Don Taylor talks about all-sports radio wars and how 'I still feel like I have things to say'
Don Taylor wants to continue his broadcast career but not at the expense of someone else.
“You see these tidbits on Twitter where people say that they can just bring us all in and we’ll take over. I’m not interested in being a part of that,” Taylor said in reference to Tuesday’s abrupt shutdown of TSN 1040 that left Sportsnet 650 as the lone all-sports radio station standing in Vancouver.
“I’m not going to take over somebody’s job. I’m not going to do that. Maybe if there’s some part-time stuff and/or they need somebody to fill in. Or maybe if somebody wants to start up something new. But I’m not interested in taking somebody’s job from them. I don’t like that … not at the stage I am at.”
Taylor, 61, is one of the mainstays of the sports media in this market, dating to his debut with the beloved Sports Page in 1984. He was a midday host, alongside Bob (The Moj) Marjanovich, with a TSN 1040 lineup that had regularly beaten
Sportsnet 650 in the ratings since Sportsnet 650 started in August 2017
.
That’s what made Tuesday so surprising. TSN 1040’s parent company, Bell Media, cancelled all-sports stations in Winnipeg and Hamilton that day as well, with a statement from head office stating that “it was a difficult decision, but the realities of the quickly evolving broadcast media landscape in Canada have made this change unavoidable.”
Bell Media had made other layoffs and cuts,
including at TSN TV, last week
.
Bell Media shut down TSN 1040 in the middle of the morning show hosted by Mike Halford and Jason Brough on Tuesday. According to various reports, Bell Media took over control of the broadcast, and played a pre-recorded message announcing that the station was changing formats and then started playing music.
The first song was Good Riddance (Time of Your Life) by Green Day. Bell Media has taken heat on social media for selecting a song with that title.
Taylor was on his way to work when it all happened. He didn’t see how it all played out in the building then. He did admit Thursday still being “shocked.”
“I thought we were kicking butt,” he said. “I thought maybe we were going to move onto some even bigger and even better things. I couldn’t have guessed this was the way it was going to play out.”
Here's the full statement announced on the air at TSN 1040 this morning before sports programming abruptly cut to music. pic.twitter.com/ZyZPLpJ3PE— Emad Agahi (@emadagahi) February 10, 2021
Tough day at 1040. Loved working with so many special people: Moj,Ryan,Bmac,Pratt,everyone. A million laughs each day and a career-saver after I got too old,fat and bald to stay on TV. Thanks to our great listeners and thanks to the late, great Paul Carson who got 1040 started.— Don Taylor (@DonTaylor5) February 10, 2021
Random thought: there was nothing Moj and I loved more than talking about“old Vancouver”: NewWest Bruins,Voodoo, Dicks on Dicks,Mtn. Shadow, Nick’s,Bobby Schmautz,etc. As of Tuesday, we can add 1040 to the list. Sad.— Don Taylor (@DonTaylor5) February 10, 2021
It’s hard to guess what happens next. Sportsnet 650, which is owned by Rogers, has opted to give opportunities to some younger broadcasters since it started up. There’s a spin that they’ve opened up opportunities for newcomers. It’s true. You can also say that they’ve been budget-conscious in the process. Their pay scale is lower than TSN 1040’s was.
It’s doubtful that they’ll make massive additions in salary, and especially not in the middle of COVID-19. It’s questionable what the appetite for a former TSN 1040 staffer to take a pay cut to get back into the broadcast game right away is.
Rogers could decide that they want to see what their current Sportsnet 650 staff can do for a time here with the all-sports lane in Vancouver now left to themselves. There’s a ratings book coming out in the next few days, and then another after that in three months’ time.
As for Taylor, he and Sportsnet 650 program director Craig MacEwen are both Sports Page alums. They have that connection. And Taylor did work for Sportsnet TV before his TSN 1040 gig, so he’s well-known in Rogers’ head office.
“Do I want to do more? I don’t think I’m finished,” Taylor said of the broadcasting business. “I’d like to be able to say goodbye and go out on my terms.
“I’m 61, but I still feel like I have things to say. I love going on the air. I’ve always loved that. There’s a lot of stuff around the business that I don’t love, but going on the air is so much fun and that’s both radio and TV.”
Sportsnet 650 outbid TSN 1040 for the Canucks’ broadcast rights on their way to starting up shop. The five-year deal with the hockey club is up at the close of next season’s 2021-22 campaign.
The team’s regional TV agreement is also with Sportsnet and that current 10-year deal is up after the 2022-23 season. There’s logic from both the Canucks’ side and Rogers’ side to link the radio and TV deals.
They could extend
the radio deal one year and then negotiate a paired TV and radio agreement.
sewen@postmedia.com
twitter.com/SteveEwen ...
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