True Patriot Love - Canada’s Sports Media Is Dying. Who’s to Blame？ ft. Arash Madani

00:00:00.000 I actually believe in a lot of ways this is a byproduct of a lack of imagination and a lack of effort by decision makers who want to make this go.

00:00:11.600 Because if you look across the country, there has never been more of an appetite for local content.

00:00:21.460 But the business model of how it all was to come to your screen, to your hands, to your eyes, that's all changed.

00:00:37.540 The media world in Canada is changing every month with more and more great people being let go just for dollars and cents.

00:00:46.000 and someone extremely qualified to talk about is one of the best sports reporters

00:00:50.260 this country's ever produced, live from the U.S. Open in New York, Arash Madani.

00:00:55.540 Arash, how are you?

00:00:56.720 Jim, I'm great, man. It's great to see you, bud.

00:00:59.080 It's a pleasure. Before we get to your career arc and what's happening,

00:01:02.940 for people following you, how has your experience been covering the U.S. Open?

00:01:07.640 It's been amazing. It's been phenomenal.

00:01:10.800 And you know me, Jim. I'm a big football guy. I'm a big basketball guy.

00:01:16.000 but tennis is a true passion has been for a long time since my mom got me addicted onto this thing

00:01:23.060 at seven and eight years old watching breakfast at Wimbledon together nice and the opportunity came

00:01:28.820 up to be part of the play-by-play commentating crew for the U.S. Open and everything that you

00:01:37.600 could imagine it being it is all the resources all the bells and whistles working with some of

00:01:44.020 best analysts from all over the world australia uh south america south africa throughout the u.s

00:01:52.500 europe so it's been a blast and uh and honestly like bucket list stuff okay arash the timing of

00:02:02.260 this interview couldn't be more perfect because with all the cutbacks and seasoned experienced

00:02:07.780 journalists who have paid their dues there's a new wave of influencers and the amount of stories

00:02:12.900 i am seeing about the disruption from influencers at the us open are everywhere for for people to

00:02:19.700 realize what are they doing that's so disruptive and why has it become such an annoyance to people

00:02:24.660 well and i don't want to paint everybody with the same brush here and i think that's something

00:02:28.580 that's kind of gone on in society over the last few years is that it's either one thing or another

00:02:34.820 the us open this year credentialed i think 100 150 influencers something like that whoa and

00:02:41.300 And a few of them have created some disruptions because they just don't know anything about the sport.

00:02:47.180 They don't know anything about how this thing goes.

00:02:50.020 So they come into a match at Arthur Ashe Stadium, and in the middle of a match,

00:02:56.060 they set up lights and start kind of taking photos and videos because they just don't know any better.

00:03:03.220 And so suddenly, like, one or two or three, air quote, incidents happen,

00:03:09.700 and then everybody gets painted with that same brush um you know there were two people who got

00:03:17.820 thrown out of the open and people are like look oh influencers it turns out they're like

00:03:23.480 food critic influencers that a vendor provided like one of their you know from their company

00:03:32.820 their um you know their food vending credentials to them they shouldn't have been in there to begin

00:03:39.160 with so yeah there's there's a whole lot of everything i mean jim we all live on these right

00:03:46.280 yeah yeah thought process was let's go where our audiences are um but like our friends in football

00:03:53.240 we say jim you gotta coach them up nobody's coached them up well i i you know so you and i

00:04:01.080 combine we've been in this business 50 plus years and along the way when you're young

00:04:05.560 young you have peers coach you up they'll pull you aside they'll whisper to you they'll just

00:04:11.620 let you know that's my concern with all the cutbacks in media and sports media in Canada

00:04:17.420 is how these young people who maybe haven't been told anything aren't don't have anyone to tell

00:04:22.940 them anything yeah and not just that um because of all the cuts and everything like I got my start

00:04:30.020 at the Truro Daily News, you know, a daily newspaper in my hometown, population 12, 15,000.

00:04:37.340 My next gig came at the Sherbrooke Record, a daily newspaper in Quebec. I was able to cut my teeth

00:04:44.640 in television at Rogers Community Cable and then A Channel. Well, the Truro Daily News is now a

00:04:53.260 weekly rogers doesn't do any more live sports from a community cable standpoint no channel

00:05:01.040 doesn't exist anymore you know i would always tell people coming into the business hey move

00:05:05.220 to moose jaw that way you can cover junior hockey and city council and whatever is happening in that

00:05:12.080 community and look you're going to screw up right but it's better to screw up when you're doing

00:05:17.000 community access television or local radio than it is if your first go at this is that a us open

00:05:24.600 is that an nfl game is on a big stage and then it's hard to come back from so that like with

00:05:31.640 with the soul of the business dying you know when it comes to cultivating real i don't even know if

00:05:41.560 journalists exist anymore but real journalists but really credible media people credible

00:05:47.880 storytellers people who understand how the sausage is made and how to go about it

00:05:54.200 that's vanishing too and with it comes this like entitlement that everything should be given to

00:06:01.560 me and i should have everything and it just doesn't work that way after um a remarkable

00:06:07.240 16-year run at sportsnet where you covered every sport known to man and every event known to man

00:06:13.080 um you were one of the the victims of these cutbacks but that was in 2025 since then there

00:06:20.660 has been a tsunami of radio stations shut down newsroom shut down it's you know it doesn't seem

00:06:29.760 to end a rash it almost feels like they are shrinking the media universe on a month-by-month

00:06:35.460 basis in canada and i feel the canadian people will suffer for it oh well they absolutely will

00:06:41.940 suffer for it and and jim here's what's interesting i actually believe in a lot of ways this is

00:06:49.140 a byproduct of a lack of imagination and a lack of effort by decision makers who want to make this go

00:06:57.220 because if you look across across the country there has never been more of an appetite for

00:07:05.460 local content. But the business model of how it all was to come to your screen, to your hands,

00:07:16.020 to your eyes, that's all changed. So before it was just kind of rinse and repeat. We didn't have

00:07:22.780 to put too much into it and the dollars would come in. Now you got to work for it. Now you got

00:07:28.580 to invest in it to make more. And all people care about is the quarterly shareholders and their own

00:07:34.220 bonuses and and the rest so it's easy to cut instead of really investing and putting in

00:07:42.320 resources to ultimately make what you have to make and so there's no appetite for the long-term game

00:07:50.260 it's just about now now now now now this quarter this moment etc and not really having much regard

00:08:00.280 for what your customer, your paying customer actually wants.

00:08:06.600 And so to me, a big reason of why we are where we are

00:08:10.920 is that lack of imagination, that lack of creativity,

00:08:15.560 the lack of appetite to want to make this succeed.

00:08:20.840 Instead, we'll choose the easiest option,

00:08:24.580 the one that's going to make us look even better

00:08:27.600 when managing up,

00:08:28.700 and that's going to provide us an instant bonus

00:08:32.020 at the end of this quarter into our back pocket.

00:08:34.680 And that to me is a big part, not the only part,

00:08:38.800 but a big part of this, and viewer habits have changed.

00:08:45.540 There's no question, but at the same time,

00:08:47.520 and you alluded to it, Arash,

00:08:48.940 with the current climate in this country,

00:08:51.400 the appetite for Canadians to consume all things Canadian,

00:08:55.060 especially if it's a Leila Fernandez of the U.S. Open

00:08:57.780 or a Nick Taylor at a golf tournament or whatever the event,

00:09:03.020 we want to know the story and get information about the Canadian competing

00:09:07.600 in North America or internationally.

00:09:10.640 Yeah, no question.

00:09:12.200 And, you know, it's interesting because here we are at the U.S. Open

00:09:17.240 and I'm working the World Feed television broadcast.

00:09:20.280 And Felix Oje Ali has seen his first round match.

00:09:24.400 I was fortunate enough to get the assignment of it with Jesse Levine.

00:09:29.560 Jesse's from Ottawa, former pro tennis player.

00:09:33.380 So, you know, the two of us were kind of laughing at one another saying,

00:09:36.720 you know, this match is going to air on TSN.

00:09:38.760 We are going to service the Canadian audience

00:09:42.460 because the two of us have known Felix's story since he was 14 years old.

00:09:50.020 The next one that's coming,

00:09:52.040 who's left to tell their story from when they're 14 15 16 years old you know and that that's a

00:10:02.320 that that's a big question mark um but these days jim the people in charge just don't care

00:10:09.820 right they don't care if the story is being done they don't care if the story is being done properly

00:10:14.820 thoroughly it's just whatever we do it we do it we don't we don't uh let's get it to air as cheap

00:10:21.820 as possible let's get on the air let's get off the air and let's move on with it

00:10:24.940 but having said that even whatever happened to you a rash you're still very active in sports

00:10:31.760 media and media you you've done some fantastic podcasts with milt stiegel and doug flutie which

00:10:38.300 were great content um it was probably a bit of a kick in the teeth at the time but have you been

00:10:45.100 relishing the next chapter in your broadcast life yeah like honestly Jim you know when the tap on

00:10:53.520 the shoulder comes you get blindsided you do get knocked down and it takes you a minute to scrape

00:10:58.740 yourself up off the mat but then when you do it's onwards and I was very fortunate that I got some

00:11:05.480 opportunities pretty early after being KO'd and then it's been onwards and I'm and I mean this

00:11:13.040 sincerely i am beyond appreciative of the 16 years i had there like you and i got to cover a super

00:11:23.120 bowl together we're on that's right field after a game with the confetti flying down and you're

00:11:29.160 looking around being like wow pretty cool for a kid from trono nova scotia to do this and the

00:11:35.200 olympics and and the big events you know um work a baseball broadcast with dan shulman and buck

00:11:41.220 martinez you kidding me work hockey night in canada with bob cole so like i became very

00:11:46.280 appreciative of what it was but then it's like okay on to the next challenge and what i've noticed

00:11:53.660 not just for myself well certainly for myself and also for others is that these days in 2026

00:12:01.920 if you want to make a go of this in sports it's very much a gig economy you have to get different

00:12:09.760 gigs along the way and kind of add them all up so you know over the last number of months

00:12:16.360 there was a gig covering the world cup following the team canada story that was a gig i'm very

00:12:23.040 fortunate to be doing play-by-play for the cebl summer basketball league in canada summer pro

00:12:29.460 basketball league in canada with cbc that was a gig the atp tennis tournament in montreal that was

00:12:35.340 a gig uh the u.s open that's a gig the flutie versus steagle podcast you alluded to have started

00:12:41.640 a podcast with josh donaldson and russell martin doing blue jays that's nice so you have all these

00:12:47.680 different things different times the calendar number of world cup snowboard events um with uh

00:12:54.100 with cbc sports post olympics we have the vanier cup coming up on and on it goes and when you kind

00:13:00.540 to put all the gigs together that that that kind of fills up your calendar and then i have some

00:13:06.640 corporate stuff along the way and hosting and moderating panels but the days of full-time

00:13:14.080 sports on-air opportunities are just so few and far between i'm gonna ask you a question because

00:13:23.220 of your depth of experience in your time at sportsnet um they just announced the rehiring

00:13:29.380 Kevin Beckson, Elliot Friedman, to me is a no-brainer.

00:13:32.540 They've did some tweaks.

00:13:34.020 Are you surprised Rahm McLean's back?

00:13:37.520 No, no, because other than David Amber,

00:13:43.920 I'm not sure with Carolyn Cameron on maternity leave

00:13:47.620 if there's even a succession plan.

00:13:50.440 Ah.

00:13:51.820 Like, who would sit in that seat?

00:13:55.960 That's a great question.

00:13:56.900 to me like the person that i think would be great in that role and i'm a little biased because he

00:14:04.400 and i worked together a long time ago and we've stayed in touch a little bit is adnan burke yes

00:14:09.560 right adnan's a canadian he grew up just outside of kingston ontario worked at the score worked at

00:14:16.780 nba tv canada went on to espn had prominence at espn now at mlb network does some nhl network

00:14:24.160 stuff pop culture dude he's a great dude and follows it knows it dynamic personality etc

00:14:34.080 um live sports man it's got to be entertaining it's got to be informative you got to you got

00:14:41.240 to connect with your audience i think verk would be great um but to answer your question jim i'm

00:14:47.140 not surprised at all that ron's back amazon and their financial might and other streaming services

00:14:53.000 are weighing heavily into mainstream television, sports media.

00:15:00.660 We've seen an increase in the coverage of Amazon Hockey, Arash.

00:15:05.380 I just wonder in the next five to ten years

00:15:07.320 how much more of our sports content will be via streaming services

00:15:12.480 that we used to watch our shows with.

00:15:15.540 I don't want to say exclusively, but I think it's going to be the majority.

00:15:19.760 The pendulum has swung considerably.

00:15:23.000 And here's the thing, Jim, like in Canada, we've been shielded from it the last few years.

00:15:29.740 But if you want to, like you and I are football fans.

00:15:34.240 Yeah.

00:15:34.460 Right.

00:15:34.800 If we want to watch the NFL in the United States, not only do you need your basic cable package to get CBS, Fox, NBC, but their Thursday night is Amazon.

00:15:48.540 So you need that streaming service.

00:15:50.500 Netflix has the game tonight.

00:15:53.400 Netflix has Christmas Day.

00:15:55.440 Netflix has Thanksgiving Day.

00:15:58.000 There are exclusives on Peacock.

00:16:01.280 You know, if you're a basketball fan, you've got to have NBC and Peacock

00:16:05.640 and ESPN and Amazon.

00:16:09.660 And, like, from a football standpoint, we've been shielded from it

00:16:12.260 because CTV has the majority of them, DAZN has all of them.

00:16:16.640 But down in the States, it had already started, you know.

00:16:20.660 And so this is going to be the new reality.

00:16:25.600 In so many ways, people are like, all right, I'm cutting the cord on cable.

00:16:28.920 I'm just going to become a streamer.

00:16:30.740 You're going to have to end up bundling a whole bunch of things

00:16:33.260 if you care about sports this much.

00:16:36.060 And here's my concern, Jim.

00:16:38.060 My concern is that people are just going to say, well, to hell with it.

00:16:41.920 I'm not going to subscribe to all of them.

00:16:45.920 I have what I have, and if I end up missing 20 or 30 games,

00:16:50.060 So be it. I'm not going to watch 82. Or I was only really watching 40 or 50 of the 82 anyway, so I don't need to pay for more. What's going to end up happening is there's fewer people in the pie just following, consuming, being part of this.

00:17:09.080 And I just think that this is a very slippery slope in terms of having a passionate fandom that is locked in to what their team is doing.

00:17:23.660 And the flip side to that, Arash, is the NHL, the NFL, all the big sports leagues.

00:17:29.560 But that TV money is their lifeblood.

00:17:32.080 and if all of a sudden 10 years from now they've seen a lot of people have been reluctant to

00:17:37.400 to get Apple TV and all the other streaming services and Netflix to watch their favorite

00:17:41.940 sport maybe their next TV deal from the streaming service isn't as bountiful as it is right now

00:17:48.380 yeah it's an interesting thing Jim because kind of going back to where our conversation started

00:17:54.320 it's just about making the money now where's the biggest check coming from and in a lot of ways

00:18:01.220 that goes back to what was it 1994 1995 when the nfl signed with fox yes they took the biggest check

00:18:08.340 and that hasn't that hasn't changed but if viewership dips significantly then what happens

00:18:15.140 that it's it's an interesting fascinating dilemma but so many people are just caught up in the now

00:18:23.620 what's the money in the now and that's kind of where we are for you and all your brothers and

00:18:29.700 sisters in media not just sports media that have gone through you know that seismic career change

00:18:35.940 how much has taken control of your destiny and calling your shots and working embedding yourself

00:18:42.580 made you a better person better broadcaster yeah it's interesting jim um i now spend

00:18:49.060 most of my time trying to track people down and set up conversations and meetings and

00:18:53.860 And what are you hearing? What are you doing? What are your thoughts on this? What are your coverage plans for that?

00:19:01.580 Hey, do you mind connecting me with so-and-so from Netflix or Amazon or wherever to continue to have the conversations?

00:19:08.840 That's what the gig has, well, the gig, that's kind of what the lifestyle has now become is that you spend more of your time in pursuit of opportunities.

00:19:18.940 Whereas when you and I were at the previous place, we spent a lot of our time working on whatever that assignment was.

00:19:27.260 And so now it's kind of a balancing act of, okay, and you're also working 6, 12, 18 months ahead.

00:19:35.940 Correct, yeah.

00:19:36.700 You know, so right now, fall of 2026, I'm starting to think about, all right, LA 2028 Olympics, 20 months away.

00:19:48.300 How is this all going to look?

00:19:50.160 Where can I potentially fit myself into coverage plans with whomever?

00:19:56.860 Because they're not making those decisions on what they're going to do three months out.

00:20:02.060 They're making those decisions nine to 12 months out.

00:20:05.420 So you want to be in their ear six months before they're making their decisions.

00:20:10.020 So it's very much a long-term, looking at the calendar from a long-term standpoint to see what may be there.

00:20:17.840 With so many cuts in the last three years across the board from all network companies and broadcast companies,

00:20:25.020 I always wonder to myself, where's the next Arash Madani or whomever going to come from?

00:20:31.160 Where is the next, you know, experienced, professional, reliable sports journalist, sportscaster, sports reporter going to come from?

00:20:40.120 Jim, I understand the question.

00:20:44.020 And my honest, true answer is I'm not sure if decision makers in this country have an appetite to have any of that anymore.

00:20:56.440 Hey, we need Canadian content.

00:20:59.180 Let's do countdown shows.

00:21:01.160 Let's do best of shows.

00:21:03.340 Let's just replay the game from last night.

00:21:06.500 Let's replay a shortened version of the game from last night, et cetera, et cetera.

00:21:13.820 Doing quality content, documentaries, mini docs, sit down features,

00:21:22.580 and doing them properly takes time, takes money, takes resources.

00:21:27.100 and again it's few and far between you see any kind of commitment to that so you know at this

00:21:38.240 stage of the game what you notice is before let's say for a pre-game show or in lead up to something

00:21:44.820 you and i would go to the super bowl and they'd say all right um rash you get the afc team because

00:21:52.700 we don't want you anywhere near the green bay packers

00:21:55.840 old jordan robber you know and jim you get the nfc team we're gonna do some features and we're

00:22:03.300 gonna do some you know now it's okay we'll send two people we'll send one person down there

00:22:09.680 and they'll just throw to podium content or we won't send anybody there and we come out of the

00:22:18.260 game and we are highlights all right patrick mahomes on the podium let's roll that for three

00:22:23.920 minutes uh travis kelsey's coming out let's roll that for two minutes jalen hurts is there you know

00:22:30.280 on and on it goes and that that's how the show gets filled

00:22:33.680 so that's where we are jim you know like it's not a to me this is not like a hot take it's it's just

00:22:43.220 kind of what's happened and now that the toothpaste is out of the tube and they're seeing well that

00:22:48.880 doesn't cost us anything this is what they're doing and the interesting thing is I know our

00:22:54.300 family our daughters in their early mid-20s and their their boyfriends they'll ask me like what

00:22:59.100 about the Kel McCarr contract what about what about Kawhi Leonard like they want to know the

00:23:03.800 information that would come from a reporter and not just a throw to the podium they want to know

00:23:09.300 the the story behind it how is it going to play out yeah no i hear you i hear you and

00:23:16.340 now i will say this um and i think this is really important what what we've come to understand is

00:23:24.780 for the most part uh mainstream media companies especially those in bed with leagues

00:23:31.540 have no appetite for real reporting.

00:23:37.300 Where I'm going with this is Pablo Torre, Kawhi Leonard,

00:23:42.120 Steve Palmer, Los Angeles Clippers.

00:23:45.740 Here's what we've noticed.

00:23:47.420 There is an appetite among viewers,

00:23:50.960 an appetite among customers who want this,

00:23:55.580 but there is a disregard for what the customers want

00:24:00.380 from many of those mainstream decision makers.

00:24:05.180 So it can be found, it can be done.

00:24:09.880 It takes courage, it takes time, money, resources,

00:24:13.640 it takes people, it takes a want to,

00:24:15.780 it takes a commitment from whomever the parent company

00:24:20.980 of that independent media outlet is,

00:24:24.120 in this case, Meadowlark with Dan Levitard and company.

00:24:27.500 But they did it.

00:24:28.500 they took down the richest owner in professional sports.

00:24:33.240 Your daughter's friends may want the story.

00:24:36.000 They're just going to have to go to other places

00:24:37.440 and bless those places for having the appetite to do it.

00:24:41.400 Yeah, this is the new world we live in,

00:24:43.680 and I'm finding it.

00:24:45.600 News media, sports media.

00:24:48.200 Unfortunately, the way we gathered information,

00:24:50.860 you and I growing up and devouring the newspaper

00:24:53.960 and listening to everything, it's changed.

00:24:56.680 Whether or not it's for the better, that's for someone else to decide.

00:25:00.060 I know what I like, and I know what I consume.

00:25:02.980 But for someone who got the tap on the shoulder, Arash,

00:25:07.240 it is fantastic to see you so busy and doing so many things.

00:25:10.940 And I hope not only do you have great success at the U.S. Open,

00:25:13.640 that we do see you in L.A. in 2028.

00:25:15.900 I appreciate that, Jim. I appreciate it.

00:25:19.140 Congrats on everything you're doing over there.

00:25:20.700 That studio looks terrific, by the way.

00:25:22.260 Yeah, you know, the crew here at TPL Media have done great work.

00:25:25.020 we're having a good time and we wanted to tell stories about people like you um who a lot of

00:25:30.400 canadians coast to coast got to know really well over the last two decades and an a want to see

00:25:35.120 what happened how you do it and what's next for you yeah no i appreciate that and uh you just

00:25:40.720 continue to knock on doors to see um what may be next and as i mentioned very much a gig economy

00:25:46.240 um before we go i just wanted to yes please say a couple things one and you mentioned the canadian

00:25:52.160 story like i was very fortunate there 16 years getting to do all that i did and there are a

00:26:01.560 number of like amazing moments but the one that stands out top of mind to me um other than getting

00:26:11.520 piss bags thrown at me at a world cup soccer qualifier but that's a different story um was

00:26:18.300 2024 paris olympics the four by 100 relay it's a rainy night at the track and the only reason we

00:26:29.180 went cameraman hugo reginball who you know well hugo yeah the best because we thought sarah mitten

00:26:36.780 was going to win a golden shot put you know otherwise we're going to go to beach volleyball

00:26:40.620 but i'm like hugo we did a big feature on sarah leading into this let's see this through

00:26:44.220 on a rainy night on a wet track with four canadian sprinters none of whom reached the finals in the

00:26:53.260 100 or 200 individually these four dudes on the outside lane out of nowhere won gold

00:27:03.480 and andre crossed the finish line and all i could think about was donovan bailey

00:27:10.920 yep ben johnson and i'm like oh my god this has happened they did it

00:27:17.160 and the story to me then becomes telling the story of how and immediately you go into reporter mode

00:27:27.880 um as i was leaving the state like i interviewed the guys um i talked to them private some of them

00:27:34.820 privately after anybody around that track team what have the last few days been like

00:27:39.720 and then I'm leaving the stadium at the Stade de France

00:27:42.720 and Glenroy Gilbert's just sitting on the steps

00:27:45.980 outside the stadium, Jim.

00:27:47.900 Glenroy, who was on that Donovan Bailey Atlanta 97.

00:27:50.200 Absolutely.

00:27:50.900 Who's now the head coach of the men's sprinting team,

00:27:54.400 head coach of the 4x1 team.

00:27:55.840 And he's just alone with his thoughts, just staring off.

00:28:00.480 And I just went and sat beside him.

00:28:04.180 And I didn't say a word.

00:28:05.480 I just sat beside him.

00:28:07.020 And he kind of looked at me and started to laugh.

00:28:09.720 he's like Andre man he's like Andre how do you count out Andre at an Olympic Games and then we

00:28:18.020 got into it and you know the near bobble on the first handoff to the second and what Jerome Blake

00:28:24.080 did on the backstretch and da da da da da and then I ran into a couple other people who told me in

00:28:29.920 the village what the last couple of days had been like and now Aaron Brown like the impassionate

00:28:35.500 speeches he was giving the guys that hey remember when we were going to youth meets and we talked

00:28:42.420 about wanting to do this together and this is our chance and you put it all together and you're able

00:28:49.280 to tell that story and uh i i think that canadians want that they crave that and hopefully we live in

00:28:58.940 a world where that can uh still be provided for them well senator rash my friend an absolute

00:29:03.880 pleasure enjoy the u.s open we can't wait to see your next adventure in the sports world

00:29:08.280 all right jim thanks bud take care

True Patriot Love - September 16, 2026

Canada’s Sports Media Is Dying. Who’s to Blame？ ft. Arash Madani

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