David Pratt back on the air after six months stuck on sidelines
Role at CKNW has not yet been defi ned but he will start Monday morning
I’ve been off the air in my career dating back to the 1970s ... found the seat on the sidelines very uncomfortable, not one I ever want to sit in again.
DAVE PRATT SPORTSCASTER ON HIS SIX MONTHS OF UNEMPLOYMENT
SCENE & HEARD: While they were dancing in the hallways at Team 1040 headquarters on West 2nd Avenue Friday morning, CKNW program director Tom Plasteras was walking David Pratt through his new radio home in the downtown Corus tower on Georgia Street.
For a second consecutive ratings “book,” the listening numbers on all- sports Team 1040 went through the roof.
James Stuart, regional vicepresident of Bell Media, happily shared the Team 1040 numbers in the category of men, 25- 54: a 9.6 share overall to move from number 5 to number 1; a leading 12.4 share in the afternoon; number 3 in mid- day ( up from number 7) with a 9.8 share; a 7.9 share for fourth place in the morning, up from seventh.
In recent years CKNW had lost its grip in the Vancouver sports market.
Plasteras took a stab at getting back into the game with the hiring this week of Pratt, the in- your- face sportscaster and talk show host who loves a good fight with his listeners. “Dave is a longtime personality in Vancouver who has always had the ability to create great radio,” Plasteras says. “We believe there are a large number of people who are anxious to hear from him on a daily basis.”
Neither Plasteras nor Pratt are sure at this point where things will lead to at NW. He starts Monday morning as a designated hitter in the absence of holidaying Neil Macrae, the nasty morning commentator who is leaving the station’s employ this summer.
“Dave’s going to be doing the 7: 10 sports comment as well as appearances in the noon and 4: 55 sportscasts,” Plasteras says. “We agreed to start with that and see what it leads to in the future.”
Pratt’s contract with Team 1040 expired last Aug. 31 and except for one intermission appearance at a Canucks’ game on Sportsnet, he hadn’t been seen or heard from until Friday morning’s CKNW welcome on the Bill Good Show.
“It’s the longest time I’ve been off the air in my career dating back to the 1970s,” he told Good. “I found the seat on the sidelines very uncomfortable, not one I ever want to sit in again.”
HERE ’ N’ THERE: A total of 22 Vancouver Whitecaps FC games will be televised on Sportsnet this season, beginning March 17. The agenda includes 10 on Sportsnet Pacific, four on Sportsnet One and two on Citytv. Former national team goalkeeper Paul Dolan is a new addition to the broadcast booth, joining play- by- play man Craig Macewen.
END ZONE: Freelance journalist Bob Mackin broke the story on his blog almost a week before it was officially announced that the government had opted to snub Telus regarding the naming rights to B. C Place Stadium. Mackin is considered a leading authority on the business of the Olympic movement and has authored Red Mittens & Red Ink, an ebook on his experiences covering the 2010 Vancouver Games.