without a glance at the Toronto Sun, website or physical paper to read the weekly column from Toronto Sun columnist Steve Simmons. Many in the business have quipped that the only thing seeing your name in the column is NOT seeing your name in the column.

In this episode of The Pressrow Steve and Jonah discuss:

The developing story of Blue Jays pitching coach Pete Walker's arrest for impaired driv...

Prime Time Sports, Canada’s longest-running sports talk radio show appeared originally on the old CJCL 1430 and then on The Fan 590, hosted by Bob McCown. While several broadcasters and journalists co-hosted with Bob, it is long-time TV hockey executive John Shannon who sat in the number two seat most often. Today, McCown and Shannon co-host a streaming show that's uber-successful and simulcast on Sirius XM radio.

In this episo...

You can call Leah Hextall a lot of things, but lazy is not one of them. Determined to make a career in broadcasting, Leah has constantly rolled up her sleeves, worked hard in pursuit of her dream. While she found success along the way, it was setbacks that set the stage for the climb to the next rung in her amazing journey. From Brandon Manitoba to Boston and Toronto (with stops along the way) she aids her dues in each job that she...

Looking for an advantage. We hear the term all the time in sports (and in life). Parents in man facets of raising their kids do all sorts of things (some legal, some not) trying to ensure the success (whatever that may mean) of their children.

Personally, I know parents who paid serious money to have their kids play way above their skill level, knowing their child would rarely play in games to be a member of a higher level hockey t...

Howard Behar's career in business spans over 50 years, all in consumer-oriented businesses, and most recently as a speaker, advisor, mentor, and bestselling author. His wisdom, generosity, and level of integrity have had a profound impact on thousands of people who have been touched by his example, books, and speaking.

Howard is known for such memorable lessons as “The Person Who Sweeps the Floor Should Choose the Broom” and “O...

If you are old enough to remember the incredible TV Show Sportsnight, or you have streamed it recently, you probably have a keen interest in what life was really like in the early days at ESPN. Or, as the old adage goes, the best predictor of the future is the past, so here is an inside look at ESPN from a senior worker bee.

Scott Turken worked in Bristol for over 20 years on College GameDay, Sportscenter, the NHL on ESPN, and much...

An interesting look at the behind-the-scenes at two of the biggest sports media networks, The Score and Roger's Sportsnet. Sam Nasrawi has been an executive in the Canadian sports media landscape for nearly a quarter of a century and has a very unique look at the marketplace and his experiences helping both brands grow. Topics include:

How The Score did "it" successfully

The changes the team had to undergo pivoting from...

Toronto Raptors superfan Nav Bhatia has been immortalized in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. He is officially the first fan to be honored at the Basketball HOF.

In case you were unaware, Bhatia has attended every single Raptors home game since the franchise’s inception in 1995! With the exception of this year when the team was playing in Tampa Bay due to COVID, Bhatia has never missed a home game, and in recent years he start...

When you think of the legends of news media, the name Walter Cronkite is likely the first one to come to mind, certainly in the United States. In Canada, it's without question Peter Mansbridge. For over 30 years Mansbridge was the host of the CBC (Canada's national broadcaster) nightly news, The National. a feat that earning him the honor of being the longest-serving active anchor among the big three networks in Canada.

No ...

Few in and around the NHL have as much experience as Doug MacLean does. Originally from Summerside, Prince Edward Island, Doug started his career in the world of education as a teacher. As he explains, good fortune led him to meet two people who proved to be very influential to his life, Jaques Martin and Bryan Murray. His coaching and management career took him from St. Louis to Washington and then to Detroit serving as an assista...

Lee H. Berke specializes in collaborating with sports properties in developing multiplatform media networks and enhancing the value of content rights across a growing array of distribution opportunities. He founded LHB Sports, Entertainment & Media, Inc. in 2001, which has worked on media efforts with over fifty teams and properties across MLB, NBA, NFL, NHL, NCAA, NASCAR, MLS, Premier League, and Formula E.

On the heels of t...

Raised in Brandon Manitoba Daren Millard was a day one employee of Rogers Sportsnet, the network that was "never designed to succeed". Millard lasted 20 years with Rogers before parting ways with the network he helped build.

Most often between Nick Kypreos and Doug MacLean and a frequent guest or guest of Prime Time Sports Millard did it right. He made his way up the food chain starting in a small town and working all the w...

In sports, there are great stories behind athletes, coaches, and staff. Those stories tend to come to life as a result of amazing storytellers, typically in the media. It is rare that those in the media share their own stories, as those who report on others tend to be relatively private about their own lives and/or they don't believe their own tale is all that remarkable or interesting.

Jon Paul Morosi's story is a really g...

Twelve years ago the notion of replicating a radio-like interview was something aspirational to me. The idea that I could interview someone and have people listen in and ask questions radio-style seemed very cool. Not knowing what the hell I was doing, with literally no interview experience at all, I was fortunate enough to land Mattew Sekeres as a subject, and he agreed to be guest number one. At the time Sekeres was a sports repo...

Andrew Walker grew up in rural Saskatchewan before making his way to Calgary, where he joined Rogers-owned sports radio show. Several years later he was about to move to Vancouver to cross-streams and join the AM radio scene with Bell in Vancouver when Don Kollins came knocking. The Fan 590 in Toronto needed a new partner for incumbent Greg Brady and their morning drive show. Toronto scooped Walker out from Vancouver and off he wen...