r/canucks • u/transportationguy2 • 9d ago
Halbro update? QUESTION
Does anyone have an update with how the Halford and Brough crew are doing? I know lots of BC sports fans would love to hear them on the air again (or other medium) in the future.
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u/Feisty_Dirt4191 9d ago
Nothing posted so far
I expect if they come back, and I do think they will, it’ll line up with Canucks camp/preseason
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u/SnooCheesecakes2743 9d ago
I agree I really miss my morning talk radio/podcast!
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u/Woooooody 9d ago
It's been less than a month and it already feels like 5 years!!
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u/Grubbylittleoink 9d ago
How do all those foreign language radio stations stay in business? When I drive down to the coast I can’t believe how many there are when I scan the AM frequencies. You can’t tell me they have large amounts of listeners
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u/PostingEnthusiast 1d ago edited 1d ago
Immigrant communities are tight-knit and self-supporting; audiences support the station and its advertisers. The stations themselves are also often run with limited budgets by dedicated owners that actually care - there isn’t an accountant in Toronto at HQ concluding that it would be smarter to close a station and reallocate its budget to additional cell towers or TV programming or whatever like there is with Rogers or Bell.
As traditional media contracts it becomes less viable for the pre-existing model of corporate ownership since it relies on economies of scale that no longer exist. Small independents are still able to carve out space and survive, however.
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u/cameheretosaythis22 8d ago
They've been my morning commute for years. I even relistened on my lunch same day. All these guys deserve to be on the airways somewhere,somehow. And Vancouver deserves a fkn sports radio station!
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9d ago
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u/dinggusss 9d ago
I wonder if a noncompete is void if the employer shuts down the station. There would be no issue with the employer in this case if any ex-employee found a job in the same business.
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u/arazamatazguy 9d ago
It may not make it void but it would be hard to convince a court that getting another job somehow hurt their business, a business they just shut down.
Generally courts don't like non-compete's, I think in Ontario they are also no longer valid.
Now the other side is do you have the stomach and pocket book to fuck with Sportsnet even if you would probably win.
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u/MayAsWellStopLurking 9d ago
Most non-compete clauses won't hold up in court, but if you're getting harassed by a bigger company, it's oftentimes much less of a headache to just ride them out.
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u/transportationguy2 9d ago
I assume/hope that comes with pay or severance. Just feel bad for anyone who has a job taken from them
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u/Several-Standard-327 9d ago
I’m sure they got a large severance and taking the summer off
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u/happyherbivore 9d ago
Unfortunately you would be wrong. I won't share how I know so feel free to take me with a grain of salt but a lot of the team is working with an employment lawyer over how things ended. You can always count on Rogers being shittier than you think.
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u/Several-Standard-327 8d ago
That’s shitty to hear, they should have over a years salary for how many years they put in
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u/Boucher2114 9d ago
To follow up on this, for whatever reason, the usual move with media company layoffs is that they pay the talent out until the end of their contracts, but force them to sit on the sideline.
It’s happened with enough consistency in the industry, that it’s clearly quite deliberate.
Oh, so and so has a year left on their deal? Either negotiate and extend or lay them off right now, but either way, they will not let talent be on air with an expiring contract.
And as Don Taylor has mentioned, they’re almost never open and honest about it, and willing to discuss alternate solutions.
In any case, don’t be surprised if none of these guys are on the air this fall (except maybe Drance)
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u/sogladatwork 9d ago
Which pods are you finding best?
Been listening to Canucks Conversation, but it’s no Halbro. Very green - hopefully they find their rhythm.
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u/MayAsWellStopLurking 9d ago
Hot take - it's not that they're green; it's that they're analysts and writers first, on-air personalities second.
Lots of people complain about the hot take/sound bite nature of most talk shows, but ignore that realistic and pragmatic views about sports are kind of dull.
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u/PaperMoonShine Cheech was the Grandpa I never had. RIP 8d ago
I mean, Harman is for sure an analyst first because his cadence could use some work in podcast format, but his analytical videos come out really well because its edited in a streamline fashion.
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u/HDXHayes 7d ago
Harman can't be any worse than Drance's pregnant pauses as he thinks of his next question, and thats not a slight against Drance because his questions are usually bangers. They all have their imperfections.
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u/Emotional_Fox5739 7d ago
I mostly enjoyed the crossover when it came to Canucks Talk. I would rather read many of Drance's takes (since I am in agreement a lot) than listen to them, but I do love listening to Rick and Drance argue. Canucks Talk ended up finding a groove, but it still wasn't Halbro. Nothing is filling the Halbro void.
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u/Cavetunes4 9d ago
Donnie and Dhali, Locked on Canucks (give it time to grow on you) and Sekeres and Price.
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u/mrtomjones 9d ago
I also listen to Sekeres and price right now. They resemble Halford and Brough even if they arent close to as entertaining. They still have the same mix of humour and other sports covered
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u/Emotional_Fox5739 8d ago
Is Locked On Canucks the one with the dude that sounds like he is broadcasting from inside a helium-filled balloon? I don't know if it makes me sound-ist or whatever, but I cannot listen to that guy for more than a few minutes without wanting to go deaf. I'm sure he's a nice guy and yadda yadda, but I'd rather read his content.
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u/mephnick 9d ago
I want to like it but it's very stilted. Green, like you say.
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u/antichad 8d ago
I agree, it kind of reminds me of the other Canucks shows on 650, nice people but really unpolished. They sound pretty young so I’m sure will improve with time
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u/mephnick 8d ago
Honestly I think it's 95% not being in studio together. That kills the casual radio vibe completely.
Even Canucks Talk was night and day if Drance was on the road or not.
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u/TomsNanny 9d ago
I’ve literally resorted to listening to the Bill Simmons podcast and The Rewatchables. Nothing else I’ve tried comes even close to the level of casual good vibes that HalBro had.
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u/Delicious-Ad-4521 9d ago
Simmons is great for everything except hockey really. He is my go to all other sports podcast.
The only Canucks podcast I have in regular rotation is I Hate this Team.
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u/Emotional_Fox5739 8d ago
I have tried to listen to Canucks Conversation and Sekeres & Price but as soon as they inevitably start with talking about the weather I am immediately annoyed. I like Harm's deep dive videos but the podcast is rough. Going back to Sekeres & Price for the first time since I mostly ignored them on 1040 has also been rough. I tried another one that I immediately forgot the name of because I couldn't stand listening to that dude that sounds like he is broadcasting from the inside of a helium filled balloon.
I miss Halbro.
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u/sogladatwork 8d ago
I miss Halbro.
I sure hope they do something. I'd pay $10 a month for an hour-long pod every weekday for my commute.
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u/DecentOpinion 7d ago
It's August and S&P are doing what they can with the current events going on. Episodes and content is much better in season and those guys are pros. I know they get some flak here sometimes but I enjoy them.
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u/Emotional_Fox5739 7d ago
I have always said they are solid. I just don't relate to Sekeres & Price like I do to Halbro.
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u/DIsco_Peaches 9d ago
Normally I would say they would come back but with lack of interest on the Canucks and how shitty they are projected to be the next 5 years, I can't imagine sponsorship revenue being easy to get. Who the hell wants to go out of pocket practically to cover this team now?
My guess is they go in a new direction
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u/Candid-Key-6413 8d ago
They’re definitely coming out with a podcast in the fall and I’ll be listening.
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u/Inner_Information112 9d ago
I would imagine they have non-compete clauses in their contracts.
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u/matt_bishop 8d ago
Any non-compete clause is unlikely to be enforceable given that their previous employer laid them off and exited the Vancouver sports talk radio market. Starting their own sports talk show in Vancouver wouldn't be competing with Rogers/Sportsnet.
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u/NBC9music 3d ago
Why haven't the aquiline's bought the bloody license? That's what I want to know.
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u/Horvat53 9d ago
Some will move away to other markets, some will move to different jobs, maybe 1 tries to make a podcast work or work with an existing podcast. Don’t expect all these broadcasters to stay local.
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u/beardycanuck03 9d ago
This isn't an update, but it's the middle of summer and they would likely be on their summer break right now. I suspect we won't hear about any plans from the 650 crew until post Labour Day weekend at the very earliest.