Lions in the local media (REVIVED thread 6-10-20)

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KnightofCydonia
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BC 1988 wrote:
Sat Jul 31, 2021 1:00 am
Since they went on the air in April, Don Taylor had promised/joked/threatened to unveil his "Save the CFL" plan. With Donnie and Dhali going on a summer vacation until Sept 7th, he did just that on Friday. (btw, the show has apparently been quite a success for CHEK-TV). He makes some good points:
Some good points, but I can't agree with getting out of Toronto. Obviously it's not a good look when the camera shows an empty stadium, but the CFL needs presence in Toronto because it's the biggest media market in the country. If the CFL pull out or Toronto folds, it would lose their national sponsors and broadcasting deal.

Some of their other points are things many or all teams are already doing (kids football at halftime, reduced prices for youth). Also, don't touch the rouge!

I'd love a cross-country league with an expansion to the Maritimes, but all attempts ave been extremely challenged.

The CFL has a marketing and accesibility problem. I can stream the NFL for free, but I can't do the same for the CFL. If it would be too expensive to make it free, there at least needs to be an easy to find, accessible streaming service if it hopes to reach a broader, younger audience.
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SammyGreene
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A great piece by JJ Adams https://vancouversun.com/sports/footbal ... se-on-life on what the Lions are up against in this market and all the adversity they have been dealing with.
Again not sure how Don Taylor can take shots at Toronto when he has nothing wrong with the Seahawks being the clear No. 2 team in the town. He is right but never realized you are supposed to pick one football team or league over the other and not have interest in both.
“But I think the NFL and the Seahawks have surpassed both the CFL and Major League Soccer. I think a lot of that has to do with the Seahawks’ success. I’d put them at No. 2, and then the Lions and Whitecaps tied for third … but a distant third. I hope that the league took this time to look at itself and tried to improve.”
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DanoT
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Don Taylor's plan to fix the CFL needs fixing itself.
His desire for a ton of Friday Night Football games works well for TV fans but creates getting to the game logistic problems for game attendance.
Then he flips the script by only addressing poor game attendance in Toronto and completely ignores the huge TV audience in metro Toronto.
To his credit he did stay away from the flawed idea that some have of going with one division. In fact going to an unbalanced East-West schedule is a good idea. Example Eastern teams are not as good a draw in the West as other Western teams and visa-versa for the East.
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BC 1988
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Twitter link wasn't working just now, re-posting the direct YouTube link.


That was why I said Don Taylor had "some" good ideas. In his defense, he is not talking about completely pulling out of Toronto, but leaving DOWNTOWN Toronto--going to another part of the GTA to avoid the traffic mess that may dissuade fans from attending games. (Of course, TFC seems to be doing okay at BMO).

Over on RF, there has always been a big discussion about an MLSE/NFL/XFL conspiracy (alleging why MLSE bought the Argos in the first place).

My opinion is that without a physical Toronto (or larger GTA) presence, the CFL will not survive. Hamilton is too far away--and a healthy Hamilton/Toronto rivalry needs to be revived.
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David
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These kinds of articles are not much help. They just reinforce to those that care enough to read, the extreme challenges the club faces. To those that don't care or are glad they have them, the reaction to the headline Resurrection Day: Can the B.C. Lions make the most of a second lease on life? is, "Probably not."

Sure would have been nice to hear from Rick LeLacheur on the club's 2021 marketing plans or a positive spin such as the team's tireless efforts in the community, or that X% of season ticket holders have renewed despite the pandemic and lost season. Anything really would have helped roll back the tide of negativity.

I know Donnie loves the Lions and means well but everyone close to the club know that they already have a plan in place (through their partner London Drugs) to get kids in cheaply. Instead, all we get is the same tired "everyone loves the NFL" trope. :roll:


DH :cool:
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B.C.FAN
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David wrote:
Sun Aug 01, 2021 12:53 pm
These kinds of articles are not much help. They just reinforce to those that care enough to read, the extreme challenges the club faces. To those that don't care or are glad they have them, the reaction to the headline Resurrection Day: Can the B.C. Lions make the most of a second lease on life? is, "Probably not."

Sure would have been nice to hear from Rick LeLacheur on the club's 2021 marketing plans or a positive spin such as the team's tireless efforts in the community, or that X% of season ticket holders have renewed despite the pandemic and lost season. Anything really would have helped roll back the tide of negativity.

I know Donnie loves the Lions and means well but everyone close to the club know that they already have a plan in place (through their partner London Drugs) to get kids in cheaply. Instead, all we get is the same tired "everyone loves the NFL" trope. :roll:


DH :cool:
Great points, David. LeLacheur has always been optimistic in my conversations with him but I'd love him to flip the narrative and discuss specific achievements and efforts to broaden the market and get more butts in seats. What is also often overlooked is the strength of the CFL TV market in B.C. and the popularity of the Lions' brand, especially in places I'm familiar with, the Fraser Valley and B.C. Interior.
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DanoT
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A big indicator of BC Lions support in the Interior comes from Sun Peaks Resort sponsorship of Lions Training Camp. Initially the sponsorship came about due to Sun Peaks' Director of Marketing being a big CFL fan. So when she moved on I expected Sun Peaks to also move on and cancel their TC sponsorship but they didn't.
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BC 1988
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https://www.saultstar.com/sports/footba ... id-spiegel
The link off the J.J. Adams article--typically symbolic for the CFL--an owner passes away before ever watching his team play (possibly returning the Als to a precarious financial future).
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BC 1988
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SammyGreene wrote:
Sat Jul 31, 2021 10:35 am
Tried to give 650 a chance but officially done after yesterday when Halford and Brough said they are taking holidays until sports "returns" the week of Sept. 7 — NHL training camps, start of the NFL season and World Cup soccer qualifying were all mentioned. No acknowledgment of the Lions or Whitecaps set to return to BC Place or the start of the CFL season while they were on holidays.

650 is so overtop Canucks all the time it's absolutely ridiculous. It's like a security blanket that none of the radio/streaming media can let go of and realize it's the only way they will get a paycheck and all fighting for this ultimately tiny marketshare. Such a pathetic sports town and for certain there will be future casualties as they continue down the same path.
I think H&B said they were going on vacation from Monday Aug 9th-Tuesday Sept 7th. The ironic thing is when they spend a few minutes on the CFL, they get admonished by management--their producer said as much once. Like their overall "rebel" style (particularly how they flippantly do the obligatory ad reads and playing the mocking Benning "slide-shows" etc. clips) they talk CFL at their own risk.

The only place you are more likely to hear CFL talk there is Scott Rintoul, and that is due to the sharing of the show with SN 960 Calgary (explains why the guests are usually Stamps). This bizarre market share comes in for a lot of criticism on Twitter from Canucks fans. Personally I think the Rintoul & Surman show suffers from both of them still broadcasting separately from their homes. Surman's connection is frequently very clunky and back on July 14th in hour 3-4 listeners were treated to the drama of a bird flying around her home "studio" while on the air.
https://podcast.sportsnet.ca/rintoul-and-surman/
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BC 1988
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Dusty wrote:
Sun Apr 18, 2021 5:32 pm
BC 1988 mentioned HD radio reception in a post earlier today. I 'm not a hockey watching or listening type of guy but I do like to listen to the Lions pre-and post game shows on the way to and from BC Place. Since I take the trolley bus downtown to the games, the radio reception on the AM band is mostly static, especially in the downtown core. BUT, I bought a portable HD radio before the season (that wasn't) and 1040 on the HD band came in very clear on the trolley bus during my pre-Covid test rides. I was looking forward to listening last year (that wasn't) and also, until 1040 went off the air (to me), for this years season.
It wasn't easy to find but AM 730 is available on CFMI 101.1 MHz subchannel HD3
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Yes, I was pleased to find that 730 is on a HD channel. It is a bit delayed from the regular AM broadcast, but I'm hopeful that I can catch the pre and post game shows while I'm on the bus.
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Belize City Lion
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If you like to use Alexa to listen to radio and she plays a wrong station when you ask for "AM730 Vancouver" tell her to play "radio station CHMJ" instead. That seems to work better.
Dusty
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Dusty wrote:
Sun Aug 01, 2021 10:03 pm
Yes, I was pleased to find that 730 is on a HD channel. It is a bit delayed from the regular AM broadcast, but I'm hopeful that I can catch the pre and post game shows while I'm on the bus.
The post game show (I went early, so listened to pre-game show while walking to the stadium) came in loud and clear on the HD band of my portable radio while taking the bus home. Nice to hear them discuss the game and the Coach and QB's comments without all the scratchy and whiny static that comes with AM radio on a trolly bus.
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David
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Do Moj and Giulio host a weeky radio show on AM730? I thought it was Tuesdays, but I could be mitaken.

DH :cool:
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TheLionKing
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David wrote:
Sun Aug 29, 2021 9:14 pm
Do Moj and Giulio host a weeky radio show on AM730? I thought it was Tuesdays, but I could be mitaken.

DH :cool:
Is it a food show ? :wink:
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