OneSoccer

[Califax]

2 hours ago, dyslexic nam said:

Quick OS question.   I just bought a Roku streaming stick plus since we are trying Disney+.  

It looks like I can search for the OS channel and have it added - which would be awesome since it would free up my phone and/or laptop when I want to stream soccer.   Can anyone verify that it is fairly straightforward to get it all working as it should?  TIA.  

I have One Soccer on my Roku tv. It’s been quite problem free. 

[CanadianSoccerFan]

4 hours ago, red card said:

A twitter thread on how difficult it was for a Turkish background football journo to get a job in Canada.

 

No surprise here as mainstream Canadian soccer is very British and white. And as of the past year, Canadian hockey tv media even has more varying perspectives than Canadian soccer. And ESPN/Paramount+/NBC all have a wide breath of views that actually reflects the global sport of soccer and the players playing in MLS and the US national teams.

 

In terms of Cdn tv, TSN has had only Karina LeBlanc for a few women's matches and only hired JDG last year (after it came out they didn't hire Hal Johnson 30 years ago because there was a unwritten limit on blacks on the air). SN had Serioux for some cameo appearances on a handful of TFC matches. 

 

And other than bringing in an Balkan background ESPN analyst for the studio panel for a few days during a World Cup, it's all British for TSN. SN had Dichio but he was born in the UK. When CBC had the World Cup, it was the same story with Nigel Reed notably pronouncing James Rodriguez first name the English way till he finally read his emails.

 

OS started off with more varying perspectives but whether due to covid layoffs and/or Larson becoming head of content, it has been reduced. But still ahead given Petrillo & DeBlassis.

 

 

 

I have noticed this as well.  I remember TSN's panel for the World Cup final in 2018 was 5 white Brits all crammed on to the set.  All 5 of them raged in agreement against the first half VAR handball decision based on their stereotypically British interpretation of the rule.  It made for awful viewing.  It's not just about diversity of people, but the lack of diversity in opinion that it can create.

 

[Watchmen]

4 hours ago, red card said:

Taking out the rounding of SN's 1.153 figure, it is 57k on OS.

Though, the twitter guy is also subtracting OS Telus viewers without providing a source for it. But you also have to make an assumption some OS subscribers also just watched on SN since it is easier to just turn on the tv. 

Except I would assume the 1.3m number mentioned was also rounded.  My main point was that the guy didn't have any "source" that knew the OS subscription numbers - he was just doing some basic math based on viewership numbers that were publicly available.

[gwsmith63]

I have to chime in here with my thoughts on some of the comments here over the last day or two. 

Having been born in Scotland and moving to Canada at the age of 13 I became a Canadian citizen when I was 19. I played football at Carleton University and since 1999 have had the privilege of commentating at local club level, high school, CIS, uSports (including 5 National Championships), Fury PDL, Fury NASL, Fury Women and now AtleticoOttawa  

I love both the Scottish and Canadian national teams which I’m sure many others do too  

I must admit the Brit bashing is really tough to read.  Might be time to step away for a while  

GWS

 

 

 

Edited November 20, 2021 by gwsmith63

[gator]

12 minutes ago, gwsmith63 said:

I have to chime in here with my thoughts on some of the comments here over the last day or two. 

Having been born in Scotland and moving to Canada at the age of 13 I became a Canadian citizen when I was 19. I played football at Carleton University and since 1999 have had the privilege of commentating at local club level, high school, CIS, uSports (including 5 National Championships), Fury PDL, Fury NASL, Fury  Women and now AtleticoOttawa  

I love both the Scottish and Canadian national teams which I’m sure many others do too  

I must admit the Brit bashing is really tough to read.  Might be time to step away for a while  

GWS

 

 

 

Hang in here, it's usually the same posters, I don't think it is by any means the theme of this board, use your ignore option if necessary!

[ted]

15 minutes ago, gwsmith63 said:

I must admit the Brit bashing is really tough to read.  Might be time to step away for a while  

 

So, asking for a more diversity is "Brit bashing"?!?

Yeah, I'm of British ancestry, follow Arsenal and England and loved Graham Leggat as a Colour commentator back in the day and it's pretty obvious to me that the primary qualification to appear on soccer broadcasts for the last 30+ years has been a British accent and white skin.

Is it bashing roast beef if occasionally you want to have Pad Thai?

[gwsmith63]

37 minutes ago, ted said:

So, asking for a more diversity is "Brit bashing"?!?

Yeah, I'm of British ancestry, follow Arsenal and England and loved Graham Leggat as a Colour commentator back in the day and it's pretty obvious to me that the primary qualification to appear on soccer broadcasts for the last 30+ years has been a British accent and white skin.

Is it bashing roast beef if occasionally you want to have Pad Thai?
 

Not at all.
 

Diversity is welcome across any and all sports: indeed life in general.
 

Brits just an easy target I guess in this case but thanks for your reply. 

Edited November 20, 2021 by gwsmith63

[gwsmith63]

All good lads. 
 

Forum is all about opinions. 

Edited November 20, 2021 by gwsmith63

[gator]

44 minutes ago, ted said:

Is it bashing roast beef if occasionally you want to have Pad Thai?

😀

[CanadianSoccerFan]

1 hour ago, gwsmith63 said:

I have to chime in here with my thoughts on some of the comments here over the last day or two. 

Having been born in Scotland and moving to Canada at the age of 13 I became a Canadian citizen when I was 19. I played football at Carleton University and since 1999 have had the privilege of commentating at local club level, high school, CIS, uSports (including 5 National Championships), Fury PDL, Fury NASL, Fury Women and now AtleticoOttawa  

I love both the Scottish and Canadian national teams which I’m sure many others do too  

I must admit the Brit bashing is really tough to read.  Might be time to step away for a while  

GWS

 

 

 

My mother is from England and my paternal grandparents are from the Welsh valleys.  My comments are about diversity of opinions.  It would be just as ridiculous to have 5 Brazilians or 5 Italians stacked on the same panel speaking in agreement with each other over things that are not clear cut.  It makes for terrible viewing.

Look at ESPN's panels during the Euros in the summer where the panelists were all from differing countries and backgrounds.  The debate it created was must watch.   

[rkomar]

57 minutes ago, gwsmith63 said:

Brits just an easy target I guess in this case but thanks for your reply. 

This is not a knock against Brits, but a knock against those in Canada who insist that only Brits can do the job.  The lack of diversity is not the fault of the Brit commentators.

John Helm is my all-time favourite commentator, but I'm ready for hearing Canadians tell the story on the pitch in our own way.

[gwsmith63]

2 minutes ago, CanadianSoccerFan said:

My mother is from England and my paternal grandparents are from the Welsh valleys.  My comments are about diversity of opinions.  It would be just as ridiculous to have 5 Brazilians or 5 Italians stacked on the same panel speaking in agreement with each other over things that are not clear cut.  It makes for terrible viewing.

Look at ESPN's panels during the Euros in the summer where the panelists were all from differing countries and backgrounds.  The debate it created was must watch.   

Diversity of opinions isn’t what I’m referring to at all CSF. That should always be the basis for any constructive discussion on anything, football included. 
 

👍

[gwsmith63]

47 minutes ago, rkomar said:

This is not a knock against Brits, but a knock against those in Canada who insist that only Brits can do the job.  The lack of diversity is not the fault of the Brit commentators.

John Helm is my all-time favourite commentator, but I'm ready for hearing Canadians tell the story on the pitch in our own way.

Fair enough. If I’ve misread the tone of some forum comments then that is on me.  
 

 

[Ozzie_the_parrot]

2 hours ago, rkomar said:

This is not a knock against Brits, but a knock against those in Canada who insist that only Brits can do the job....

The unspoken message behind that hiring practice was that soccer isn't for "real Canadians" unlike hockey, baseball, gridiron and basketball. Leave the token level of coverage provided for the one British guy who won't ever be asked to cover anything else and the multicultural channel.

The demographics of Canada are changing rapidly so that type of approach is no longer tenable in 2021. TFC emerged because Richard Peddie at MLSE realized the ongoing marginalization of soccer made very little sense from a business standpoint given the popularity level of the sport in the GTA. Nigel Reed, James Sharman and Luke Wileman still got hired by the sports media though...

[Califax]

To add some context, much of this has to do with shitty employment prospects for media, but especially soccer media. I worked in it for a bit before getting fed up. so much money to hockey and cut soccer jobs everywhere. It’s why One Soccer saw a business model in the first place. 

It’s a tough grind. I was still regularly getting asked to do various play by play games throughout my time in Toronto, but nothing to make a career out of. It turned into a labour of love and side hobby to my other job, and that doesn’t necessarily cut it for people trying to eat.
 

I feel for the guy who didn’t get hired at one soccer, but at the same time It feels like most of the people talking about soccer in this country have been laid off. A lot of friends in journalism made repeated calls to no avail. It sucks. I think it’s important everyone looks outside the box and looks for new talent emerging to grow the game, Especially to reflect our country and what it looks like. 
 

But I also know that it would be very difficult not to hire people who have been pushing soccer and growing the game in Canada for a decade and whose job prospects have been dire. 

As a sidenote there’s always been this weird cold war between “British”soccer and “Italian” soccer, in Toronto specifically. It always struck me as petulant and boring. I remember speaking excitedly about Toronto FC when moving to Toronto in 2008, And couldn’t count the number of times I heard “nah, too British”

I’m not gonna put motive to anybody here, but the me vs you culture has been real for a while and the undertones were shitty. 

Edited November 20, 2021 by Califax

[Ozzie_the_parrot]

The cultural dynamics can be interesting sometimes. I'm from Scotland originally but find Nigel Reed difficult to take seriously as he comes across to me as a rugger and cricket type hired solely for his posh BBC accent. Couldn't help noticing how most of the TFC fan group types I interacted with back around 2007 didn't see it that way and were instead very negative about Bob Iarusci who came across to me as somebody who knew the game inside out for obvious reasons. Bit of a culture cringe involved in that in my opinion, so I was always skeptical that "By Canadians For Canadians" was going to resonate for CanPL in the GTA. Different story somewhere like Halifax.

TFC were originally all too obviously pushing a British angle in coaching and player recruitment in the Anselmi/Beirne era (hiring Chris Cummins in particular was laughable in terms of his professional experience) and didn't really start to have any sustained success until they moved away from that. Tom Anselmi is from an Italian background so it was probably all about marketing and selling tickets based on what focus groups were telling them rather than any inherent bias. Oliver Platt knows his stuff and does a good job so I thought Onesoccer got their hires right for the most part (let's not go there on Gareth Wheeler, think he's slowly improving). My impression is that Kurt Larson was initially a CanPL hire who was placed with Onesoccer by the league before that last bit gets misinterpreted.

Edited November 20, 2021 by Ozzie_the_parrot

[Shway]

All I’ll say is (without explaining how this is privileged thing) diversity in our football culture should be consistent across all mediums. It should be a reflection of the our football community.  

The CSA staff isn’t diverse.
The CPL staff isn’t diverse.
The OneSoccer staff isn’t diverse.
The TSN soccer broadcast isn’t diverse.
The Sportsnet soccer broadcast isn’t diverse.

….however our senior and youth national teams are extremely diverse. Our professional pool local and abroad is beyond diverse. 

We aren’t hockey Canada.

I grew up playing in the OSA provincial program and NTC program where majority of the coaches were Brits, teaching their way of how to play the game to guys who come from various different backgrounds. 

I have nothing against British people , but I believe there’s a false perception they have specifically in regards to football, that they are Gods chosen football people. “If you can get you one, your program will become official because they know what they are saying.

 Like @ted said we need more Pad Thai, Jerk Chicken, Bolognese, Gallo Pinto … we are Canada, the worlds melting pot. 

It’s okay to speak proper English without the proper English accent. 

 

[SpursFlu]

This is the oldest argument in the world of football. The reality is if you talk to an English person about English football they'll tell you they're crap. If you talk to someone else about English football they'll tell you they're crap. Yet they're overated 

Sometimes I think we confuse enthusiasm and pride with someone thinking they're the best. Everyone seems to hate English football yet the world seems obsessed with it.

I really dont care what kinda food someone eats. If they're doing their job well, great. If they're not, try someone else

Edited November 20, 2021 by SpursFlu

[CanadianSoccerFan]

Pretty disgraceful to cut away before the Voyageurs Cup was handed out.  Unforgiveable.

[Kent]

10 minutes ago, CanadianSoccerFan said:

Pretty disgraceful to cut away before the Voyageurs Cup was handed out.  Unforgiveable.

It looks like they were just using one feed. When the TFC vs Montreal game finished I tried to switch to York United vs Forge and found more TFC vs Montreal. So I definitely see it both ways. Probably should have had the 24 hour channel to stay with TFC vs Montreal until the festivities were done, and Forge vs York United to start on a separate feed. And have the 24 hour channel switch to Forge vs York United after the TFC Montreal festivities were over.

[SpursFlu]

I think todays environment has given people cover to make completely bigoted statements using buzzwords and false equivalency. 

As a consumer the last thing I want anyone doing is hiring people based on anything other than the best possible applicants to deliver the best possible product. I pay good money for this product. If your so offended by hearing 2 English accents then you likely have some deep rooted resentment issues and insecurities you should have dealt with.

Oliver and KJ for me are excellent at what they do. At least in my opinion. If you agree but you want one of them gone based on their place of birth, I think the problem you actually have is with yourself. If it's not their place of birth but it's their physical appearance. Well then, I think their is a word for that. People should stop trying to create issues where there aren't Especially when it's clear to me they're creating far bigger issues in the process.

Edited November 21, 2021 by SpursFlu

[SoccMan]

21 minutes ago, SpursFlu said:

I think todays environment has given people cover to make completely bigoted statements using buzzwords and false equivalency. 

As a consumer the last thing I want anyone doing is hiring people based on anything other than the best possible applicants to deliver the best possible product. I pay good money for this product. If your so offended by hearing 2 English accents then you likely have some deep rooted resentment issues and insecurities you should have dealt with.

Oliver and KJ for me are excellent at what they do. At least in my opinion. If you agree but you want one of them gone based on their place of birth, I think the problem you actually have is with yourself. If it's not their place of birth but it's their physical appearance. Well then Especially, I think their is a word for that. People should stop trying to create issues where there aren't Especially when it's clear to me they're creating far bigger issues in the process.

And what has this to do with the topic of the day, not showing the trophy presentation of our national cup competition?

[youllneverwalkalone]

On 11/20/2021 at 8:12 AM, Shway said:

All I’ll say is (without explaining how this is privileged thing) diversity in our football culture should be consistent across all mediums. It should be a reflection of the our football community.  

The CSA staff isn’t diverse.
The CPL staff isn’t diverse.
The OneSoccer staff isn’t diverse.
The TSN soccer broadcast isn’t diverse.
The Sportsnet soccer broadcast isn’t diverse.

….however our senior and youth national teams are extremely diverse. Our professional pool local and abroad is beyond diverse. 

We aren’t hockey Canada.

I grew up playing in the OSA provincial program and NTC program where majority of the coaches were Brits, teaching their way of how to play the game to guys who come from various different backgrounds. 

I have nothing against British people , but I believe there’s a false perception they have specifically in regards to football, that they are Gods chosen football people. “If you can get you one, your program will become official because they know what they are saying.

 Like @ted said we need more Pad Thai, Jerk Chicken, Bolognese, Gallo Pinto … we are Canada, the worlds melting pot. 

It’s okay to speak proper English without the proper English accent. 

 

The pressure for results creates equality on the pitch for the most part. But it's completely absent elsewhere. I love KJ and Ollie, as both are very knowledgable. Those crackers gots to stay. I don't think you'd have a hard time replacing Andi, Wheels, and the other Canadian tuxedo guy with people of colour. That said, you want quality. Deguzman is horrible, Maurice Edu is great. I also love the paramount host but maybe I'm sucker for an English accent. 

[SthMelbRed]

In a country as diverse as Canada, if you claim to be running a 100% merit-based recruitment strategy, yet somehow end up with a 100% white workforce, I think it's a fair assumption that you have some serious issues with your processes. Now, if you manage that in a sport in which visible minorities are generally over-represented in your logical, potential talent pool (ex-players for football analysts), then it's fair comment to question whether something nefarious is behind it.

[BearcatSA]

1 hour ago, youllneverwalkalone said:

That said, you want quality. Deguzman is horrible, Maurice Edu is great.

JDG isn't articulate.  Unfortunately, he doesn't add anything beyond the obvious, either.  Kind of a tough combo to overcome.  Needs to show more if he wants to keep the TSN gig.

It was interesting to see how the Euros broadcast evolved, starting only with him (and Caldwell when he wasn't on his NT coaching staff stint) doing studio analysis (not forgetting Janine Beckie's Zoom cameos) but later Kilbane came in, first on Zoom and then in studio and he seemed to  become more of the go-to person