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Former Sportsnet 650 broadcasters reflect after Vancouver station's sudden end

Rob Williams
Rob Williams
|
Jul 8 2026, 7:24 pm
Former Sportsnet 650 broadcasters reflect after Vancouver station's sudden end
@linaset/Instagram

It’s the end of an era for Vancouver sports media.

Sportsnet 650 didn’t just shut down on Tuesday; 25 years of sports-talk radio in Vancouver did as well.

The move came roughly five years after Bell Media pulled the plug on TSN 1040, with Rogers Sports & Media pointing to “declining audience and revenue trends.”

There’s still an appetite for sports content in this city, but clearly the radio business has changed. Fewer people are commuting to work in cars than they used to. Podcasts have also boomed, with young people especially less likely to switch on traditional radio.

The news still hits hard for the many beloved sportscasters who are now out of work, through no fault of their own. Fans flooded social media with kind words on Tuesday morning.

Many former Sportsnet 650 personalities have since responded publicly.

That includes Brendan Batchelor, who became the voice of the Canucks on the radio in 2017 when Rogers secured the broadcast rights.

“Over the course of 9 years, we built a family at Sportsnet 650,” Batchelor said. “It was a special thing, and I’m going to miss it a lot.”

Randip Janda was also with the station since its first year in the market. He moved to the broadcast booth in 2022, becoming the NHL’s first South Asian radio colour commentator.

Rogers has said that it will continue broadcasting Canucks games on the radio, likely on one of their FM stations such as Jack 96.9. So there is hope that Batchelor and Janda can continue in their roles on those broadcasts.

We’ll see what becomes of the rest of the staff. When TSN 1040 shut down, many of their on-air personalities popped up in other spots. Matt Sekeres and Blake Price kept their show by moving to podcasts. Don Taylor and Rick Dhaliwal landed a television show with CHEK.

Jason Brough and Mike Halford moved from TSN 1040 to Sportsnet 650, so unfortunately they have experience with sudden radio station closures.

“It has been heartwarming and humbling to hear from the community that has developed around HalBro. We’ll take some time for the dust to settle and see if we can’t return in some form or another,” Brough said before an example of his trademark humour.

“It’s gonna be a long rebuild anyway haha.”

“I have always loved doing the show, and truly appreciated how much it meant to people,” Halford added. “It is a very cool thing and I’m lucky to have experienced it. Hopefully we can do it again sometime.”

Satiar Shah left TSN 1040 for Sportsnet 650 in 2017, where he became one of the station’s stars.

“These past 9 years at 650 have been the best part of my career,” Shah said. “I dreamed of having my own show and I am forever grateful to Sportsnet for making that dream a reality.

“I’m honestly excited for what’s next, every challenge is an opportunity to be conquered.”

“Picture the funnest place to work times times that by 100. That’s what Sportsnet 650 was,” added Bik Nizzar. “We had the most fun.”

“I was proud to be part of 650 and to put out the [Canucks Talk] product we did,” said Thomas Drance. “We never took for granted how lucky we were to do it.”

“I can’t fully express what my time at 650 has meant to me,” added Lina Setaghian. “I’ve worn so many hats at the station from co-hosting the first all-female sports show in Canada to interviewing some incredibly talented people and, most importantly, making lifelong friends.”

And then there’s Josh Elliott-Wolfe, who began with the station as a bright-eyed 19-year-old.

“I grew up at Sportsnet 650, quite literally,” he said. “I started working there when I was 19, which in hindsight is just crazy lucky. It was a dream come true to talk about sports for a living — just a super sick job that shouldn’t be real.”

Best of luck to all the hosts, producers, and other staff at Sportsnet 650. We hope to hear your voices again very soon.

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