Hamilton Bulldogs moving live game coverage up the radio dial to TSN from CHML
The Bulldogs have found a home on Hamilton’s all-sports radio station, but they’re still looking for a new voice.
Hours after firing play-by-play broadcaster Matt Holmes Wednesday morning, the club announced it is moving its live game coverage to TSN 1150 from AM900 CHML.
As part of the two-year deal, the station will also produce pre- and postgame shows as well as two new weekly segments dedicated to covering the Bulldogs and the Ontario Hockey League.
Steve Staios, the president and general manager of the club, called the move to the all-sports station — the same one which also broadcasts Hamilton Tiger-Cats and McMaster Marauder football games — “a good fit.”
The partnership with AM900 CHML was “very good,” he added, “... but in the end, you have to make the best decision for the team moving forward.”
The shift comes just over a year after the Ticats left AM900 CHML for the freshly-founded TSN property, which is owned by Bell Media in partnership with the Canadian Football League club.
The Marauders soon followed suit.
AM900 CHML had held the Ticats play-by-play rights for six decades and the rights to the Marauders for eight years.
The news talk station broadcast Bulldogs games for nearly half the club’s 20-year history in Hamilton.
Program director Jeff Storey said there is “no ill-will” and AM900 CHML will continue to report Bulldogs news and scores. “Will we have the in-depth analysis that we would if we were the broadcaster? Probably not. But I still consider them partners with the station and a pillar in the community.”
When asked why his station didn’t get the contract, he said that question would be better put to the club. “Obviously they’re looking for something that is a little bit of a mystery to me, considering we’re a highly rated radio station and TSN 1150 isn’t.”
Storey isn’t wrong. According to the most recent radio statistics from Numeris, the all-sports station has the lowest ratings in the city and among the lowest in Canada. Meanwhile, AM900 CHML is the highest rated AM station in Hamilton and third overall in the local market.
Staios said the club considered the numbers and believes they will improve. Like the Bulldogs, who transitioned to the OHL at the start of last season, TSN 1150 is “building something.”
He also said it will be good to know that listeners are tuning in specifically to listen to sports — something that wasn’t always clear with AM900 CHML.
The Bulldogs plan to work with TSN 1150 to find a replacement for Holmes. What’s not clear, is which party will be responsible for the new broadcaster’s salary — neither would say. Previously, it was a full-time position paid for by the club.
A resident of St. Catharines, Holmes manned the microphone for the Bulldogs for the past two campaigns. He spent a decade at AM900 CHML, mostly as a talkshow host and sports anchor, before leaving to take the play-by-play job in 2014.
“I had a great time bringing the last American Hockey League season and the first Ontario Hockey League season to the Hamilton fans over the radio,” he told The Spectator Wednesday.
“I believe that things happen for a reason and this will open up something better for me.”
TSN 1150’s live coverage begins Sept. 2 when Hamilton visits Guelph for its preseason opener. In the case of a conflict between a Ticats and a Bulldogs game, the latter will be broadcast on Funny 820, the station’s program director Mike Nabuurs said.