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In an era when way too many stations have cut back on things like fulltime sports reporters, comes this: iHeart Radio in the U.S. is planning a national sports update for its stations. The service will be called "HSN," short for iHeart Sports Network (also the same initials as the Home Shopping Network, but I digress.)
"HSN will deliver short-form national, regional local sports reports to stations with these formats: rock, country, hip hop, class hits, news, talk and sports."
I get the news, talk and sports stations. But interrupting the music on the other formats, when many of them don't even carry news, seems just bizarre to me. This doesn't have anything to do with the iHeart affiliates in Canada, and of course CFRB famously used to have fulltime sports people on air like Bill Stephenson and Mike Toth. Now they give a few scores at the end of a newscast - if that - and it's on to the weather or traffic.
iHeart Launches New Sports Network
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RadioActive wrote:
The service will be called "HSN," short for iHeart Sports Network (also the same initials as the Home Shopping Network, but I digress.)
With Bell owning TSN, I doubt HSN will ever surface on the Canadian side. That's also a good thing because HSN is already floating around here and there:
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NT1010 used to have a TSN branded sports update at the end of almost every newscast. They suddenly stopped a few years ago and they never seem to really leverage the TSN juggernaut any more.
Rogers uses Sportsnet for its weekend newscasts on CityNews and of course, 680 News brands its :15 and :45 updates with that network and the Fan590.
Did the ratings or research indicate that the TSN sport scores were driving away listeners? I can't say but I've often wondered why they don't use this resource a lot more. It's there anyway, and it would promote TSN1050, which could certainly use the help. Seems like a lot of talent going to waste that could be shared on their news/talk platforms and it wouldn't cost them a cent.
It's surprising because Bell is usually very good at cross-promoting itself over its TV and radio services.
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grilled.cheese wrote:
Not to be confused with The Shopping Channel or TSC. TSC also is an acronym for "Tractor Supply Company", adding to the confusion.
I once ordered a wrestling shirt from The Shopping Channel and I bought John Deere hat from TSC
Are they still called the Shopping channel? All I ever hear in ads etc is "Today's Shopping Choice" lol
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Back when CFRB was "Ontario's Authoritative News Voice" 1010 put Bill Stephenson's sportscast at 7:55 instead of 8:10 to avoid possible tuneouts. At the time, the thinking was non sports fans would tolerate Stephenson while waiting for the never to be missed 8am Jack Dennett newscast.
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mace wrote:
the thinking was non sports fans would tolerate Stephenson while waiting for the never to be missed 8am Jack Dennett newscast.
"IT'S 8 O CLOCK AND TIME FOR CFRB NEWS!!!" um yep, time check for news was a good yell back then!
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Here's a "new" old example of the late, great Jack Dennett, whose 8 AM report on CFRB helped truly make the station "Ontario's Authoritative News Voice." It's from Sept. 6, 1972 - the morning after the Munich Massacre that has forever haunted the Olympic Games.
They don't make newscasters like this anymore.
Jack Dennett On The Munich Massacre
RadioActive wrote:
In an era when way too many stations have cut back on things like fulltime sports reporters, comes this: iHeart Radio in the U.S. is planning a national sports update for its stations. The service will be called "HSN," short for iHeart Sports Network (also the same initials as the Home Shopping Network, but I digress.)
"HSN will deliver short-form national, regional local sports reports to stations with these formats: rock, country, hip hop, class hits, news, talk and sports."
I get the news, talk and sports stations. But interrupting the music on the other formats, when many of them don't even carry news, seems just bizarre to me. This doesn't have anything to do with the iHeart affiliates in Canada, and of course CFRB famously used to have fulltime sports people on air like Bill Stephenson and Mike Toth. Now they give a few scores at the end of a newscast - if that - and it's on to the weather or traffic.
iHeart Launches New Sports Network
They'll deliver it. It doesn't mean you'll suddenly hear sports on every music station.
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Prod Guy wrote:
They'll deliver it. It doesn't mean you'll suddenly hear sports on every music station.
Strictly a guess that, much like an ad, it'll be the music stations owned by the same sports station.
That way, if the slightest thing said gets someone to think "Oh yeah...I should tune into that sport" they've got the audience in the same pocket.