Hockey Night in Canada returns to radio

by WILLIAM HOUSTON
Globe and Mail Update
September 7, 2007 at 1:47 PM EDT

Afternoon radio in Toronto was given a shakeup Friday with the announcement that the CBC is launching a Hockey Night In Canada show on Sirius Satellite Radio.

Radio personality Jeff Marek is jumping from AM 640 Toronto to be the host of HNIC Radio, which will air from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. ET, beginning Oct. 1.

Marek's departure leaves Bill Watters without  a co-host on his AM 640 afternoon drive show. Also without a host is the station's noon hour show, Leafs Lunch.

Marek, who was doing both jobs, told Watters on Thursday he was leaving, one day before Friday's announcement.

"Under the circumstances, I'm doing okay," said Watters, who moved to the afternoon drive slot from Leafs Lunch just one month ago to compete for sports listeners with the Fan 590's popular Bob McCown show. "The McCown mountain is a little higher now."

Marek, 38, said he received the HNIC job offer in mid-August and couldn't say no.

"It's a dream," said Marek, who signed a one year deal with the CBC. "It's funny, because it makes me a terrible negotiator. It's my dream job as much as try to play it off like, oh yeah, I'm cool and professional and detached. Hockey Night In Canada, I've grown up watching this thing since I was old enough to turn on the television."

Scott Moore, the head of CBC Sports, described Marek as a talented broadcaster with exceptional hockey knowledge. In addition to radio, Marek will also work in television for CBC Sports.

"We have a bunch of TV work for him, because we have a lot of stuff going on," Moore said.

Marek, who enjoyed ratings success on Leafs Lunch for the past four years, described working with Watters as a breeze.

"I loved working with the guy," he said.

"You can't hold back a good man," Watters said. "It's an opportunity he had to take, and good for him."

Marek started in broadcasting in 1995 with the Fan 590. For a while, he was co-host of an overnight show, with George Stroumboulopoulos, now host of The Hour on CBC Television. Marek joined AM 640 in 1999.

The HNIC Radio talk format will feature hockey news, updates and opinion. Marek, the lead host, will be joined by Elliotte Friedman, Kelly Hrudey and Scott Morrison of Hockey Night on a rotating basis. Analysts Greg Millen, Craig Simpson and HNIC host Ron MacLean also will contribute.

Moore called the radio show "a terrific extension of the Hockey Night brand."

Marek said he was surprised it wasn't tried earlier.

"It seems like such a natural. They have all these talented broadcasters on Hockey Night and many of them have a strong radio background. Why not extend the brand?"

Sirius's sports properties include the NFL, NASCAR, NBA and CFL. But its competition, XM, owns exclusive NHL rights and also carries a hockey talk channel.

Mark Redmond, the president and CEO of Sirius Canada, said the launch of HNIC Radio is a move to beef up its hockey content.

"For us, we felt the best thing from a hockey front was to come out with some very compelling talk," he said. "With this brand and the extension of the Hockey Night personalities and their reputation, we're excited to offer on a North American platform a two-hour daily talk show."

HNIC Radio will be carried, Monday to Friday, on Sirius's channel 122 in Canada and the United States.

Programming for the show is still being developed, but Moore said it would probably include replays of Don Cherry's Coach's Corner on Mondays, adding that Cherry will be more than welcome to make appearances.

"Don will appear on the show from time to time, I expect," Moore said, "although we're not forcing him to do that."

Cherry, along with Brian Williams, has his own syndicated radio show, Don Cherry's Grapeline.

At AM 640, Watters and management will be searching for hosts to replace Marek. In the short term, Toronto Maple Leaf radio play-by-play voice Dennis Beyak could fill in on Leafs Lunch. Apparently, the station is looking at a long list of almost 20 people.

Marek hopes to be finished at AM640 by Sept. 17.