Prime Time Sports
Encyclopedia
Prime Time Sports is a sports radioSports radio
Sports radio is a radio format devoted entirely to discussion and broadcasting of sporting events. A popular format with an almost exclusively male demographic in most areas, sports radio is characterized by an often-boisterous on-air style and extensive debate and analysis by both hosts and...
talk show produced from the studios of The FAN 590
CJCL (AM)
CJCL is a Canadian sports radio station in Toronto, Ontario. Owned and operated by Rogers Communications, the station broadcasts at 590 kHz on the AM radio dial with a 50,000 watts transmitter and directional antenna concentrating its signal over the Toronto/Hamilton region...
(CJCL) in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, Canada. The show is hosted by Bob McCown
Bob McCown
Robert "Bob" McCown is a Canadian sports talk show personality and the host of a late afternoon/early evening radio talk show called Prime Time Sports. The program is broadcast from the Toronto-based studio of the Fan 590 and is syndicated nationally in Canada...
.
The program is broadcast weekdays from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. ET
North American Eastern Time Zone
The Eastern Time Zone of the United States and Canada is a time zone that falls mostly along the east coast of North America. Its UTC time offset is −5 hrs during standard time and −4 hrs during daylight saving time...
on The FAN 590. A television simulcast is also carried on Rogers Sportsnet
Rogers Sportsnet
Sportsnet was launched on October 9, 1998 as CTV Sportsnet. The name was chosen to match the regional "Fox Sports Net" operations across the United States...
One.
History
The show was first broadcast on October 2, 1989 as a syndicated sports radio talk show from 6:10 pm – 7:00 pm EST with Bob McCownBob McCown
Robert "Bob" McCown is a Canadian sports talk show personality and the host of a late afternoon/early evening radio talk show called Prime Time Sports. The program is broadcast from the Toronto-based studio of the Fan 590 and is syndicated nationally in Canada...
as the host and Bill Watters
Bill Watters
Wilbur Wayne "Bill" Watters is a Canadian sports media personality and former Assistant General Manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs.-College career:...
as co-host. Newspaper columnist Jim Hunt
Jim Hunt (columnist)
Jim "Shaky" Hunt was a Canadian sports columnist who spent over 50 years as a journalist and covered the biggest events in sports including the Stanley Cup, the Super Bowl, the Olympics, all of golf's majors and the 1972 Canada-Russia Summit Series...
later became the co-host of the program. When CJCL changed their format to all-sports radio in 1992, Prime Time Sports became the station's afternoon drive show, while also being syndicated nationwide. In 1993, McCown was re-assigned as the station's new morning show host, and Dan Shulman
Dan Shulman
Daniel "Dan" Shulman is a Canadian sportscaster, currently employed with the American network ESPN as well as Canadian network TSN....
became the program's host in his place. Hunt continued on in his role as co-host. In 1995, Shulman left the station to join TSN
The Sports Network
The Sports Network, commonly abbreviated as TSN, is a Canadian English language Category C specialty channel and is Canada's leading English language sports TV channel. TSN premiered in 1984, in the first group of Canadian specialty cable channels...
, and McCown was re-united with Hunt. Hunt was co-host until 2000 when he was let go by the station. In 2004, Rogers Sportsnet
Rogers Sportsnet
Sportsnet was launched on October 9, 1998 as CTV Sportsnet. The name was chosen to match the regional "Fox Sports Net" operations across the United States...
began simulcasting the show on television. As of 2009, the show is available on the "East" regional feed only. In 2005, the program began making the 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. audio content available as a podcast
Podcast
A podcast is a series of digital media files that are released episodically and often downloaded through web syndication...
and streaming audio
Streaming media
Streaming media is multimedia that is constantly received by and presented to an end-user while being delivered by a streaming provider.The term "presented" is used in this article in a general sense that includes audio or video playback. The name refers to the delivery method of the medium rather...
on The FAN 590's website. As of 2009, all three hours of the show are now available as a podcast. In July 2010, the show's live broadcast hours were changed from 4:00–7:00 p.m. to 3:00–6:00 p.m.
Since 2009, the co-hosting duties have usually been provided on a weekly basis by either Stephen Brunt
Stephen Brunt
Stephen Brunt is a Canadian sports journalist, well known as a leading columnist for The Globe and Mail and as co-host to Bob McCown on Prime Time Sports.- Journalist :...
from The Globe and Mail
The Globe and Mail
The Globe and Mail is a nationally distributed Canadian newspaper, based in Toronto and printed in six cities across the country. With a weekly readership of approximately 1 million, it is Canada's largest-circulation national newspaper and second-largest daily newspaper after the Toronto Star...
newspaper or John Shannon, formerly the executive vice-president of programming and production for the NHL. A past co-host who still appears regularly on the show is Doug Smith of the Toronto Star
Toronto Star
The Toronto Star is Canada's highest-circulation newspaper, based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Its print edition is distributed almost entirely within the province of Ontario...
. Former co-host Jim Kelley
Jim Kelley
James Thomas "Jim" Kelley, Jr. was a professional sports news columnist whose 30-year career focused primarily on the Buffalo Sabres of the National Hockey League, and the greater Buffalo area...
of Sportsnet.ca and SI.com is now deceased.
In February of 2011, McCown was reunited with Damien Cox
Damien Cox
Damien Cox is a sports columnist for the Toronto Star. He has covered the NHL and the Toronto Maple Leafs as a reporter and columnist for over 22 years, as well as the 1998, 2002, 2006 and 2010 Winter Olympics, and many other international hockey events...
of the Toronto Star; sharing co-hosting duties with Stephen Brunt. Later in April, the show's broadcast hours were changed back from 3:00 - 6:00 p.m, to 4:00 - 7:00 p.m.
Format
Between Monday and Thursday, Bob and his co-host conduct interviews with people making the sports news, and discuss sports issues with several analysts such as former host Shulman (now with ESPNESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
), Peter King
Peter King (sportswriter)
Peter King is an American sportswriter. He currently writes for Sports Illustrated and its Web site, including the weekly multiple-page column Monday Morning Quarterback. He is the author of five books, most notably Inside the Helmet, as well as a TV analyst and reporter...
(Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...
), and Nick Kypreos
Nick Kypreos
Nikos Kypreos is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey left winger of Greek descent. He played eight seasons in the National Hockey League for the Hartford Whalers, Washington Capitals, New York Rangers, and Toronto Maple Leafs...
(Sportsnet). Among McCown's regular guest callers are boxing writer Bert Randolph Sugar
Bert Randolph Sugar
Bert Randolph Sugar is a boxing writer/sports historian. He currently resides in Chappaqua, New York.-Education:...
and former football star Jim Brown
Jim Brown
James Nathaniel "Jim" Brown is an American former professional football player who has also made his mark as an actor. He is best known for his exceptional and record-setting nine-year career as a running back for the NFL Cleveland Browns from 1957 to 1965. In 2002, he was named by Sporting News...
, who played for McCown's hometown Cleveland Browns
Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns are a professional football team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are currently members of the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
.
On Fridays, Bob is joined in studio by that week's co-host and two additional guests for "The Friday Roundtable". This is more in-depth, free-form discussion about the week's sports news and issues.
When Bob is unable to host the program, Rob Faulds
Rob Faulds
Rob Faulds is a Canadian sports analyst on Rogers Sportsnet and host of Sportsnetnews. Faulds also does play-by-play for National Lacrosse League games...
, or Jeff Blair serve as fill-in hosts.
The show changed its timeslot in July 2010 from the traditional 4–7 slot to a 3–6 slot. This was a bit of a surprising move as Prime Time Sports' early ratings from 2010 were the best in the shows history, a 9.2 up from a 7.2.
See also
- Pratt & Taylor, a similar show broadcast from the studios of The Team 1040 in Vancouver and simulcast on Rogers Sportsnet