We went through Sportsnet 650 and all the big names in the market but that isn’t the only place to get your coverage of Vancouver and local sports. In fact, there is a myriad of fantastic voices, opinions, and most importantly, options in the Vancouver sports landscape.
Local companies like Area 51 Sports Network and Canucks Army are providing coverage on multiple platforms and across multiple sports when it comes to local coverage. Then we have Canucks Clay and his Youtube Channel that provides coverage and viewer interaction like no other show.
In Part 2 of my 3-part series, I look at some of the digital media platforms that are trying to change the game. Make sure to check out part 1 in case you missed the first installment on the Vancouver Sports Landscape as I looked at Sportsnet 650, Donnie and Dhali on Chek TV, Rob Fai and Nation Extreme Wrestling, and what Go Goat Sports is doing with Sekeres and Price And Rink Wide.
The Area 51 Sports Network
3 years ago Sean Warren had the vision to create a company that covers local sports throughout BC. That led to the creation of the Area 51 Sports Network. Sean was able to branch out and add on multiple podcasts, live shows, articles, and much more.
I asked Sean about what the goal is for the Area 51 Network, “Ultimately we aim to be a one-stop hub for all your sporting content. We aim to extensively cover junior and major junior hockey along with soccer.” Sean would continue about Area 51 and how they focus on local regions.
“Area 51 has changed a lot since the beginning as we have shifted towards new opportunities and towards needs in the industry. Originally focused on the Canucks and the Pacific Northwest region, we’ve since pivoted towards a huge need in the market for junior ranks. We endeavor to put a bigger spotlight on the grassroots for various sports in ways that no one else is.”
It now covers the Junior Hockey League better than anything you will find in the WHL, OHL, and QMJHL. The WHL on Area 51 covers all the teams in the league with specific coverage and great writers in the arena getting interviews with coaches, and players and providing one-of-a-kind stuff. Sean elaborated to me about some of the state-of-the-art things they have been doing.
“We are able to cover a team from the everyday coaching and data collection to broadcasting to digital media. We continue to build something truly unique that can serve these sports, teams, and athletes with professional services.”
Blogs And Podcasts In The Area 51 Network
Area 51 also features a handful of blogs on sports in general, the British Columbia Hockey League, The Vancouver Whitecaps, Canada Soccer, and more. Add on all the podcasts you need for your sports coverage.
You can listen to Canucks and hockey talk from The 3rd Line Podcast which covers everything in the WHL and has some great interviews with players, Caps Space Wins Cups, Canucks Mafia, Point Shot Hockey, And Shifts And Pucks Podcast. Or if you are a Baseball fan you can check out The Sports Editorial and Out Of Left Field. For Soccer you can check out Terminal City Podcast with Whitecaps media Nathan Durec and Joshua Rey.
Then if basketball, fun, and nostalgia are your things you can listen to the Vanslam Podcast, Vancouver’s only NBA podcast to our knowledge, with myself, Sean Warren, and J Bowman. What will people have to look forward to in the future from the Area 51 Sports Network?
“What we expect this season is a vast expansion into the junior and major junior ranks nationwide. We are planning to expand, not just through the CHL coast to coast, but junior A too. Shows, articles, podcasts, and more to put a bigger spotlight on the developmental programs and their athletes.”
The CanucksArmy, Canucks Conversation, And The Nation Network
If you are a Canucks fan then you already know about Chris Faber and David Quadrelli and Canucks Conversation Podcast. They have been a constant in the market for the last couple of years providing amazing coverage from every angle about your Vancouver Canucks.
David Quadrelli took over CanucksArmy in May of 2020 and has made it the go-to website for all of your Canucks coverage. If it’s pre-game, post-game, player articles, Abbotsford Canucks coverage, and everything else you can think of they are producing the content over at CanucksArmy and the Nation Network.
“When I first took over at CanucksArmy, I really wasn’t sure what it would become. I never thought it could grow to the place it’s at today, and I NEVER thought I’d be able to do this as a full-time job. The only thing I went in knowing was I wanted it to be the place that every Canucks fan could go to.”
Writers like Chris Faber pump out article after article and is basically the Canucks prospect Whisperer (Expect Joni Jurmo, He’s my boy!). Cody Severtson has his boots on the ground covering the Abbotsford Canucks and there is no one who is Quads favorite writer more than Stephan Roget. Lots of other amazing talent providing us with great articles like 25 things about 25 Canucks.
“I didn’t want every piece on the site to agree with my viewpoint. I didn’t want to lose the analytics-heavy coverage the site is known for while still growing and allowing different ideas of the team to be given a platform.” Said David Quadrelli about growing the site and what they want to accomplish.
Some more huge news as Wyatt “The Stanchion” Arndt will be bringing his talents from The Atheltic over to CA where he will be doing his “Stanchies” for post-game. “I want to cover this team and make it fun, make it important, make it relevant, and most importantly, make it feel like we’re all part of a weird family that yells all the time, but at the end of the day, we truly are on the same team.” He wrote in an article on Canucks Army.
Quadrelli would talk about adding Wyatt Ardnt to the lineup of great writers and content we will see from Canucks Army this season. “I think we’ve accomplished that, and are going to continue to grow with that in mind. Adding Wyatt is super exciting as the whole reason I fell in love with writing about sports was from reading the Provies as a teenager. I always read the Athletties and Armies, and now I get to edit them.”
Along with the website Quads and Faber also have the very very popular Canucks podcast, Canucks Conversation which they ran twice a week during the offseason. Starting this season they will be running 5 shows a week live on Youtube from 1-2 pm. The shows will also be available on podcasts as usual.
It looks like we will see lots more coverage from the CanucksArmy, Canucks Conversation, and all the talented writers. “I’m excited to see CanucksArmy take this huge step and am looking forward to seeing what we can do in the future.” Said David Quadrelli.
Canucks Clay And Canucks After Dark
Anyone who is a Vancouver Canucks fan knows who Clay Imoo is! Not only is he the founder of the Good Looking Canucks Positivity Club, The GLCPC, a well-known thumbs-up meme, and an integral part of his local church and community, but he is also someone a lot of fans go to for news and updates. I wanted to know why did Clay decide to start his youtube channel?
“I started on YouTube back in 2006 and at that time I posted videos mostly of my family and my ministry. Then, I started to take it more seriously during the 2010 Winter Olympics as I did daily vlogs. I started to vlog more frequently about the Canucks the following year (when they made their Stanley Cup run) and I’ve been doing daily vlogs for the past 4 or 5 years. I’ve done three dozen parody songs over the past decade, and in the last couple of years I’ve expanded my content with live streams and Zoom interviews.”
How important do you think it is for the Vancouver market to have so many local voices I asked Clay. “It is extremely important that the Vancouver market has a large number of local voices and content creators. There is certainly room for all of us, and we should encourage one another and help each other get better, as opposed to being competitive or worrying about whose content is doing better.”
I wanted to know what can we expect in the future from “Canucks Clay” as I heard he had some stuff in the works.
“I recently launched a late-night Livestream that I do 5 nights a week (Sunday to Thursday at 11 pm); it also doubles as the “Clay’s Canucks Commentary” podcast. It’s a chance to engage with my viewers as well as continue to build a strong community of Canucks fans. I’ll still be doing my daily vlogs as well, along with a surprise interview here and there.”
Make sure to check out all the great coming from Canucks Clay Imoo on his Youtube Channel. Make sure to also check out the “Canucks After Dark” which is a weekly show and podcast with Parkers Pucks about the Vancouver Canucks.
Sports Talk Line And The Vancouver Sports Landscape
So many great voices and options in the Vancouver Sports Landscape for people to choose from. Part 2 of my 3-part series looks at some of the other platforms you can enjoy Canucks coverage. If it is in print on CanucksArmy and Area 51 Network or on Youtube with Canucks Clay Imoo.
The Sports Talk Line Network has started to amp up the NFL and NBA coverage so make sure to check out what is happening on our website. The Vancouver Whitecaps fell 2-0 to Minnesota United FC on MLS Decision Day and saw their season come to an end. I will still have news and updates from the Caps in the off-season.
Make sure to follow me on Twitter at JoshuaGriffith0. The Canucks and Raptors start their seasons in October and I will be covering them as well as the LA Rams who fell to 2-3 after a tough loss to the Dallas Cowboys. Van is never going to let me live this loss down! Stay tuned for part 3 which will be out later this week showcasing all the podcasts and writers in the Vancouver Sports Landscape.
